The division took part in the
Invasion of Poland 1939 as part of
Army Group South, but was transferred to garrison the West Wall before the end of the campaign. In 1940 it joined the
invasion of Norway, most famously sending its 139th Mountain Regiment under General
Eduard Dietl to seize the ice-free Arctic port of
Narvik. The
Allies briefly
managed to take the town back, but abandoned it to the Germans after the
invasion of France. In 1941 the division moved into
Lapland to participate in
Operation Silberfuchs, the attack on the Soviet Arctic as part of
Operation Barbarossa, but failed to capture
Murmansk. The division was withdrawn to Germany for rehabilitation at the end of the year, but left its 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment behind to operate independently. After rehabilitation, the division returned to Norway in 1942, where it served as a reserve. It was then transferred to the
Eastern Front, where it served as a reserve for
Army Group North near
Leningrad. In November 1942 it was committed to the front where the Soviets had surrounded
Velikiye Luki, and then transferred in mid-December to the far south to help in the attempt to relieve
Stalingrad. It fought the remainder of the war in the south, retreating with the front lines through Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, and finally surrendering to the Soviets in
Silesia at the end of the war. On 1 January 1945, the 3rd Mountain Division (then under
Army Group Heinrici of
Army Group A) had a strength of 9,805 men.'''''' ==Organization==