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42nd Jäger Division

Field	Value
unit_name	42nd Jäger Division
image	42 j Jaeger Division.png
image_size	200
caption	42. Jäger Division Vehicle Insignia
dates	1939–45
country	Nazi Germany
branch	Army
type	Infantry
size	Division
battles	World War II

**42nd *Jäger Division''''' () was a light infantry formation of the German Army during World War II. It can trace its origins to the 187th Infantry Division which was based in Austria until September 1942, when it was redesignated as the **187th Reserve Division'''. The 187th was sent to Croatia and was redesignated the 42nd Jäger Division in January 1944. 42. Jäger-Division was formed 22 Dec 1943 in Croatia from the 187. Reserve-Division. After taking part in Operation *Margarthe'', (the military occupation of Hungary) in March 1944, and then returned to Yugoslavia in May. In July 1944 the division was transferred to Italy where it remained for the rest of the war and surrendered in April 1945.

Background

The main purpose of the German Jäger Divisions was to fight in adverse terrain where smaller, coordinated formations were more facilely combat capable than the brute force offered by the standard infantry divisions. The Jäger divisions were more heavily equipped than their 'mountain' counterparts, but not as well armed as a larger infantry division. In the early stages of the war, they were the interface divisions fighting in rough terrain and foothills as well as urban areas, between the mountains and the plains. The Jägers (meaning hunters in German) relied on a high degree of training and slightly superior communications, as well as their not inconsiderable artillery support. In the middle stages of the war, as the standard infantry divisions were downsized, the Jäger structure of divisions with two infantry regiments, became the standard table of organization.

Adolf Hitler declared that all infantry divisions were to be Grenadier Divisions in 1943 except for his elite Jäger and Mountain Jaeger divisions.

War crimes

The division is one of several implicated in the , Emilia-Romagna between 28 and 30 November 1944, when 66 civilians were executed.

Commanders

General der Infanterie Walther Graeßner (15 October 1939 - 6 February 1940)
Generalleutnant Konrad Stephanus (7 February 1940 - 15 August 1942)
Generalleutnant Josef Brauner von Haydringen (15 August 1942 - 26 April 1944)
Generalleutnant Walter Jost (26 April 1944 - 24 April 1945)

Area of operations

As 187th Division

Austria (October 1939 - August 1942)

As 187th Reserve Division

Austria (August 1942 - September 1942)

Croatia (September 1942 - January 1944)

As 42nd Jäger Division

Croatia (January 1944 - March 1944)

Hungary (March 1944 - May 1944)

Yugoslavia (May 1944 - July 1944)

Italy (July 1944 - April 1945)

Order of battle (1944)

Jäger Regiment 25
Jäger Regiment 40
Reconnaissance Battalion 142
Artillery Regiment 142
Pioneer Battalion 142
Panzerjäger (anti-tank) Kompanie 142
Mountain Flak Kompanie 142
Signals Battalion 142
Feldersatz Battalion 142
Versorgungseinheiten 142

References

"42 jager division". Lexikon der Wehrmacht (German).
Mcoy, Breaker. (2009). "German Army 101st Light Division, 101st Jager Division 1941 - 42".
"Ronchidoso, Gaggio Montano, 28-30.09.1944". Atlas of Nazi and Fascist Massacres in Italy.
"42. Jäger–Division". Atlas of Nazi and Fascist Massacres in Italy.
Wendal, Marcus. "42. Jäger-Division". Axis Hi.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

jäger-divisions military-units-and-formations-established-in-1939 military-units-and-formations-disestablished-in-1945

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