The Panzerkorps Großdeutschland was a German

panzer corps A panzer corps (german: Panzerkorps) was an armoured corps type in Nazi Germany's ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II. The name was introduced in 1941, when the motorised corps (''Armeekorps (mot)'' or ''AK(mot)'') were renamed to panzer corps. Pan ...

in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

which saw action on the Eastern Front in 1944/1945 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 opposin ...

Creation and service history

On September 28, 1944 the

OKH The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat at ...

ordered the creation of Panzer Corps Grossdeutschland. It was planned to contain enlarged corps troops and several panzer divisions; a unit that could be used as strong reserve for an army. To achieve this, parts of the Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland were, while the division retained its status, used as base for the Generalkommando Panzerkorps Großdeutschland. Units for the staff and the corps troops were: *Remnants of the (dissolved) '' 18th Artillery Division'' **''Artillerie-Division-Stab 18'' (Division Staff) **''Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 88'' (Signals Battalion 88) **''Div.Nachschubtruppen 88'' (Division Supply Troops 88) *Remnants of the (dissolved) ''

XIII Army Corps XIII Army Corps (German: ''XIII. Armeekorps'') was a corps of the German Army during World War II. Made up of several divisions, which varied from time to time, it was formed in Nuremberg on 1 October 1937. Soon after the general mobilisation of ...

'' *Elements of the '' Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland'' **''III., Grenadier Regiment Großdeutschland'' *Elements of the '' Panzer-Grenadier-Division Brandenburg'' **''III., Jäger(mot) Regiment 1 Brandenburg'' *Elements of the ''Wehrkreiskommando'' I (command personnel of military district,

Wehrkreis I The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...

) *''Feldpostamt z.b.V. 605'' (Field Post Office z.b.V. or special purpose605) With the addition of the Panzer-Grenadier-Division Brandenburg the corps had its first structure with two active divisions. The first commander of the corps was

General der Panzertruppe General der Panzertruppe () was a General of the branch OF8 rank of the German Army, introduced in 1935. A ''General der Panzertruppe'' was a Lieutenant General, above Major General (Generalleutnant), commanding a Panzer corps. Rank and ran ...

Dietrich von Saucken Dietrich Friedrich Eduard Kasimir von Saucken (16 May 1892 – 27 September 1980) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 2nd Army and the Army East Prussia. Turning down an offer to escape by air, he surrendered to the Re ...

, the former commander of the

XXXIX Panzer Corps The XXXIX Panzer Corps (german: XXXIX.Panzerkorps, also previously designated the ''XXXIX.Armeekorps (mot)'') was a German panzer corps which saw action on the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II. Operational history The Corps whose ...

. Still in the forming phase during the looming of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Vistula–Oder Offensive the staff and the ''Brandenburg'' Division were ordered to Poland, while the Division ''Großdeutschland'' was detached to Eastern Prussia. Ultimately the corps never fought as a unified body, and during the retreat towards the west its composition steadily changed. When von Saucken was promoted to command the 2nd Army in February he was succeeded by General der Panzertruppe

Georg Jauer __NOTOC__ Georg Jauer (25 June 1896 – 5 August 1971) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. At the outbreak of World War II Jauer served ...

, who commanded the corps's 20. Panzer-Grenadier-Division. Never surrendering at-large the corps was dismissed on war's end on May 8, 1945.

Order of Battle – March 1, 1945

Staff Panzercorps Großdeutschland

Corps Troops

*Heavy Panzer Battalion Großdeutschland *Corps Fusilier Regiment Großdeutschland **I. Fusilier (Bicycle) Btln. **II. Fusilier (Bicycle) Btln. **Regimental Support Company (mot) *Panzer Field-Replacement Rgt. Großdeutschland *44th Panzer Signals Battalion *500th Artillery Brigade Staff **Observation Battery (mot) **500th Panzer Artillery Regiment (I. & II. Btln.) *500th Pioneer Regimental Staff (mot) *500th Panzer Pioneer Btln. *500th Reconnaissance Company (half-track) *500th Staff Escort Company *500th Sound Ranging Platoon (mot) *500th Mapping Detachment (mot) *500th Military Police Detachment *500th Supply Regiment (mot)

Division z.b.V. 615 / Divisions-Stab z.b.V. 615

Generalmajor

Gerd-Paul von Below __NOTOC__ Gerd-Paul Valerian Georg Heinrich von Below (30 November 1892 – 8 December 1953) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Below surrendered to the So ...

*Division Staff z.b.V. 615 *687th Pioneer Brigade *3093rd Fortress Machine-Gun Btln. *3094th Fortress Machine-Gun Btln. *3095th Fortress Machine-Gun Btln. *1485th Fortress Infantry Btln. *Infantry Battalion z.b.V. 500

Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring

Generalmajor

Max Lemke __NOTOC__ Max Lemke (7 April 1895 – 29 May 1985) was a German Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II, the last commander of the Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1 „Hermann Göring“ and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron C ...

*Division Staff *Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier Regiment 1 Hermann Göring (I. & II. Btln.) *Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier Regiment 2 Hermann Göring (I. & II. Btln.) *Fallschirm-Panzer Regiment Hermann Göring (I., II. & III. Btln.) *Fallschirm-Panzer Artillery Regiment 1 Hermann Göring (I., II. & III. Btln.) *Fallschirm-Panzer Fusilier Btln. 1 Hermann Göring *Fallschirm-Panzer Reconnaissance Btln. 1 Hermann Göring *Fallschirm-Panzer Pioneer Btln. 1 Hermann Göring *Fallschirm-Panzer Signals Btln. 1 Hermann Göring *Fallschirm-Panzer Field-Replacement Btln. 1 Hermann Göring *Military Police Detachment *Field Post Office 1 Hermann Göring *Supply Detachment 1 Hermann Göring

Panzer-Grenadier-Division Brandenburg

Generalmajor Hermann Schulte-Heuthaus *Division Staff Brandenburg *Jäger(mot) Regiment 1 Brandenburg (I. & II. Btln.) *Jäger(mot) Regiment 2 Brandenburg (I. & II. Btln.) *Panzer Regiment Brandenburg **I. Panzer Btln. ''(detached)'' **II. Panzer Btln. *Tank Destroyer Btln. Brandenburg *Armoured Artillery Regiment Brandenburg (I., II. & III. Btln.) *Armoured Flak Artillery Btln. Brandenburg *Armoured Reconnaissance Btln. Brandenburg *Panzer Pioneer Btln. Brandenburg *Panzer Signals Btln. Brandenburg *Field-Replacement Btln. Brandenburg *Supply Regiment Brandenburg

20. Panzer-Grenadier-Division

Generalmajor

Georg Scholze __NOTOC__ Georg Scholze (21 August 1897 – 23 April 1945) was a German general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Scholze committed suicide on 23 April 1945 in Berlin. Awards an ...

*Division Staff *76th Panzer-Grenadier Regiment (I., II. & III. Btln.) *90th Panzer-Grenadier Regiment (I., II. & III. Btln.) *8th Panzer Btln. *20th Artillery Regiment (I., II. & III. Btln.) *284th/285th Flak Artillery Btln. *120th Armoured Reconnaissance Btln. *20th Anti-Tank Btln. *20th Field-Replacement Btln. *20th Armoured Signals Btln. *20th Supply Regiment

Commanders

*General

(1944 – February 11, 1945) *General

(February 12, 1945 – May 8, 1945)

Notes

Footnotes

References

;Books * ;Websites * {{DEFAULTSORT:Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland Panzer corps of Germany in World War II Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945