Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three
German Army Group
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
** ...
s during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
It was first used in the 1939
September Campaign, along with
Army Group North to invade
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. In the invasion of Poland Army Group South was led by
Gerd von Rundstedt and his
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
Erich von Manstein.
Two years later, Army Group South became one of three army groups into which Germany organised their forces for
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
. Army Group South's principal objective was to capture
Soviet Ukraine
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
and its capital
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
.
In September 1944, the
Army Group South Ukraine was renamed Army Group South in Eastern Hungary. It fought in Western Hungary until March 1945 and retired to Austria at the end of the Second World War, where it was renamed
Army Group Ostmark
Army Group Ostmark (german: Heeresgruppe Ostmark) was a German army group formed very late in World War II.
Army Group Ostmark was formed on 2 April 1945 from the remnants of Army Group South (). Army Group Ostmark was operational in Austria a ...
on 2 April 1945.
Operation Barbarossa
Ukraine was a major center of Soviet industry and mining and had the good farmland required for Hitler's plans for ''
Lebensraum
(, ''living space'') is a German concept of settler colonialism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' became a geopolitical goal of Imper ...
'' ('living space'). Army Group South was to advance up to the
Volga River
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...
, engaging a part of the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
and thus clearing the way for the
Army Group North and the
Army Group Center on their approach to
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
respectively.
To carry out these initial tasks its battle order included the
First Panzer Group (Gen. Kleist) and the German
Sixth (Gen. Reichenau),
Seventeenth (Gen. Stülpnagel) and
Eleventh Armies (Gen. Schobert), Luftlotte 1 (Keller) and the Romanian
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hi ...
and
Fourth Armies.
Operation Blue
In preparation for
Operation Blue
Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the German Armed Forces' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of the Cau ...
, the 1942 campaign in southern Russia and the Caucasus, Army Group South was split into two army groups:
Army Group A and
Army Group B.
Army Group A was ordered south to capture the oil fields in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...
.
In February 1943,
Army Group Don and the existing
Army Group B were combined and re-designated Army Group South. A new
Army Group B became a major formation elsewhere. The
German Sixth Army, which was destroyed in the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later r ...
, was re-constituted and later made part of Army Group South in March 1943. On 4 April 1944, Army Group South was re-designated
Army Group North Ukraine. Army Group North Ukraine existed from 4 April to 28 September.
In September 1944,
Army Group South Ukraine was re-designated Army Group South. At
the end of World War II in Europe
The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf ...
, Army Group South was again renamed; as
Army Group Ostmark
Army Group Ostmark (german: Heeresgruppe Ostmark) was a German army group formed very late in World War II.
Army Group Ostmark was formed on 2 April 1945 from the remnants of Army Group South (). Army Group Ostmark was operational in Austria a ...
, the remnants of Army Group South ended the war fighting in and around
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...
. Army Group Ostmark was one of the last major German military formations to surrender to the Allies.
Order of battle for Army Group South, October 1944
Commanders
See also
*
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...
*
Army Group North
References
{{Authority control
1939 establishments in Germany
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
Military units and formations established in 1939