188th Reserve Mountain Division (Germany)

German Division Nr. 188fn|1 was raised in late 1939. It consisted of the 136th, 138th and 139th Reserve Mountain Regiments, plus supporting units.fn|2 It began the war on border guard duty in the mountainous region between Austria and Yugoslavia. In the spring of 1941 it joined the invasion of Yugoslavia, with the three regiments given responsibility of seizing control of Carniola and Carinthia on the Yugoslav side of the border, which they carried out quickly and effectively.

After the campaign the division remained on reserve at Innsbruck. In 1943 it was redesignated 188th Reserve Mountain Division and served in reserve in northern Italy. In 1945 it was redesignated again to 188th Mountain Division and served in Istria, surrendering there when the war ended in 1945.

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. (Division Nr. 188 was exceptional in this regard, having three combat-worthy Reserve Mountain Regiments from the time it was formed onward.) 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.fnb|2 The 139th Reserve Mountain Regiment does not appear to be related to the 139th Mountain Regiment associated with the 3rd and 9th Mountain Divisions.

See also

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

References

*
* Wendel, Marcus (2004). " [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=983 188. Reserve-Gebirgs-division] ". Retrieved April 12, 2005.
* Wendel, Marcus (2004). " [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=1170 Division Nr. 188] ". Retrieved April 12, 2005.
* " [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Gebirgsdivisionen/188GebD-R.htm 188.Gebirgs-Division] ". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 12, 2005.
* " [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/DivisionNr/DivisionNr188-R.htm Kommandeur der Ersatztruppen XVIII / Division Nr. 188 ] ". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 12, 2005.