Latest edit: Added Hanomak's sets and Vympel's set.
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The German Mountain Troops or Gebirgsjäger were light infantry troops specialized in mountaineering and fighting under winter conditions. Many of them hailed from the Bavarian Alps or Austria's Tirol region. While in the mountains they moved primarily by foot and relied on mules to carry their supplies and equipment. Their coat of arms is the Edelweiss, a white flower that grows at high altitudes. Mountain troop divisions were raised both within the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS. Many fought in the northern front, in Finland and the adjacent Soviet territory, trying to capture the port of Murmansk which was an important source of lend-lease supplies for the Soviets. Others fought in the Caucasus, one unit becoming famous for raising their flag on top of Mount Elbrus, the highest point in that mountain range. They also took part in combat operations in the Balkans, some taking part in the failed attempt to capture the partisan leader Tito in Yugoslavia. Other units fought in the Italian ranges around the Gothic Line and some more on the French Vosges mountains. As the war progressed, they were increasingly used as traditional infantry, some seeing combat side by side with traditional infantry divisions on the eastern front. The book Black Edelweiss by Johann Voss provides a good narrative of the experiences that the 6th SS Mountain Division went through in the Arctic Front and the grueling 1600km march that they undertook by foot through Finland and Norway when Finland and the Soviets signed a peace treaty in September '44. Another book, Seven Days in January by Wolf Zoepf narrates in great detail what this same division went through during Operation Norwind, fighting in the Vosges, and conducting night marches through the mountains during the last major offensive that Germany launched during the war. As far as availability of figures we are pretty much constrained to just one set from Airfix, however there are several other sets such as the Airfix Afrika Korps, or some Revell Engineers who wear similar headgear and can be painted as mountain troops to complement them.
Airfix German Mountain Troops - Part 1
This whole set is very diverse and has some very unique figures. Unfortunately many of them can't really be considered fighting poses, but that's still OK given their uniqueness. The guy on the left is one of my favorites, however you will need to deploy him with a few more of his kind, perhaps on a long range patrol. His feet/skis are detachable, so you will need to find a good glue to attach them or put them on every time you send him into action.
Airfix German Mountain Troops - Part 2
Mountain troops compensated for their fewer number of submachine guns and semiautomatic weapons by having a slightly larger number of MG42s, as the team on the left shows.
Airfix German Mountain Troops - Part 3
A few more climbing guys, a signals man -who would have to rely heavily on good weather, and two more fighting poses. Overall almost twice as many poses as in most Airfix sets. Perhaps one of the reasons why it has become a very popular set amongst collectors.
Hanomak German Mountain Troops
And these are the worthy opponents to the Soviet Mountain Troops. They are also a nicely detailed set, with plenty of mountaineering equipment on them. Crampons, ropes, pikes, googles, backpacks, as well as a good variety of fighting weapons. In terms of poses, I prefer the five on the left a they are actually doing something and can be used in a battle context. I particularly like the kneeling machine gunner. The man fending off an attack with his pike is also interesting, although I wonder why he is not using his sub machine gun. Maybe out of ammo, in which case he might be better off letting go off it and pulling out his knife? Another interesting pose is the man throwing the grenade. I like how he has two bags hanging around his neck full of grenades. And then there's the guy on the right. He gets a 10 for the level of detail, but I wish he had been posed doing something more than just standing around. I think he is supposed to he smoking a pipe. I chose not to glue it. It would just make him appear more relaxed than he already is. BTW, as I just implied, this set also requires the gluing of several weapons/accessories. Nothing too complicated, except for the fact that the rubbery material bends a bit too easily. Anyhow, all in all a pretty nice set which will complement the Airfix figures well.
Vympel Germans In Search of Shambhala
I believe this set represents the German expedition led by Ernst Schaefer in 1938-39 to Tibet. The Nazi regime was interested in all things mystical and Shambhala, located in Tibet, is at the center of such mystical prophecies. I mainly care about this set because it has a few figures which can be used to enhance my unit of German mountain troops, particularly the two German men in the front row. The one figure that I don't have much use for is the one who appears to be a Tibetan holy man. It is nonetheless nicely detailed and interesting. BTW, I am not sure if this set is now owned by Hanomak, as was the case with the "Das Reich" set, or if Vympel remains a standalone firm, so for now I am listing them in this post.
Hanomak German Nordland Division
This is an interesting set representing the SS division made of volunteers from Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. Some of its figures could be used as Mountain Troops, or in general as Winter Troops. The Nordland Division fought primarily on the northern flank of the eastern front, so their outfits are appropriate for that climate. The two figures that I don't care much for are the female which appears to be a camp guard, and the cameraman. The former seems unrelated to a combat panzergrenadier division. The latter might have been there documenting the fighting, but in a set of just six figures I would rather have another fighting pose. I might probably use him if I ever setup a scene of Mountain Troops climbing Mt Elbrus. As far as the sculpting of the figures, the level of detail is nice, but they feel a little stiff for me in the sense that they all are standing very straight.
Click here to see pictures of German Combat Engineers, a possible complement to these figures.
Here are some pictures of the Airfix Africa Corps. If painted grey, they can also be used as Mountain Troops.
I had these .along with Gurkhas, British Paras, Brit 8th, US Paras, British Commandos, German WW2 Infantry, Australians, Japanese Infantry, German Paras, US Marines. I had multiple boxes of my favorites. I could have restaged several major battles - LOL! Loved the Airfix line for their size and quality.
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