19th Army (Wehrmacht)
|
19th Army |
|
|---|---|
| active | August 26, 1943 to May 6, 1945 (surrender) |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
|
| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | army |
| Type | army |
| structure | see structure |
| Installation site | South France |
| Second World War | Western front |
The 19th Army / Army High Command 19 (AOK 19) 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.
history
The army was created on August 26, 1943 by converting the General Command LXXXIII. Army corps (at the same time Felber Army Group ) set up in southern France, the first commander in chief was General of the Infantry Georg von Sodenstern . Her area of responsibility covered the entire French Mediterranean coast. In September 1943, it carried out the measures relating to the Axis case relating to the Italian occupied territory in southern France.
In August 1944, after the Allied landing in southern France , the army had to retreat north through the Rhone Valley . Parts remained to defend the ports of Toulon and Marseille , but had to surrender after a few days. From September to November the army was able to defend its positions in the Burgundian Porte ( Belfort Gap ) and in the Vosges , but was then pushed back to a bridgehead in Alsace by attacks by the French 1st Army and the 7th US Army .
During the Nordwind operation in January 1945, parts of the army took part in an unsuccessful attempt to retake Strasbourg . After the company ceased, the bridgehead in Alsace was broken within two weeks. Position battles followed on the Upper Rhine until the beginning of April, until the Allies succeeded in crossing the river.
In April 1945, after the 1st French Army landed near Speyer at the end of March 1945, most of the units of the 19th Army were blown up, parts of them tried to break through from the Black Forest to the east:
Other parts were pushed back to the northern Alps in the Vorarlberg / Tyrol area, where the Army High Command surrendered on May 6th .
Commander in chief
- General of the Infantry Georg von Sodenstern - August 26, 1943 to June 28, 1944
- General of the Infantry Friedrich Wiese - June 29 (starting on July 2) to December 15, 1944
- Infantry General Siegfried Rasp - December 15, 1944 to February 15, 1945
- General of the Infantry Hermann Foertsch - February 15 to February 28, 1945
- General of the Infantry Hans von Obstfelder - March 1 to March 26, 1945
- General of the Panzer Troop Erich Brandenberger - March 26 to May 6, 1945
Chiefs of the General Staff
- Lieutenant General Walter Botsch - August 26, 1943 to January 1, 1945
- Colonel Kurt Brandstädter - January 1 to May 6, 1945
structure
Subordinate army troops
- Higher Artillery Commander 321 (from September 1944)
- Corps News Department 445 (from December 1943 Army News Department 532)
- Commander of Army Supply Forces 445
- Commander of the rear army area 536 (from December 1944)
Subordinate army corps
| September 1943 |
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| April 1944 |
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| August 1944 |
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| September 1944 |
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| October 1944 |
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| December 1944 |
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| January 1945 |
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| February 1945 |
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| April 1945 |
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In addition, from January 1945, the so-called 24th Army was subordinate to the army , but it was only a dummy army .
See also
literature
- Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 4. The Land Forces 15–30. 2nd edition, Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1976.
Web links
- Finding aid for inventory RH 20-19: Army High Command 19 1943–1945 in the Federal Archives
- German 19th Army. 1942 - April 1945. (PDF; 96 kB) Accessed September 15, 2011 (English).