German Veterans Recollection

[Matt]

Talking with my father yesterday and he mentioned that a former work colleage from many years ago passed away recently. He mentioned this man was a German veteran who had survived the Eastern front & Italian campaign.
Apparently he would often mention some of his experiences during these times.During the extreme cold of the Russian winter at night the rats would start to eat the flesh of those with frost-bite, so they would run a wire through a live rat and hang it from the trench. The noise of distress would keep the other rats away.
He said he was in a mountain division (he was an expert skier) and was transferred to Italy in 1943. My father thinks he said he served in Sicily.
Does anyone have information on mountain troops that served in Russia & Italy?
Interesting story on how he came to Australia after the war. He had an uncle who was a Pastor and ran some sort of commune in outback Western Australia. He eventually settled in Melbourne and raised a family.

Matt