XXXXVI Panzer Corps (46th) was a tank corps of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

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 ...

that participated in the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was ...

. The Corps was created as the XXXXVI Army Corps and converted to a Panzer Corps on 21 June 1942. The Panzer Corps took part in

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 ...

and fought in Kiev, Putyvl, Vyazma and Volokolamsk. It later fought in Rusa-Volokolamsk, Rzhev, Vyazma and Yelnya before taking part in

Operation Zitadelle The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

(Kursk). It retired to the Svin area in September 1943 and to Mozyr in December. It was transferred to the southern sector in January 1944 and fought at Vinnitsa and later on the Dniester. It withdrew to Poland and ended the war in Pomerania by surrendering to British forces, by which point it only had the 547th Volksgrenadier Division and the 2nd Naval Division under its command.

Commanders

* 20 June 1940 - 11 June 1942 : Heinrich von Vietinghoff * 11 June 1942 - 20 November 1942 : Hans Zorn * 20 November 1942 - 20 June 1943 :

Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck (10 July 1892 – 5 January 1955) was a German general who commanded the 15th Panzer Division in the Afrika Korps. Esebeck had knowledge of and was sympathetic to the anti-Hitler conspiracy in the military. He was a ...

* 20 June 1943 - 2 August 1943 : Hans Zorn * 5 August 1943 - 21 March 1944 :

Hans Gollnick __NOTOC__ Hans Gollnick (22 May 1892 – 15 February 1970) 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 beginning of World War II, Gollni ...

* 22 March 1944 - 3 July 1944 :

Friedrich Schulz __NOTOC__ Friedrich Schulz (15 October 1897 – 30 November 1976) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Awards * 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Cl ...

* 3 July 1944 - 23 July 1944 : Fritz Becker * 24 July 1944 - 28 August 1944 :

Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz Smilo Walther Hinko Oskar Constantin Wilhelm Freiherr von Lüttwitz (23 December 1895 – 19 May 1975) was a German general during World War II and son of Walther von Lüttwitz. After World War II he joined the Bundeswehr on 1 June 1957 and ret ...

* 29 August 1944 - 20 September 1944 :

Maximilian Felzmann Maximilian Felzmann (22 April 1894 – 8 June 1962) was an Austrian general (General of the Artillery) in the Wehrmacht during World War II, and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Awards and decorations * Iro ...

* 21 September 1944 - 19 January 1945 :

Walter Fries __NOTOC__ Walter Fries (22 April 1894 – 6 August 1982) was a German 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 and Swords. Awards * Iron Cross (1914) ...

* 19 January 1945 - 3 May 1945 :

Martin Gareis __NOTOC__ Martin Gareis (6 October 1891 – 26 February 1976) was a German general during World War II who held commands at the divisional, corps and army levels. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Award ...

Notes

References

Literature

* Panzer corps of Germany in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 {{Germany-mil-unit-stub