EKM with extensive history

[RustyRelics]

Here's a neat aluminum EKM that was found in Ukraine. Infantry Regiment was redesignated Gebirgsjager Regiment 91 in October 1940. Here's a translated history from Lexicon Der Wehrmacht.

The 91st Mountain Infantry Regiment was formed at the end of October 1940 at the Heuberg military training area in military district V. The regiment was created by renaming the 91st Infantry Regiment. After the formation, the regiment was placed under the 4th Mountain Division. On December 1, 1940, the regiment was reorganized.

On March 21, 1941, the regiment was transferred to Romania by rail. The regiment was unloaded in Rosiori de Vede. We continued on foot to the Danube, which was crossed at Turnu Magurele on an 800 m long ship bridge on April 2, 1941. Via Kneza and Vraca we headed towards the Petrohan pass. The regiment was marching towards the Greek border when the coup d'état in Yugoslavia took place on March 28, 1941. The regiment was then turned west. On the morning of April 8, 1941, the Yugoslav border was crossed near Grodec. The border fortifications were breached and Slatina and Dobro Jutro were taken. On April 9, 1941 the Pirot was reached. After crossing it, the regiment marched via Knjazevac to Krusevac. Here Serbian units were disarmed. With the capture of Belgrade, the regiment's Balkan campaign came to an end. It became an occupying force in the Kragujevac - Jagodina - Paracin - Smederoco area. A month later the regiment was assembled south of Belgrade and transferred to Slovakia.

Humenné the regiment was unloaded in Slovakia. On the evening of June 23, 1941, the regiment crossed the San towards Lemberg. The first battles broke out in the area of the Kamienobrod Strait. On June 28, 1941, the regiment attacked the Polish positions in the Strait. The Russian resistance was broken by noon and the pursuit of the retreating Russian troops began. The next day the regiment was ordered to surround Lemberg from the south. The city could be taken by June 30, 1941. Following the regiment marched east and took Brzezany. On July 5, 1941, the Seret River was reached. On July 7, 1941, the old Russian border was reached. Heavy rain set in, turning the advance roads into bottomless mud. After the Stalin Line had been reached on July 13, 1941, the first reconnaissance raids took place on July 14. On July 15, 1941, the attack on the Russian bunkers began. The 4th Mountain Division was able to break through the Stalin Line into the night, put 72 bunkers out of action and advanced 15 km into the rear. The next morning the enemy was pursued. From July 17, 1941, there was a three-day battle for the city of Vinnitsa. On July 20, 1941, the city was in German hands. Three days of rest followed for the regiment. The regiment then marched via Nemirov and Gaissin in the direction of Uman, where the regiment took part in the battle of the encirclement there. The regiment advanced into the pocket from the south. The regiment managed to thwart all attempts to break out by the trapped Russian troops. Subsequently, the town of Podvysokoye was taken from the regiment, the formed pocket no longer existed. The regiment remained at rest for three days, because the regiment itself had suffered heavy losses. On August 15, 1941, the march continued in the direction of Novo-Ukrainka. In long pursuit marches, southern Ukraine was crossed to the Ingulez, which was crossed on September 5th. On September 14, 1941, the Dnieper was crossed near Berislavl on a 430 m long pontoon bridge. After the transition, there were enemy contacts again. On September 23, 1941, the regiment was pulled from the front and set out on the march to the Crimea. But after just a few kilometers you had to turn around. The relieving Romanian units were recognized and attacked by the Red Army. The Romanian troops were thrown and had to be supported by the regiment. Heavy fighting dragged on until October 2, 1941. Then the enemy forces withdrew. On October 4, 1941, the regiment broke through the strong anti-tank ditch near Balki. The further advance led the regiment towards Stalino, which was taken until October 20, 1941. On October 28, 1941, stubborn fighting broke out at the large Sugress power station. An attempt should be made to take the bridges over the Mius, but this failed. Here in front of Krasny Luch winter came over the regiment, the period of mud stifled all fighting activity. After two weeks, attack operations were again possible under certain conditions. The Red Army counterattacked near Rostov. On December 1, 1941, the long-awaited order to clear the east bank of the Mius came. The regiment took up its winter positions behind the Mius. Temperatures dropped to -42° Celsius.

On June 27, 1942, the 7th Company managed to shoot down an airplane near Kiyaginevka. The regiment remained in the positions on the Mius until July 1942. Then the offensive began towards the Caucasus. On July 26, 1942, after marching through Rostov, the regiment crossed the Don towards Bataysk. The Jeja was reached via the Kagalnik. Here the Russian resistance stiffened. The Russian troops were finally thrown by a flank attack by the 125th Infantry Division. On August 6, 1942, the regiment turned towards the Kubannie. Kazanskaya was reached on August 9, 1942, and Armavir on August 14, 1942. Already on August 16, 1942 Akhmetowskaya and Selentschukskaya could be taken. By August 23, 1942, the regiment marched across the Bolshaya Valley to the Adzapsh, Sancharo and Allistrakhu passes. After the Russian resistance had become more and more stiff, the regiment had to go over to the defense of the main passes at the beginning of September 1942. Above all, the supplies made the regiment difficult to create. Up until December 1942, there was changeable fighting, in which the regiment had to accept increasing losses.

Due to the general situation in Stalingrad, the general retreat also began for the troops in the Caucasus in January 1943. From the second half of 1943 the regiment had to withdraw to the north via Kurinsky, Tverskaya and Belorechenskaya. The Kuban was crossed at Ust-Labinskaya. On February 10, Krasnodar was evacuated. Always along the Kuban In the Kuban bridgehead, which was becoming smaller and smaller, the regiment moved to Slavjanskaja. Most of the vehicles got stuck in the bottomless mud and had to be left behind. The Protoka position was taken near Slavyanskaya and held for two weeks. On March 16, 1943, the position was evacuated. On March 30, 1943, the regiment was withdrawn from the front and transferred to the Novorossiysk area. There the Red Army had managed to land from the sea and form a bridgehead. The regiment was now used to seal off the bridgehead. On April 17, 1943, the attack on the bridgehead began, after having had to be postponed twice. But the attack failed and in early May the fronts froze again. Above all, the Myshako and the battle at Novorossiysk itself demanded heavy losses. Heavy fighting and Russian attacks dragged on until mid-September 1943. On September 15, 1943, however, the withdrawal and evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead began again. The regiment retreated to the north-west via several prepared positions. Finally, on September 28, 1943, the Goten position was reached. On October 2, 1943, this position was also evacuated. The regiment marched north to secure the headland at the Kossa Tschuschka in the Strait of Kretsch. On October 2, 1943, this position was also evacuated. The regiment moved into the Bucharest position 15 km east of Taman. In the night of October 4, 1943, this position was also evacuated and the transfer to the Crimea began. By October 8, 1943, the last parts of the regiment had been transferred. Here the regiment received orders to secure the south-western part of the Crimea. Here the regiment got some rest for the first time in a long time. But as early as October 24, 1943, the transfer to the area west of Melitopol took place. The battles with the Russian troops that broke through here were extremely hard. After the breakthrough of the Russian 51st Panzer Army north of Akimovka, a race to the Dnieper began through the Nogai Steppe over 250 km within five days. On November 2, 1943, the regiment was in the Chersson bridgehead. It was not until November 3rd that the Red Army began to feel its way towards the bridgehead. But by December 17, 1943, all enemy attacks had been repelled. On this day the Kherson bridgehead was cleared. By the evening of December 18, 1943, the bridgehead had been cleared and the Dnieper bridge blown up. At last the regiment could enjoy some rest. But already at the turn of the year we went by train to the area around Vinnitsa. At Kalinkowa the regiment was once again deployed against Russian troops who had broken through. The regiment was then assigned to the security line between Strutnika and Nowo Greblija. A solid front could be established here.

From January 24, 1944, there were limited offensive operations to push back the Russian troops. On January 27, 1944 Wysselki, Narziskowka and Salawa could be taken. Then they pushed past north of Gaisin and reached the positions at Rossosche and Napadowka. Up to mid-February 1944, there was a changeful positional battle. The regiment was then taken out of the front and transferred to Onufriewka via Uman. But the front did not last long here either.


With considerable losses, the positions were provisionally held until March 7, 1944. Then the regiment retreated south. Nerubaika was reached on March 11, 1944 and Kopenkowata on March 12, 1944 via Selenkoff. With heavy fighting we continued to Lebedinka and until March 14, 1944 to Naliwaika. Here the 4th Mountain Division was encircled, but was able to break through the pocket to the south on March 16, 1944 and reached the Lyushnevala bridgehead on March 17, 1944. This was held until March 24, 1944. On April 23, 1944, the 12th Company shot down an airplane near Criuleni. At the end of April 1944, fierce fighting broke out in the Grigoriopol area. On May 14, 1944, a heavy Russian attack began here. A Russian breakthrough could only be prevented with difficulty. It then remained relatively quiet until July. At the end of July, the regiment was transferred to the Carpathians. By August 5, 1944, the bulk of the regiment arrived in the Vorokhta - Tatarov area. Until August 23, 1944 there was fighting for the Tatar Pass. After the collapse of Romania, the regiment was detached from the front on September 8, 1944 to start the march north-west. The regiment marched through the mountains via Czik Szereda - Szekely - Udvarhely - Praid - Maros - Varsahely. On September 26, the Maros - Varsahely area was reached, where defensive positions were again occupied. On the night of October 9, 1944, the regiment moved to the Maros position. Via Szabed - St. Marton - Armenisul - St. Gotthard the "yellow line" was reached on October 11, 1944 and on October 22, 1944 the area around Teuße Homorod. In the night of October 25, 1944, in heavy retreat battles, it went as far as Kfskallo. On October 29, 1944, the regiment retreated northwest through the burning Nyfeloto. Under the usual rearguard action, it reached the Tisza bridgehead via Tisca-Lók on October 31, 1944. In the area south-east of Miskoloc, the regiment had two days' rest after being relieved by units of the 3rd Mountain Division. On November 1, 1944 it was transferred to the northeast via Tokay - Tisca - Dada - Bekecs and on November 2, 1944 it reached Satoralyauhely. On November 5, 1944, positions were taken on both sides of the Ung River as a seam unit between Army Group Center and South. On November 20, 1944, the regiment was hit with heavy barrage. Strong enemy attack aircraft formations attacked the positions. The regiment was broken up by evening, and there were no connections with some units. By the early morning of November 21, 1944, the regiment was able to regroup and set up a new front. After the Red Army failed to break through the front, the fighting shifted further north. After a Russian breakthrough at Miskolc, the regiment had to give way again. On December 6, 1944, the regiment reached the Homrogd area. But even here the Red Army could not be stopped. The regiment's route to Poprad led via Dobschau.

On January 12, 1945, the Red Army's winter offensive began and the regiment's situation grew worse and worse. At the end of January 1945 it was transferred to the High Tatras. Here the Tatra-Kotlina pass was closed. Then they marched to the former Polish border and took up the "Buffalo" position there. Here the regiment was used from April 12, 1945 in the battle for Troppau, in military district VIII. The regiment was now not even battalion strong. On April 29, 1945, the retreat behind the March began. The regiment marched via Wagstadt and Olomouc to the area north of Brno, where it was taken prisoner of war by the Russians on May 9, 1945.

The Mountain Infantry Replacement Battalion 99 was responsible for providing the regiment with a replacement.