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Gebirgsjäger in Griechenland und auf Kreta (Mountain Troops in Greece and on the Island of Crete) is a very rare Nazi publication about the battle of Greece and Unternehmen Merkur or “Operation Mercury”, the Nazi invasion of the Greek island of Crete by Wehrmacht Fallschirmjäger and Gebirgsjäger. Published by the Generalkommando XVIII. (Gebirgs-) A.K. and Generalkommando XVIII. A.K., the book was compiled by Oberstleutnant Ulrich Tietz and Oberstleutnant Hugo Manz for Verlag “Die Wehrmacht” KG of Berlin.

The 8-7/8 x 12-1/4 inch, 116 page book starts with a photo of Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm List and General der Infanterie Franz Böhme, who also wrote the forward to the Gebirgsjäger, “Sons of the German Alpine Region”. This is followed by a list of Ritterkreuz recipients and short histories about the actions for which they were awarded the Knights Cross.

There are maps showing the the attack route and the battalions involved in the fighting but the majority of the book is photographs taken by Kriegsberichter or war correspondents that were with the Wehrmacht troops during the battle: starting in Bulgaria, the Metaxas Line, Mount Olympus and Athens, as well as German paratroopers and the battle for Crete.

Forty degrees in the shade is the caption accompanying this image.

This softcover edition of Gebirgsjäger in Griechenland und auf Kreta was published during World War II and is complete, but in well-used condition. No odor.

There are photos of German, Bulgarian and Greek generals, Wehrmacht men in action, war damage, Wehrmacht Pioniere or engineers rebuilding bridges, British and New Zealand POWs, war graves on the battlefield, destroyed English defenses, the German swastika flag on the Acropolis in Athens, General von Brauchitsch visiting his troops in Greece, paratroopers above Crete, the destroyed English cruiser York, archeological finds near Knossos, etc. , etc.

There are several military-themed poems by Helmuth Richter and illustrations and watercolors by Eugen Jussel.