Mountain troops as elite force

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to make mountain troops have same status among population as airborne/marine forces. That is elite fighting force. POD of your choosing but preferably 20th century.
 
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to make mountain troops have same status among population as airborne/marine forces. That is elite fighting force. POD of your choosing but preferably 20th century.

This is the fact in most European countries:

Alpini = to italian army what marines are to the americans
Gebirgsjäger = regarded as a elite force in WWII (actually saved the paratroopers on Creta) an to some degree still are
Chasseurs Alpins = same prestige as marine forces in the french army
 
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to make mountain troops have same status among population as airborne/marine forces. That is elite fighting force. POD of your choosing but preferably 20th century.

I don't think anything needs to change. Most people I know would put the US Army's 10th Mountain Division in the same class with the 101st/82nd and the USMC.
 
Here in Brazil our mountain troops are considered an elite force on the same level of our Paratroopers and the jungle warfare troops.Also in WWI the austrian mountain troops were the elite ,the best troops of the Habsburgh empire.
 
I don't think anything needs to change. Most people I know would put the US Army's 10th Mountain Division in the same class with the 101st/82nd and the USMC.

The 10th is a mountain division in name only. It's based in Fort Drum, New York, a place distinquished by its flat topography. The division is best known for it's peace keeping specialization prior to the Iraq War. Now a days it's no longer the only unit with lots of peace keeping experience.
 
The 10th is a mountain division in name only. It's based in Fort Drum, New York, a place distinquished by its flat topography. The division is best known for it's peace keeping specialization prior to the Iraq War. Now a days it's no longer the only unit with lots of peace keeping experience.

Yes, but despite this, the 10th Mountain's reputation is still as an elite force. Its role today may be like any other division, but the name still commands respect.
 

Thande

Donor
WW2 with Austria (or German-anschluss'd Austria) and Italy on opposite sides, and the Alps as a major front.
 
This is the fact in most European countries:

Alpini = to italian army what marines are to the americans
Gebirgsjäger = regarded as a elite force in WWII (actually saved the paratroopers on Creta) an to some degree still are
Chasseurs Alpins = same prestige as marine forces in the french army

Its really in the name - Chasseurs/Jäger etc. all referring to light infantry the cream of the infantry; fast moving, hard hitting, able to utilize non-doctrine tactics and marksmen!
 
The only places I can think of where the mountain troops do not have elite status is Hungary, Denmark, Netherlands (all three due to obvious reasons) USSR, Poland, USA, Czechoslovakia and Britain, in fact.

In Belgium, Romania, Yugoslavia, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Greece, Finland (Jääkari, not mountain troops as such, but in the same mold), Turkey, Norway, Sweden (again, Jägare, but the same concept) mountain troops are the elite of the army.
 
More mountain warfare in recent wars could rise the view of mountaineers as elite forces. Especially if some mountain campaign was as detrimental to the course of war as paradrops or naval landings OTL.

How about possibilities in WW2:

- Czechs holding off german offensive in Sudeten in 1938
- allied troops holding Narvik leading to norwegian front
- better prepared italian surrender doesn't allow Germans to occupy the country, leading to italian and allied vs german troops fighting over Alps.
- more successful german offensive in 1942 leads to german - soviet front in Caucasus
- realization of german "national redoubt" in Alps at the end of war
- ditto for invasion of Japan
- british "national redoubt" in Scotland after Sealion:eek:
 
I don't think I've ever seen reference to specialist Mountain or Alpine troop formations for Britain, the Commonwealth or Empire (in the past). Did we ever have such?

It would be quite neat to have some for NZ - given that we are basically mainly alpine area or mountains. Quite what they'd do while loitering about the mountains I not quite know
 
I don't think I've ever seen reference to specialist Mountain or Alpine troop formations for Britain, the Commonwealth or Empire (in the past). Did we ever have such?

It would be quite neat to have some for NZ - given that we are basically mainly alpine area or mountains. Quite what they'd do while loitering about the mountains I not quite know

From what I have always read, the British army has never had specially trained mountain troops - the army has rarely had caused for raising them. Any reference that I have come across usually refers to Scottish troops as being light infantry with mountain warefare ability in the 18th and 19th centuries, although how serious this belief was held across the service is dubious at best. In Britain today, the Royal Marines and Gurkha's are the only units that are trained specially in mountain warefare, although I believe this is secondary to their other roles.

However, I know Canada did raise units of troops specially trained in mountain warfare - The Rocky Mountain Rangers are one such example, although I believe that they are no longer trained in such skills.

Russell
 
I don't think I've ever seen reference to specialist Mountain or Alpine troop formations for Britain, the Commonwealth or Empire (in the past). Did we ever have such?

It would be quite neat to have some for NZ - given that we are basically mainly alpine area or mountains. Quite what they'd do while loitering about the mountains I not quite know

52. (Lowland) and 60. (Light) Division were earmarked for a potential invasion of Norway and trained with the Free Norwegian Brigade and were re-equipped and trained for mountain warfare.

See this image for Lowlanders in mountain anoraks, manning a 3.7" mountain howitzer.

While the 52. (Lowland) Division was a real combat formation, it seems like the 60. (Light) Division was never fully formed.

The Ghurkas can perhaps be described as mountain troops?
 
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to make mountain troops have same status among population as airborne/marine forces. That is elite fighting force. POD of your choosing but preferably 20th century.

The Swedish mountain troops, Fjälljägarna, are regarded as our number one elite fighting forces.

I didn't even need a PoD for that. :p
 
The 10th is a mountain division in name only. It's based in Fort Drum, New York, a place distinquished by its flat topography. The division is best known for it's peace keeping specialization prior to the Iraq War. Now a days it's no longer the only unit with lots of peace keeping experience.
I think Senator Bob Dole had alot of influence in Tenth Mountain Division being re born in any form.
 

MrP

Banned
52. (Lowland) and 60. (Light) Division were earmarked for a potential invasion of Norway and trained with the Free Norwegian Brigade and were re-equipped and trained for mountain warfare.

See this image for Lowlanders in mountain anoraks, manning a 3.7" mountain howitzer.

While the 52. (Lowland) Division was a real combat formation, it seems like the 60. (Light) Division was never fully formed.

The Gurkhas can perhaps be described as mountain troops?

Further to this, am I wrong in recollecting that the Royal Marines were - during the Cold War - assigned to the Scandinavian theatre? I have some memory of mountainous operations being a forte of theirs, but this is a fleeting thought.
 

Oddball

Monthly Donor
Further to this, am I wrong in recollecting that the Royal Marines were - during the Cold War - assigned to the Scandinavian theatre?

You are correct.

Iv even participated in wargames with them :cool::)

Scary bunch. :eek::eek:

Btw, the 10th US Division was also earmarked for Norway during the Cold War. Never seen them in action tough :(
 

Oddball

Monthly Donor
In Belgium, Romania, Yugoslavia, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Greece, Finland (Jääkari, not mountain troops as such, but in the same mold), Turkey, Norway, Sweden (again, Jägare, but the same concept) mountain troops are the elite of the army.

I dont think Norway even have any units designated as "mountain." :confused:

I could be wrong tough... :eek:
 
The 10th is a mountain division in name only. It's based in Fort Drum, New York, a place distinquished by its flat topography. The division is best known for it's peace keeping specialization prior to the Iraq War. Now a days it's no longer the only unit with lots of peace keeping experience.


You are sort of correct, but I'd argue the Division is best know for fighting in he italian mountains rather than peacekeeping. The 10th Mountain Divsion is really a standard US Army light infantry division. But it's units do receive mountain warfare training at the Army mountain warfare school in Vermont. It's the only sort of unit the US Army has besides some National Guard units that wear the mountain tab.

Of course you might include the USMC it has a mountain warfare school in
Calfornia. I learned how to run a mule pack train there at one time.

Besides the Indians and Chinese who keeps large numbers of real old school
mountain troops?
 
The Swedish mountain troops, Fjälljägarna, are regarded as our number one elite fighting forces.

I didn't even need a PoD for that. :p

Wiki says Sweden disbanded it's mountain regiment in 2000. And that now only maintains a platoon of mountain guides. Has that changed?
 
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