The I SS Panzer Corps (german: I.SS-Panzerkorps) was a German armoured

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the Waffen-SS. It saw action on both the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II.

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. SS-'' Obergruppenführer'' Sepp Dietrich, previously the commander of the SS Division Leibstandarte (LSSAH), became the corps' first commander. In August 1943, the corps was transferred to Meran 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 Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in early 1944.

Operational history

Western Front: Normandy

In April 1944, the corps was moved to

Septeuil Septeuil () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. River Septeuil is traversed by a small river, ''la Flexanville''. This waterway flows through eight other communes for a total distance of ...

, to the west of Paris, where it was assigned the SS Division Leibstandarte,

SS Division Hitlerjugend The SS Division Hitlerjugend or 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" (german: 12. SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend") was a German armoured division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. The majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from m ...

Panzer-Lehr-Division The Panzer-Lehr-Division (in the meaning of: Armoured training division) was an elite German armoured division during World War II. It was formed in 1943 onwards from training and demonstration troops (''Lehr'' = "teach") stationed in Germany, ...

and the

SS Division Götz von Berlichingen SS is an abbreviation for ''Schutzstaffel'', a paramilitary organisation in Nazi Germany. SS, Ss, or similar may also refer to: Places *Guangdong Experimental High School (''Sheng Shi'' or ''Saang Sat''), China *Province of Sassari, Italy (vehi ...

. The corps was attached to 5th Panzer Army, the Western theatre's armoured reserve. With the launch of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, the allied invasion of France on 6 June 1944, the corps was ordered to Falaise. The Hitlerjugend engaged British and Canadian troops to the north of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Authie,

Buron Buron is a village in France about 6 kilometres north-west of Caen, in the communes of Cairon, Rosel and Saint-Contest in Calvados. History Buron was the site of two major battles, one on June 7, 1944, and another during Operation Charnwood ...

and the airport at

Carpiquet Carpiquet () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Caen – Carpiquet Airport is located in Carpiquet. Geography Carpiquet is on the western side of the Caen metropolitan area. The town is div ...

. After the launch of the American 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. 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.

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 The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

region to join Sepp Dietrich's Sixth SS Panzer Army, in preparation for an offensive codenamed ''Wacht Am Rhein'', and the ensuing

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. The corps played a major role in the battle with ''Kampfgruppe Peiper'' of the Leibstandarte forming a mobile spearhead. After several weeks 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. In the wake of the defeat, the corps along with the remainder of Dietrich's Army, was moved to Hungary.

Hungary and Austria

The corps, composed of LSSAH and Hitlerjugend SS divisions, was instrumental in one of the last successful German offensives,

Operation Southwind Operation Southwind (german: Unternehmen Südwind) was a German offensive operation on the Eastern Front in Hungary, from 17–24 February 1945. The Germans succeeded in eliminating the Soviet bridgehead on the west bank of the river Hron in pre ...

, 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 SS Panzer Army and included the corps, made up of elite units such as the LSSAH and Hitlerjugend SS 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. On 16 March, the Soviets forces counterattacked in strength, which forced the entire southern front to retreat towards

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The German forces, including the LSSAH and the Hitlerjugend divisions, could not hold the city of Vienna, which fell to the Soviet forces on 13 April. The Germans units then retreated into Hungary. Thereafter, the bulk of the LSSAH surrendered to US forces near

Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3r ...

and the SS Division Hitlerjugend surrendered to US troops near the town of Enns, Austria on 8 May 1945.

Commanders

* SS-''Oberstgruppenführer''

Josef Dietrich Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) 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 A ...

(4 July 1943 – 9 Aug 1944) * SS-''Brigadeführer'' Fritz Kraemer (9 – 16 Aug 1944) * SS-''Obergruppenführer''

Georg Keppler Georg Keppler (7 May 1894 – 16 June 1966) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Das Reich, SS Division Totenkopf, I SS Panzer Corps, III SS Panzer Corps and the XVIII SS Army Corps. Career ...

(16 Aug 1944 – 30 Oct 1944) * SS-''Gruppenführer''

Hermann Priess Hermann August Fredrich Priess (24 May 1901 – 2 February 1985) was a German general in the Waffen-SS and a war criminal during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head") following the death of Theodor Eicke in Febru ...

(30 Oct 1944 – 8 May 1945)

Orders of battle

6 June 1944 (Normandy) *

101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 101st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion (german: Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101) 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 H ...

* 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte * 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend *

16 December 1944 (Battle of the Bulge) *

* 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte * 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend * 3rd Parachute Division * 12th Volksgrenadier Division *

277th Infantry Division A first 277th Infantry Division (german: 277. Infanterie-Division) was ordered to form on May 22, 1940, as part of the 10th mobilisation wave (''10. Welle''), but this order was rescinded after the French Surrender. A new 277th Infantry Division ...

3 March 1945 (Build-up for Operation Spring Awakening) * 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte ** SS-Pz.Rgt 1 *** s.SS.Pz.Abt 501 (2nd battalion of Pz.Rgt) ** SS-Pz.Jg.Abt 1 ** SS PzGr.Abt 1 ** SS PzGr.Abt 2 * 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend ** SS-Pz.Rgt 12 ** SS PzGr.Rgt 25 ** SS PzGr.Rgt 26 ** SS-Pz.Jg.Abt 12 *** s.H.Pz.Jg.Abt 560

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:01 Waffen-SS corps German units in Normandy Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945