The LXIV Corps (German: ''LXIV. Armeekorps'') was a

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 ...

-level command of the German Army on the Western Front 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was created on 24 September 1942, in Military Region (''Wehrkreis'') VIII as the LXIV Reserve Corps with the mission of supervising reserve divisions assigned to

OB West ''Oberbefehlshaber West'' (German: initials OB West), German for "high commander in the West") was the overall commander of the '' Westheer'', the German armed forces on the Western Front during World War II. It was directly subordinate to the Ob ...

, the German high command in the west. Activated on 5 August 1944 and renamed the LXIV Corps.Tessin LXIV Corps was headquartered in the vicinity of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

from October 1942 until April 1944. During May and June 1944, the LXIV Corps Headquarters was located in northern France. In July 1944, the corps was sent to southwestern France near the Gironde Estuary. The following month, the LXIV corps had to retreat under difficult conditions to avoid being cut off by Allied units that had broken out of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and other Allied forces that had invaded southern France. By September 1944, LXIV Corps had established a line of defense in the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

as part of the German Nineteenth Army. The corps, however, was in a weak state, with its two assigned divisions only able to muster some 4,250 effectives. By late November 1944, Allied advances had forced the Nineteenth Army into an area around Colmar, nicknamed the Colmar Pocket. An offensive by

French First Army The First Army (french: 1re Armée) was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. First World War On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the ch ...

and U.S. XXI Corps troops during January and February 1945 collapsed the Colmar Pocket, forcing the LXIV Corps to retreat across the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

into

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

. In April 1945, with the Allies across the Rhine as well, French forces thrust forward on April 18 and seized

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

, splitting the LXIV Corps into two parts. Attempts by the corps to reunite its elements failed in the face of Allied strength, and the commander of the corps at that time,

General der Artillerie General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean: 1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...

Max Grimmeiss, was found sheltering at a hospital in

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

and taken prisoner by the French army on April 26.De Lattre, p. 481 Remnants of the LXIV Corps fought alongside other equally tattered remnants of the Nineteenth Army in late April and early May until the unconditional surrender of Germany ended the war in Europe.

Commanding officers

*General der Pioniere

Karl Sachs Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

, formation – 1 September 1944 *General der Infanterie

Otto Lasch Otto Lasch (25 June 1893 in Pleß, Oberschlesien – 29 April 1971) was a German general in the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II who commanded the LXIV Corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Car ...

, 1 September 1944 – 1 November 1944 *General der Infanterie

Helmut Thumm __NOTOC__ Helmut Thumm (25 August 1895 – 13 July 1977) was a German general during World War II. After pulling Hitler Youth teenagers out of the front lines against orders from above, he was relieved of his command of the LXIV Army Corps on 20 J ...

, 1 November 1944 – 15 January 1945 *Generalleutnant

Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauck __NOTOC__ Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauck (10 January 1897 – 15 April 1979) was a German general during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Biography Under his command, the 305th Inf ...

, 15 January 1945 – 21 January 1945 *General der Artillerie Maximilian Grimmeiß 21 January 1945 – 15 April 1945 *Generalleutnant Helmut Friebe, 15 April 1945 – April 1945 (deputy) *General der Artillerie

Rudolf Freiherr von Roman Rudolf Freiherr von Roman (19 November 1893 – 18 February 1970) was a German general (General of the Artillery) who commanded several corps during World War II. He was recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Awards a ...

, April 1945 – German surrender

Notes

References

* Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, ''The History of the French First Army'', London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1952. * Jeffrey J. Clarke and Robert Ross Smith, ''Riviera to the Rhine'', Washington: Government Printing Office, 1993. * Georg Tessin, ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939-1945'', CDROM edition (topic: Generalkommando LXIV. Reservekorps), Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag, 1973. {{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=World War II Army,64 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945