10th Army (Wehrmacht)

The 10th Army / Army High Command 10 (AOK 10) was a major unit of the Army of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War . She was the high command of changing army corps and numerous special troops.

First lineup

Set up on August 26, 1939 under Artillery General Walter von Reichenau , it was part of Army Group South during the attack on Poland . On October 10, 1939, it was renamed the 6th Army .

Second lineup

To ward off the Allied invasion of Italy and the Allied Italian campaign , the 10th Army was re-established on August 15, 1943. After the British 8th Army ( Bernard Montgomery ) landed at Reggio di Calabria on September 3, the 10th Army retreated northwards through Calabria . From September 9th, the 10th Army led defensive battles against the 5th US Army ( Mark W. Clark ), which had landed in the hinterland near Salerno (Operation Avalanche ). The abandonment of Naples was enforced by the Allies on October 1st, 1943 and the retreat behind the Volturno was necessary. Between December 1943 and May 1944 defensive battles followed at Gargliano, Sangro and several defensive battles near Monte Cassino . On June 4, 1944, Rome was evacuated by the 14th Army to the north and the withdrawal of the 10th Army to the Pescara Line was initiated. In September 1944, there were already retreat battles across the northern Apennines on Rimini . Ravenna was evacuated on December 7, 1944 . In April 1945 there were further defensive battles between the Adriatic Sea and Bologna , where the right wing of the neighboring 14th Army joined. On May 2, 1945, the surrender of the superior Army Group C brought the fighting to an end.

guide

Commander in chief

• General of the Artillery Walter von Reichenau from August 26th to October 10th 1939
• General of the armored troop Heinrich von Vietinghoff called Scheel from August 15 to September 4, 1943
• General of the Panzer Troop Joachim Lemelsen September 4 to December 31, 1943
• Colonel General Heinrich von Vietinghoff called Scheel from December 31, 1943 to October 26, 1944
• General of the Panzer Troop Joachim Lemelsen from October 26, 1944 to February 16, 1945
• General of the Panzer Troop Traugott Herr from February 16 to May 2, 1945

Chief of Staff

• Major General Friedrich Paulus from August 26 to October 10, 1939
• Colonel Fritz Wentzell from August 15, 1943 to November 1, 1944
• Major General Dietrich Beelitz from November 1, 1944 to May 2, 1945

See also

• Schematic war organization of the Wehrmacht on September 1, 1939

literature

• Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 3: The Land Forces 6-14 . 2nd Edition. Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1974, ISBN 3-7648-0942-6 .

Web links

• German 10th Army. September 1939 - April 1945 (PDF; 100 kB) Accessed September 15, 2011 (English). 

Individual evidence

1. ^ P. Young: Atlas z. II. Wk., 1974, p. 120.
2. ↑ P. Young: Atlas zum II. Wk., 1974, p. 121
3. ^ P. Young: Atlas z. II. Wk., 1974, p. 129