157th Reserve Division (Germany)

Division Nr. 157
157th Reserve Division
157th Mountain Division
8th Mountain Division

Raised as Division Nr. 157fn|1 in September 1939. Renamed to 157th Reserve Division in October 1942, then reorganized as 157th Mountain Division in the fall of 1944. Finally renamed to 8th Mountain Division in February 1945, though apparently without any changes to strength or organization. Fought in northern Italy and surrendered to the Americans in April 1945.

Note: Sources diverge somewhat on the dates of the conversions/renamings and on the division's location throughout its lifetime.

fnb|1 "Nr." is the abbreviation for German "Nummer", "number", and refers to a type of division headquarters that was numbered in the regular series of infantry-type divisions, but usually was only a division on paper, without substantial combat assets. Many of these divisions were later converted to regular divisions, sometimes for types such as Panzer or Mountain which were not normally numbered in series with the infantry divisions.

See also

* Division (military), Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII
* Heer, Wehrmacht

References

Note: The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the unit's entire history.
* Pipes, Jason. " [http://www.feldgrau.com/8hg.html 8th Gebirgsjager Division] ". Retrieved April 8, 2005.
* Wendel, Marcus (2004). " [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=1129 Division Nr. 157] ". Retrieved April 8, 2005.
* " [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/ResDiv/157ResDiv.htm 157. Reserve-Division] ". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 8, 2005.