Gebirgsjägerの英語

Gebirgsjäger, in English Mountain Riflemen, is the German designation for mountain infantry. The word Jäger (lit. "huntsman" or "hunter") is the traditional German term for rifleman (often confused with skirmisher or light infantry, known as Fusiliers in Germany). The mountain infantry of Austria have their roots in the three Landesschützen regiments of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The mountain infantry of Germany carry on certain traditions of the Alpenkorps (Alpine corps) of World War I. Both countries' mountain infantry share the Edelweiß insignia. It was established in 1907 as a symbol of the Austro-Hungarian Landesschützen regiments by Emperor Franz Joseph I. These troops wore their edelweiss on the collar of their uniforms. When the Alpenkorps came to aid the Landesschützen in defending Austro-Hungary's southern frontier against the Italian attack in May 1915, the grateful Landesschützen honoured the men of the Alpenkorps by awarding them their own insignia: the Edelweiß. Together with the Fallschirmjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army.