Description

Unser Alpenkorps – Number 2, Februar 1941

Scanned pages: 16 | Instant PDF download

Historical German Alpenkorps (Wehrmacht mountain troops) magazine, digitized.

Cover

A ski patrol (Spähtrupp) at the start of a competition, captioned “Ein Spähtrupp am Start.” Photo credit: Aufn. Archiv XVIII. A. K. No war correspondent credited on the cover.

Main Articles

“Skispähtrupplauf steirischer Gebirgstruppen am Semmering”

A report on a military ski-patrol race competition held at the Semmering on 17 January 1941, attended by high-ranking guests, with results and prize presentations.

No single author credited (staff report). Photo credits: Aufn. Archiv XVIII. A. K.; Aufn. (2) Archiv XVIII. A. K.

“150 Jahre Gulaschkanone”

A historical survey of the development of the mobile field kitchen (“Gulaschkanone”), from its 18th-century origins through 19th- and 20th-century refinements.

Author: Oberzahlmeister Herbert Zastrow. Photo credits: Aufn. Archiv XVIII. A. K.; Aufn. (3) Archiv XVIII. A. K.

“Am Njeberfjeld”

A personal account of life in a mountain position on the Njeberfjeld in Norway, describing camaraderie, dugout life, and encounters with local Norwegians.

Author: Gefreiter Fritz Huber. No photo credits given.

“Das Rätsel einer Nacht”

A dramatized account of a signals (Fernsprech) unit under Unteroffizier Seiler laying telephone cable at night under a demanding schedule during an exercise.

Author: Hans Ende. Photo credits: Aufnahmen (3) PK-Tritschler-Weltbild.

“Soldaten in Fels und Eis”

A first-person expedition account of a winter ascent of the Dachstein south face by officers of the Heereshochgebirgsschule (Army High Mountain School), told day by day (18–21 December).

Author: Oberleutnant Peters. Photo credits: Aufn. (7) Oberleutnant Peters. Persons named: Oberleutnant Peters and Leutnant Leinweber (the two climbers).

“Pioniere greifen ein!”

An account of an army engineer (Pionier) detachment’s emergency operation to demolish and clear a collapsing footbridge over the Inn river before it endangered a nearby bridge under construction.

Author: Hauptmann Schwickert. Photo credits: Aufn. (5) Archiv XVIII. A. K.

“Wir zelten auf den Bergen”

A short prose piece describing the camaraderie and daily rhythm of a mountain troop company camping and training in the Tyrolean mountains.

Author: Gebirgsjäger Reitinger, Wörgl. No photo credits given.

“Ein Lied”

A narrative recollection of an exhausting battalion march in September 1940, and how a spontaneous marching song revived the soldiers’ spirits.

Author: Gebirgsjäger R. Heinz Schmeiß. Photo credits: Aufn. (3) Archiv XVIII. A. K.

“Neues Singen im Alpenkorps”

An article on efforts to revive and cultivate authentic soldier singing traditions within the corps, including new training courses for song leaders (Singtruppführer).

Author: Sonderführer Dr. Puschnig. No photo credits given.

“Kommandeur – Kommandant – Kommodore”

A short explanatory piece clarifying the distinctions between German military rank and command titles across the Army, Navy, and Luftwaffe.

No author credited. No photo credits given.

“Heiteres”

A humor page featuring anecdotes and comic poems, including “Löhnungsappell” and “Verwechslung.”

Poem authors: Jg. Ulrych (“Löhnungsappell”); Uffz. Schott (“Verwechslung”). Photo credit: Aufn. Helmuth-Scherl-Bilderdienst.

“Unsere Liederecke – Edelweißtruppen”

Sheet music and lyrics for a military march, “Edelweißtruppen,” based on an old marksmen’s song (Schützenlied).

Composer: Peter Marini. No photo credits given.

Artists Mentioned

• Kriegsmaler (war painter) Graf — credited with an artistically valuable lithograph (“Steinzeichnung”) of a Führer portrait, mentioned in a photo caption from the ski-patrol race report.
• Zürner (of a Panzer division) — credited with the original of the Führer portrait referenced above.
• Peter Marini — composer of the march “Edelweißtruppen,” based on an older Schützenlied (marksmen’s song).

War Correspondents (Kriegsberichter) Named

None explicitly credited as “Kriegsberichter” in this issue. Photo credits instead cite the corps archive (Archiv XVIII. A. K.), the agency PK-Tritschler-Weltbild, Scherl-Bilderdienst, and Oberleutnant Peters (self-taken expedition photos).