I SS Panzer Corps

Last updated
I SS Panzer Corps
S SS-Pz Abt 101.jpg
Unit insignia
Active27 July 1943 – 8 May 1945
CountryFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Germany
Branch Flag Schutzstaffel.svg Waffen-SS
Type Panzer corps
Role Armoured warfare
Size~70.000 troops (as of June 1944)
Engagements World War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Josef Dietrich
Fritz Kraemer
Georg Keppler
Hermann Priess

The I SS Panzer Corps (German : I.SS-Panzerkorps) was a German armoured corps of the Waffen-SS . It saw action on both the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II.

Contents

Formation and training

The corps was raised on 26 July 1943 in Berlin-Lichterfeld, with initial mustering taking place on the Truppenübungsplatz at Beverloo, in occupied Belgium. [1] SS- Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich, previously the commander of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" (LSSAH), became the corps' first commander. [2]

In August 1943, the corps was transferred to Merano in Italy, where it took part in operations to disarm Italian troops. After this, the corps continued its training, being sporadically engaged in anti-partisan operations in northern Italy. By December 1943, the corps was fully formed and deemed ready for action, with its HQ being set up in Brussels in early 1944. [2]

Operational history

Western Front: Normandy

In April 1944, the corps was moved to Septeuil, to the west of Paris, where it was assigned the LSSAH Division, the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend", the Panzer Lehr Division, and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Götz von Berlichingen". The corps was attached to the 5th Panzer Army, the Western theatre's armoured reserve.

With the launch of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France on 6 June 1944, the corps was ordered to Falaise. The Hitlerjugend Division engaged British and Canadian troops to the north of Caen on 8 June. The corps was tasked with holding the area of Caen and saw heavy fighting around the villages of Authie, Buron, and the airport at Carpiquet. [3]

After the launch of Operation Cobra, which destroyed the remnants of the Panzer Lehr Division, the corps was ordered to take part in Operation Lüttich, the abortive counter-offensive towards Avranches. [4] The corps was caught in the Falaise pocket, where it fought to maintain a corridor for the trapped German forces, losing all its armour and equipment in the process. After the collapse of the front, the corps retreated to the Franco-German border. [5]

Battle of the Bulge

In early October 1944, the corps was pulled back from the front line for rest and refit in Westfalen. Refitting was complete by early December, and it was ordered to the Ardennes region to join Dietrich's 6th Panzer Army, in preparation for an offensive codenamed Wacht Am Rhein, and the ensuing Battle of the Bulge. The corps played a major role in the battle with Kampfgruppe Peiper of the LSSAH Division forming a mobile spearhead. [6] After several weeks of heavy fighting with severely limited fuel supplies, and heavy Allied air attacks, the corps was exhausted. The offensive had to be called off. Kampfgruppe Peiper became infamous during the battle for the murder of U.S. prisoners of war in what became known as the Malmedy massacre. [7] In the wake of the defeat, the corps along with the remainder of Dietrich's army, was moved to Hungary. [8]

Hungary and Austria

The corps, composed of the LSSAH and Hitlerjugend divisions, was instrumental in one of the last successful German offensives, Operation Southwind, eliminating the Soviet bridgehead west of the Garam in February 1945. The Germans then launched a pincer movement north and south of Lake Balaton as part of Operation Spring Awakening on 6 March 1945. This area included some of the last oil reserves still available to the Axis. The attack was spearheaded by the 6th Panzer Army and included the corps, made up of elite units such as the LSSAH and Hitlerjugend divisions. Dietrich's army made "good progress" at first, but as they drew near the Danube, the combination of the muddy terrain and strong Soviet resistance ground them to a halt. [9] On 16 March, the Soviet forces counterattacked in strength, which forced the entire southern front to retreat towards Vienna. The German forces, including the LSSAH and Hitlerjugend divisions, could not hold Vienna, which fell to Soviet forces on 13 April. [10] The Germans units then retreated into Hungary. [11] Thereafter, the bulk of the LSSAH Division surrendered to U.S. forces near Steyr and the Hitlerjugend Division surrendered to U.S. troops near the town of Enns, Austria on 8 May 1945. [12]

Commanders

Orders of battle

6 June 1944 (Invasion of Normandy)

7 August 1944 (Operation Lüttich)

16 December 1944 (Operation Wacht Am Rhein)

8 January 1945 (Battle of the Bulge)

3 March 1945 (build-up for Operation Spring Awakening)

Related Research Articles

<i>Waffen-SS</i> Military branch of the Nazi SS

The Waffen-SS was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. It was disbanded in May 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sepp Dietrich</span> German Nazi politician and SS commander

Josef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German politician and SS commander during the Nazi era. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Prior to 1929, Dietrich was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joachim Peiper</span> SS officer and war criminal (1915–1976)

Joachim Peiper was a German Schutzstaffel (SS) officer and war criminal. During the Second World War in Europe, Peiper served as personal adjutant to Heinrich Himmler, leader of the SS, and as a tank commander in the Waffen-SS. German historian Jens Westemeier writes that Peiper personified Nazi ideology, as a purportedly ruthless glory-hound commander who was indifferent to the combat casualties of Battle Group Peiper, and who tolerated, expected, and indeed encouraged war crimes by his Waffen-SS soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler</span> German armored division from 1933 to 1945

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH, began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding the Führer's person, offices, and residences. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into an elite division-sized unit during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend</span> German armored division

The SS Division Hitlerjugend or 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" was a German armoured division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. The majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth, while the senior NCOs and officers were from other Waffen-SS divisions. Most of the enlisted men were teenagers, starting from the ages of 16 or even 15.

101st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion was a German heavy tank battalion in the Waffen-SS during World War II. With the introduction of new Tiger II tanks in late 1944, the unit was renumbered as the 501st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelm Mohnke</span> German SS commander

Wilhelm Mohnke was a German military officer who was one of the original members of the SchutzstaffelSS-Stabswache Berlin formed in March 1933. Mohnke, who had joined the Nazi Party in September 1931, rose through the ranks to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining general officers at the end of World War II in Europe.

The II SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Third Battle of Kharkov and the Battle of Kursk in 1943 and by Wilhelm Bittrich on the Western Front in 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritz Witt</span> German Waffen SS commander (1908–1944)

Fritz Witt was a Waffen-SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served with the SS Division Leibstandarte before taking command of the SS Division Hitlerjugend. He was killed in action in June 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubert Meyer</span>

Hubert Meyer was a German SS commander during the Nazi era and a post-war activist. In World War II, Meyer served in the Waffen-SS and had junior postings with the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler; he briefly commanded the SS Division Hitlerjugend in 1944. After the war, he became active in HIAG, a Waffen-SS negationist lobby group, and was HIAG's last chairman before the group dissolved in 1992.

<i>Führerbegleitbrigade</i> Military unit

The Führerbegleitbrigade was a German armoured brigade and later an armoured division (Panzer-Führerbegleitdivision), in World War II. It grew out of the original Führer-Begleit-Battalion formed in 1939 to escort and protect Adolf Hitler at the front. It was formed in November 1944 and destroyed in April 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodor Wisch</span> Waffen-SS commander (1907–1995)

Theodor Peter Johann Wisch was a high-ranking member of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a commander of the SS Division Leibstandarte (LSSAH) and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He assumed command of the LSSAH in April 1943. He was seriously wounded in combat on the Western Front by a naval artillery barrage in the Falaise Pocket on 20 August 1944, and replaced as division commander by SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke.

This is the order of battle for Operation Epsom, a Second World War battle between British and German forces in Normandy, France between 26 June and 30 June 1944.

Gustav Knittel was a Sturmbannführer (major) in the SS Division Leibstandarte (LSSAH) who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the illegal executions of 8 American prisoners of war, he was released in 1953.

The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) was founded in September 1933 as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard formation. It was given the title Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (LAH) in November, 1933. On 13 April 1934, by order of Himmler, the regiment became known as the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). In 1939 the LSSAH became a separate unit of the Waffen-SS aside the SS-TV and the SS-VT.

Heinrich Kling was a German Waffen-SS commander during the Nazi era, who served with the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg Preuß</span>

Georg Preuß was a mid-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a convicted war criminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Wünsche</span> SS officer (1914–1995)

Max Wünsche was a member of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany and a regimental commander during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinz von Westernhagen</span> German officer (1911–1945)

Heinz von Westernhagen was a SS-Obersturmbannführer in the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a member of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) and commander of the 501st (101st) SS Heavy Panzer Battalion.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Reynolds 2007, p. 16.
  2. 1 2 Cook & Bender 1994, p. 421.
  3. ↑ Milner, Marc, "Stopping the Panzers: Reassessing the Role of 3rd Canadian Infantry Division in Normandy, 7-10 June 1944.", Journal of Military History 74.2 (2010): 491-522. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
  4. ↑ Kingseed, Cole, "Operation Cobra: Prelude to breakout", Military Review 74.7 (1994): 64. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
  5. ↑ Reardon, Mark, "Hell in the Hedgerows", World War II 20.8 (2005): 30-38. History Reference Center. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
  6. ↑ Westemeier 2007, pp. 107, 108.
  7. ↑ Westemeier 2007, pp. 114–119.
  8. ↑ Seaton 1971, p. 537.
  9. ↑ Stein 1984, p. 238.
  10. ↑ Dollinger 1967, p. 198.
  11. ↑ Dollinger 1967, p. 182.
  12. ↑ McNab 2009, p. 182.
  13. ↑ Számvéber, Norbert (2017). Páncélosok a Dunantulon - Az Utolsó Páncélosütközetek Magyarországon 1945 Tavaszán. Budapest: PeKo. ISBN   978-963-454-083-0.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.