Mountain Corps Norway


Mountain Corps Norway was a German army unit during World War II. It saw action in Norway and Finland.
The corps was formed in July 1940 and was later transferred to Northern Norway as part of Armeeoberkommando Norwegen. Its first action was taking part in Operation Renntier, the occupation of Finnish Petsamo to protect the nickel mines there from USSR. In June 1941 the corps attacked from Petsamo to Murmansk in Operation Platinum Fox. The attack failed and the corps never reached its goal.
In April and May 1942 the corps faced one of its toughest challenges. Over a period of three weeks, the Soviet 14th Army attacked, trying to defeat the Corps. But there was another enemy - on 4 May 1942, a devastating, 90-hour-long polar storm took its toll on the soldiers.
In November 1942 the corps was renamed the XIX. Gebirgs-Armeekorps or XIX Mountain Corps.
In 1944 the corps finally had to retreat back to Norway, where it surrendered in May 1945. From November 1944 onwards the corps was also sometimes known as Armeeabteilung Narvik.

Commanders

Area of operations

DateAreaSubordinate toOperations
1 July 1940 - 19 December 1940NorwayArmy Group XXIOperation Weserübung
19 December 1940 - 14 January 1942FinlandArmy NorwayOperation Platinfuchs
14 January 1942 - 22 June 1942FinlandArmy Lappland-
22 June 1942 - 24 April 1945Finland, Norway20th Mountain ArmyOperation Nordlicht

Organisation

Strength based on supply documents

On 30 April 1942 the supply numbers for the Mountain Corps Norway showed the following numbers:
73,978 men and 8,913 horses
Of the men: