A ‘Highly Influential Wave of Austrian Skiers’: Austrian (Refugee) Soldiers in the Tenth Mountain Division in the Second World War Between Myth and Fact

The 10th Mountain Division of the Second World War was the first major U.S. Army unit to specialize in alpine and winter warfare. The genesis and combat performance of the division in Italy were for a large part based on the knowledge of civilian skiing and mountaineering experts – including more than 100 Austrians who mostly fled the country after the ‘Anschluss’ in 1938. How significant was the influence of this group on the emerging mountain troops in terms of mountaineering, skiing, and (motivational) culture? This article provides figures and facts and aims to challenge some personal myths and biographical narratives analytically.