The 5th Mountain Division (German: 5. Gebirgs Division) was established in the Austrian Tirol in October 1940, out of regiments taken from the 1st Mountain Division and the 10th Infantry Division. Its first action was in the 1941 Balkans Campaign, when it took part in Operations Marita and Merkur; in the latter it was used in an air-landing role. In November, it returned to Germany for refitting, and in April 1942 it was deployed to the Eastern Front, where it joined Army Group North on the Volkhov Front. In April 1943 it was redeployed to Italy. It fought out the remainder of the war in Italy and the Western Alps, and surrendered to the U.S. Army near Turin in May 1945.