Description
Unser Alpenkorps – Number 8, August 1941
Scanned pages: 16 | Instant PDF download
Historical German Alpenkorps (Wehrmacht mountain troops) magazine, digitized.
Cover
A close-up portrait of a soldier in a helmet, paired with a quotation from Clausewitz on fearlessness, courage, and judgment as a soldier’s chief virtues. Photo credit (per an internal note on page 94): Springenschmid.
Main Articles
“Ritterkreuzträger des Alpenkorps – Feldzug in Griechenland und auf Kreta”
An extensive feature profiling numerous Knight’s Cross recipients from the corps for their actions during the Greece and Crete campaigns, describing each officer’s or NCO’s specific feats in battle.
No single author credited (staff feature). Photo credits: Aufn. (2) Privat; Aufn. (2) Weltbild; Aufnahmen (16) Scherl-Bilderdienst; Aufn. Archiv WPB.
Officers and soldiers named: Generalmajor Ringl; Generalmajor Schörner; Oberst Krakau; Oberst Utz; Oberstleutnant Decker; Oberstleutnant Schrant; Oberstleutnant Wittmann; Major Ens; Major Esch; Major Hoffmann-Schönborn; Major Schury; Hauptmann Baacke; Hauptmann Gaum; Hauptmann Raithel; Hauptmann Nietsche; Hauptmann Pfeiffer; Oberleutnant Jacob; Oberleutnant Mickley; Oberleutnant Orinschnig; Oberleutnant Raft; Leutnant Drofte; Leutnant Grabert; Oberfeldwebel Burghartswieser; Oberfeldwebel Meyer; Oberfeldwebel Beeser; Oberjäger Sandner; Gefreiter Baltiner.
“Im Lande der Normannen”
A historical and geographic essay on Normandy — its Viking-descended people, architecture, landscape, and centuries-long ties to England and France.
Author: Hauptmann F. Popelka. Photo credits: Aufn. (3) Archiv XVIII. A. K.
“Edelweiß und Lorbeer”
A report on an art exhibition of the same name, opened in Salzburg on 8 July 1941 by General der Infanterie Schaller-Kalide, showcasing war art and photography depicting the Southeast/Balkan and Greek-Crete campaigns.
No single author credited (staff report). Photo credit: Aufn. Archiv XVIII. A. K.
“Ein Bataillon durchbricht die Metaxaslinie”
A dramatic first-person account of a battalion’s night march through a swamp and subsequent assault to break through the Metaxas Line during the Greek campaign, including the capture of Mikropolis.
Author: Unteroffizier Winzker. Photo credit: Aufn. (2) PK Heber. Includes the poem “An die Mutter” by Uffz. A. Bernardi.
Officer named: General der Truppen Schörner (pictured before the attack on the Metaxas Line).
“Erster Durchstieg durch die Totenkirchl-Westwand”
A first-person mountaineering account of the first ascent of the Totenkirchl west face, undertaken in full equipment by mountain troops from Kufstein on 17 June 1941.
No single named author (recounted by an unnamed participant; climbing partner named as “Striwan”). Photo credit: Aufn. Nerad.
“Bergtod”
A brief obituary notice reporting the deaths of three mountain troops instructors and candidates who fell attempting the Pallavicinirinne on the Großglockner on 22 July 1941.
No author credited. No photo credit given.
Soldiers named: Leutnant Helmut Petrasch; Oberschütze Johann Pechtl; Oberschütze Otto Pelzler.
“Knobeln und lachen”
A puzzles-and-jokes page featuring riddles, word games, and a humorous historical anecdote (“Histörchen”) about King Friedrich Wilhelm I.
Illustrations by Major Albert Hohenester, compiled from an idea by Oberleutnant Götz Nordhaus (NS-Gauverlag Innsbruck). No further photo credits.
Artists Mentioned
- Kriegsmaler (war painter) Prof. Fahringer — works exhibited at “Edelweiß und Lorbeer” depicting scenes of war.
- Kriegsmaler Jäger Zuffel — works exhibited at “Edelweiß und Lorbeer.”
- Kriegsmaler Strobl — depicted a column of prisoners in grey-on-grey style, exhibited at “Edelweiß und Lorbeer.”
- Major Albert Hohenester — cartoon illustrations for the “Knobeln und lachen” humor page.
War Correspondents (Kriegsberichter) Named
- PK Heber
- No other photographers in this issue are explicitly labeled “Kriegsberichter”; remaining photo credits cite the corps archive (Archiv XVIII. A. K.), Scherl-Bilderdienst, Weltbild, and individuals Nerad and Springenschmid.