Tom Jensen (@vikinglife)

The 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger. Named Karstjäger ("Karst Hunter"), the formation was one of the 38 divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS. Formed on 18 July 1944 from the SS Volunteer Karstwehr Battalion, its nominal strength was never more than theoretical and the division was soon reduced to the Waffen Mountain (Karstjäger) Brigade of the SS. Throughout its existence as a battalion, division and brigade, it was primarily involved in fighting partisans in the Karst Plateau on the frontiers of Yugoslavia, Italy, and Austria; the mountainous terrain required specialised mountain troops and equipment. Founded in 1942 as a company, the unit consisted mainly of Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans/Austrians) from Yugoslavia and the South Tyrol province of Italy. Although focused on anti-partisan operations, it also saw action in the wake of the Italian surrender when it moved to disarm Italian troops in Tarvisio and protect ethnic German communities in Italy. In addition, at the end of the war it successfully fought to keep passes into Austria open, allowing German units to escape the Balkans and surrender to British forces. The remnants of the unit became some of the last Germans to lay down their arms when they surrendered to the British 6th Armoured Division on 9 May 1945. A joint Italian–German study implicated the division in 23 war crimes involving the killing of a total of 277 people in Italy between the Italian surrender and the end of the war. According to historian Gordon Williamson, three Waffen-SS officers commanded the division and subsequently the brigade: SS-Obersturmbannführer Karl Marx (December 1944) SS-Sturmbannführer Werner Hahn (December 1944 – February 1945) SS-Oberführer Adolf Wagner (February – May 1945) In contrast, Roland Kaltenegger only lists Hahn as commanding the unit. The divisional vehicle symbol was a stylised Týr rune with arrows pointing to the left and right. A collar insignia was manufactured, but it is believed that these were never issued or worn, and the members of the division wore the standard SS Sig runes. Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24th_Waffen_Mountain_Division_of_the_SS_Karstj%C3%A4ger #WaffenSS #SS #SSVolunteers #Wehrmacht #Germany #Deutschland #Austria #Germanic #Italy