GERMAN EDELWEISS STICK PIN

Stickpins are made of sterling silver of 925 standard using jewellery style of 1930s and technologies of that time. Each stickpin is tailored for each customer, in accordance with information given in the purchase order. Each and every stickpin is a unique, handmade product; therefore, manufacturing time might amount up to 7 days. We are not engaged in wholesale.

More information about the German GEBIRGSJAGER Mountain Troops here

German GEBIRGSJAGER Mountain Troops

Gebirgsjäger, in English Mountain Huntsmen, is the German designation for mountain infantry. The word Huntsman (Jäger) is the traditional German term for rifleman (often confused with skirmisher or light infantry, known as Fusiliers in Germany). The mountain infantry of Austria have their roots in the three "Landesschützen" regiments of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The mountain infantry of Germany carry on certain traditions of the Alpenkorps (Alpine corps) of World War I. Both countries' mountain infantry share the Edelweiß insignia. It was established in 1907 as a symbol of the Austro-Hungarian Landesschützen regiments by Emperor Franz Joseph I. These troops wore their edelweiss on the collar of their uniforms. When the Alpenkorps came to aid the Landesschützen in defending Austro-Hungary's southern frontier against the Italian attack in May 1915, the grateful Landesschützen honoured the men of the Alpenkorps by awarding them their own insignia: the Edelweiß. During World War II the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS raised a number of mountain infantry units. An entire corps was formed in Norway by 1941. Its divisions were lightly equipped, with much of the transport provided by mules. These mountain infantry were equipped with fewer automatic weapons than regular infantry, however the MG34 or MG42 machine gunners were provided with more ammunition than their regular infantry counterparts. Mountain infantry were identified by the edelweiss insignia worn on their sleeves and their caps. Mountain infantry participated in many battles, including Operation Weserübung, Operation Silver Fox, Operation Platinum Fox and Operation Arctic Fox, the operations in the Caucasus, the Gothic Line, the invasion of Crete and the battles in the Vosges region of France. Famed Wehrmacht snipers Matthäus Hetzenauer and Josef "Sepp" Allerberger served within the Gebirgsjäger on the Eastern Front. Honouring tradition, upon the creation of the Bundeswehr in 1956, the mountain infantry returned as a distinctive arm of the German army. Until 2001, they were organized as the 1. Gebirgsdivision, but this division was disbanded in a general reform. The successor unit is Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 which has its headquarters in Bad Reichenhall. The battalions of these mountain infantry are deployed in southern Bavaria as this is the only high mountain area in Germany touching the Northern Alps. Since 2008 the unit is officially called "Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 Bayern (Bavaria)" as a commendation of the close relationship between the state and the Gebirgsjäger. According to the official Bundeswehr website, the brigade has a current strength of 6,500 soldiers.