XXX. Army Corps (Wehrmacht)

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The XXX. Army Corps (30th Army Corps ) was an association of the German Wehrmacht , which was used almost continuously on the southern eastern front during World War II . Between late December 1942 and early February 1943, the staff was also referred to as the Fretter-Pico Army Division . In August 1944, the General Command of Army Group South Ukraine was destroyed and completely reorganized in October 1944.

history

The General Command XXX. After the mobilization in military district XI, AK was established on August 26, 1939 and transferred to Army Division A on the Lower Rhine .

1940

During the seated war and the following campaign in the west, the XXX. AK. subordinated to the 1st Army on the Saar Front. In May 1940, after the start of the case of Gelb , the General Command was deployed with the 93rd , 95th and 79th Infantry Divisions on the right wing of the 1st Army, but remained on the defensive. In the second phase of the attack ( case red ) it was pulled to the left, reinforced with the 258th Infantry Division and with the XII. Army corps (General Schroth) concentrated for breakthrough near Saarbrücken . On June 12, 1940, the onslaught against the Maginot line began , the bunker line between Forbach -Merlebach and Puttelange was broken. The advance towards Nancy followed via Morhange . Marching over Dieuze , the Rhine-Marne Canal was crossed at Paroy-Nouacourt, whereupon the French army withdrew. The further advance took place via Lunéville to Meurthe at Maison de Brique. After the crossing over the Moselle at Châtel-sur-Moselle , the armistice ended the fighting in the area north of Epinal . In July 1940, the corps moved to the 18th Army in the General Government , in September it switched to the 4th Army and at the end of the year it was subordinate to the 76th and 258th Infantry Divisions.

1941

In January 1941 the corps with the AOK 12 was transferred from Poland to Bulgaria . During the attack on Greece in early April , the 50th and 164th Infantry Divisions were assigned. The task was to occupy the northeastern Greek territory, the small town of Xanthi fell into German hands on April 8th, followed by the occupation of the islands of Thasos (April 16), Samothrace (April 19) and Lemnos (April 25). After the Balkan campaign , the relocation to the Romanian front took place, the new concentration of the General Command took place in the area east of Jassy in the association of the 11th Army ( Ritter von Schobert ). At the beginning of Operation Barbarossa , in addition to the 198th Infantry Division , the Romanian IV. Corps (13th and 14th Divisions) were subordinate to them, the XI. Army Corps , the LIV closed on the right . Army Corps . On July 2nd the attack of the 11th Army over the Prut began , on July 12th the Dniester in the Jampol area near Soroca was forced. On July 20 the line Klembowka - Ketrosy was reached and on July 25 Bălți was taken. On August 10 the corps stood on the line northeast Vlodislowka - Berezovka and reached the bow a few days later between Trichoty and Kovolyanka. The advance through Tauria reached the Dnieper near Berislavl towards the end of August. On August 30, the 22nd Infantry Division made the Dnieper crossing and built a southern bridgehead, followed by the 46th and 170th Infantry Divisions as reinforcements . The LIV accompanied the river crossing on the right. and on the left the Romanian Mountain Corps. On September 26, 1941, the Soviet 9th and 18th Armies with a total of twelve divisions launched a major attack against the eastern front of the XXX. Army Corps (22nd and 72nd Infantry Divisions ). Largely unnoticed by the Red Army, the intervention of German Panzer Group 1 came into play from the north . On October 1st the XXX. Army Corps in the Battle of the Sea of ​​Azov in cooperation with the Romanian 3rd Army counterattacked and broke deep into the positions of the Soviet 9th Army through the Molochnoye sector by October 8 . By October 11, strong Soviet troops were encircled in the Bolshoi Tokmak - Mariupol - Berdyansk area . The parts of the 22nd and 72nd Infantry Divisions that had become free after the end of this battle were gradually used to support the LIV. AK sent to the Crimea to conquer . In November 1941 the cities of Simferopol , Yalta and Alupka were occupied one after the other during the advance on the southern cape . On December 29th, parts of the Soviet 44th Army suddenly landed in Feodosiya behind the German front. The General Command XXXXII immediately withdrew the 46th Infantry Division from Kerch to the 13 km wide Parpatsch Narrows and enabled the enemy to form a bridgehead. The XXX. Corps was charged with the 132nd and 170th Infantry Divisions as well as the Romanian 4th Mountain Brigade to remove the enemy bridgehead.

1942

On January 15, 1942, the XXX. Army Corps in cooperation with the Romanian 1st Mountain Division with strong air and artillery support and was able to recapture the port of Kerch within three days. The 44th Soviet Army lost 16,700 soldiers and 85 tanks in the Feodosiya area. Nevertheless, the Crimean front (Lieutenant General Dmitri T. Koslow ) managed to bring further troops (47th and 51st Army ) to the Kerch peninsula . During the bustle hunt , which started on May 8th , the 11th Army launched a new attack over the Parpach isthmus on Kerch: from north to south: the Romanian VII Corps (Romanian 19th Infantry Division and 8th Cavalry Division), the XXXXII. AK (46th and 50th Infantry Divisions ) and the XXX. Corps (132nd, 28th Light and 50th Infantry Divisions ). The attack was started after heavy artillery fire and air strikes. The 22nd Panzer Division first penetrated the first Soviet defense lines at Chernjak, an eleven-meter-wide anti-tank trench was reached, which marked the border of the last line of defense of the 44th Army. The 132nd Infantry Division was able to retake Feodosiya. After the success on Kerch, the 11th Army launched the attack on the Sevastopol fortress : in the north the LIV. AK (22nd, 24th, 50th and 132nd Infantry Divisions) in the center the Romanian Mountain Corps (General Avramescu) and in the south the XXX. Corps (28th light division, 72nd and 170th infantry divisions). On June 20 the 170th Infantry Division took possession of the Fedjukini Heights, the 72nd Infantry Division broke into the Sapun position, to the left of it the 28th Jäger Division closed a ring around the fortifications of Balaklava . In the further course of the attack, the 170th Inf.Div. At the beginning of July the attack against the Maxim Gorki II fort and penetrated the coast of the Chersonese peninsula .

In August 1942 the XXX was relocated. AK to Leningrad in the area of Army Group North . In mid-September the corps with the 3rd Mountain , 24th , 132nd and 170th Infantry Divisions had to counterattack from the Mga area to the north in the First Ladoga Battle . By September 24, the 132nd Division had broken through on Gaitolowo and had contact with the 121st Infantry Division of the XXVI. Army Corps established. In November there was a short-term transfer of the corps to the 9th Army to the central sector in the Welisch area .

After the encirclement of Stalingrad, an approximately 200 km wide front gap was created between Army Group Don ( von Manstein ) and Army Group B ( von Weichs ), and the corps was transferred to the southern eastern front. From December 24, 1942 the General Command XXX was used to set up the Army Detachment Fretter-Pico on the southern section of the Eastern Front. General Fretter-Pico had the order, with insufficient strength, to organize an operational army group in a hurry and to stop the armored forces of the Soviet southern front marching west. The headquarters of the army group was set up in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky on the Donets .

1943

By mid-January 1943, the assigned 3rd Mountain Division (Lieutenant General Kreysing ) and several alarm units, including Italian labor battalions, were included in the Millerowo area . By January 21, 1943, fighting against Soviet forces to withdraw to the Donets followed. The 304th Infantry Division , which had previously been used as coastal protection, came from France, had no experience on the Eastern Front and was discharged in Voroshilovgrad . The Italian "Ravenna" division, which provided cover on the Donets, had to support the 304th division.

On January 29, the Soviet 1st and 3rd Guards Army began a major offensive on Kamensk with two rifle corps and four tank corps. A break-in at the 304th Infantry Division caused the Donets Line to collapse. The Soviets were able to expand the Donets bridgehead on a large scale, Voroshilovgrad had to be on February 14th due to lack of strength from XXX. AK. be abandoned. In the Lisichansk area initially defended the 19th Panzer Division of III. Panzer corps against the attack of the Popov tank group , which threw back the Donets defense of the 320th Infantry Division to the north and broke through with three tank corps in the empty space between Kupyansk and Slavyansk to the west on Pavlograd . The arrival of the 335th Infantry Division stabilized the Donets Front of the 1st Panzer Army in the Pervomaisk area until February 25, 1943 . The XXX. Corps defended together with the III. Panzer Corps the high banks of the Donets Front from Lisishansk (Lysychansk) to the heights of Slavyansk (Slovyansk). The attacks against the right wing of the 1st Panzer Army near Slavyansk were repulsed in time by the 7th Panzer Division . The average width of the Donets River was in the region of XXX. AK. at about 100 to 150 meters, subordinated to the 38th , 62nd , 333rd and 387th Infantry Divisions . The counterattacks of the XXXX. Armored corps against the infiltrated Soviet forces finally made a long-term rebuilding of the Donets Front possible. As a result of the fighting for Kharkov in August 1943, the 6th Army was again forced to withdraw to the west. The positions of the XXX. Corps (62nd, 38th, 333rd, 387th Infantry Divisions) at Artemowsk and ( Konstantinowka ) had to be surrendered. The retreat to the Dnieper took place via Pavlograd , on both sides of the Samara section to Dnepropetrovsk , where there were only two bridges for the river crossing. The partially newly allocated divisions of the XXX. Army corps were assigned too wide front sections on the Dnieper, and the large city of Dnepropetrovsk was also located in the defense section. The Dnieper section, which was easy to defend, was very wide and rich in islands, and the river valley was difficult to see because of the rich fauna. The expected offensive of the 2nd Ukrainian Front against the 1st Panzer Army broke out on October 15, 1943, the defenses of the 46th, 257th, 387th and 304th Infantry Divisions collapsed. On October 25, Dnepropetrovsk fell to the Soviet 46th Army. At the beginning of November the new front of the corps was strengthened between the place Alexandrowka and the Dnieper near Augustinovka, on the left the LII. and on the right the XVII. Army Corps as a neighbor. On December 5, 1943, a new Soviet offensive followed with seven rifle divisions, with the XXX. Corps could claim. On December 19, Soviet troops tried to break through again, 4-5 rifle divisions and a tank corps were scheduled, the IR 477 Regiment (Colonel Harhaus) of the 257th Infantry Division , in addition, was the 11th Panzer Division in the defense critical moment used for defense.

1944

At the beginning of 1944, the XXX. Corps subordinate the 46th, 257th , 304th , 306th and 387th Infantry Divisions and the 16th Panzer Grenadier Division. The high command of the superior 1st Panzer Army was withdrawn from the Dnieper bend and regrouped to western Ukraine . The front section of the 6th Army (Colonel General Hollidt ) thus extended from the Nikopol bridgehead to the east of Kirovograd , where the LVII. Panzer Corps as the left wing extended the front to the northwest of Krivoy Rog . The Russians attacked the XXX again. AK on, the 9th Panzer Division had to intervene to provide support. The onset of a thaw soon made the area impassable, and water seeped into the shelters. When the briefly assigned 24th Panzer Division was suddenly withdrawn, the breakthrough of the Soviet 8th Guard Army and two tank corps on Apostolowo followed on January 31st . With great difficulty, the XXX, which was concentrated around Krivoy Rog, succeeded. Corps to set up an intermediate position on the Ingulez River . On February 22nd, Krivoy Rog was evacuated, and on February 26th the expected heavy attacks on the Ingulez sector began. At the beginning of March, the General Command of the XXX. AK from XXIX. Army corps relieved to organize a new position on the southern section of the Bug .

During the Bereznegovatoje-Snigiriov operation (March 6-18 , 1944) Novy Bug was lost and the retreat to the west took place via Voznesensk . On March 30, the retreating units of the XXX. Corps established the defense lines along the Tiligul section northeast of Odessa . The 6th Army tried with the help of Romanian units to build up a new stable front behind the Dniester and to prevent the Soviet invasion of Bessarabia . The crossing of the Dniester required great efforts, in the area of Tiraspol the 76th Infantry Division was commissioned to create an additional bridge crossing. The Soviet pursuers only managed to gain a foothold on the other bank at one point; this bridgehead was narrowed by the 302nd Infantry Division . After General Fretter-Pico took command of the 6th Army, General Postel became the commanding general of the XXX on July 16 . Army Corps appointed. The XXX. At the beginning of August, Corps faced the bridgehead of the Soviet 57th Army (General Sarochin) with Army Group South Ukraine south of Tiraspol , to the left of 15th ID. stood the 257th ID. and 302nd ID. to Bendery , on the right the 306th ID., which connects to the XXIX. Army Corps held. In anticipation of the offensive, the leader of the Army Group Colonel General ( Frießner ) asked the OKW in vain to be able to withdraw the front onto the much shorter line Danube Estuary - Galatz - Focşani - Eastern Carpathian Mountains . On August 20, the offensive of the 3rd Ukrainian Front began, again the XXX. Corps of superior strength did not stand, the Soviet troops were able to unite on the Prut near Leova until 23 August . In the following Operation Jassy-Kishinev, 16 German divisions were surrounded. By the end of August, the XXX. Corps completely destroyed in the Kishinev Kishinev Battle.

A new General Command XXX. was on October 20, 1944 from the General Command z. b. V. LXV. reorganized and established as an occupation force in the Netherlands , where it surrendered to the western allies in May 1945.

Commanding generals

literature

  • Percy Ernst Schramm (Ed.): War diary of the High Command of the Wehrmacht , Bernard & Graefe Verlag für Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965.
    • Volume I: 1940/41 edited by Hans-Adolf Jacobsen .
    • Volume II: 1942 edited by Andreas Hillgruber , Bernard & Graefe Verlag für Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965.
    • Volume III: 1943 edited by Walther Hubatsch , Bernard & Graefe Verlag für Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965.
  • Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945 , Vol. 4, p. 282, Frankfurt / Main and Osnabrück, 1966 ff.
  • Carl Wagener : Army Group South , Podzun Verlag, Bad Nauheim 1972
  • Nemeckaja pechota strategičeskie ošibki vermachta  : pechotnye divizii v vojne protiv Sovetskogo Sojuza 1941–1944, Centrpoligraf, Moskva 2013
  • Paul Klatt : The 3rd Mountain Division 1939-1945 . Podzun, Bad Nauheim 1958.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ OKW War Diary Volume 1, Outlines pp. 1135, 1139.
  2. ↑ OKW War Diary Volume 1, Outlines pp. 1353, 1359.
  3. ↑ OKW War Diary Volume 2, Outlines pp. 258, 732, 1156.