The XXXIX Panzer Corps (german: XXXIX.Panzerkorps, also previously designated the ''XXXIX.Armeekorps (mot)'') was a
German
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
**Ge ...
panzer
This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht ...
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 ...
which saw action on the
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Eastern Fronts 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 ...
.
Operational history
The Corps whose home station was formed (as the XXXIX Army Corps) in 1940 for the German
invasion of France
France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans.
* the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...
, in which it was part of Group
Guderian Guderian is a German surname. Other spellings are '' Guderjahn'' and '' Guderjan''. It is present in Greater Poland and Mazovia
Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European ...
, the
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...
and
1st Armies. In June 1941 the Corps was assigned to
Army Group Centre 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 after ...
, Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. It initially attacked towards
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
and then took part in the first
Battle of Minsk. By August, it was assigned to
Army Group North
Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...
for the
attack on Leningrad.
In 9 July 1942 the Corps was reorganised as the XXXIX Panzer Corps. It was shifted to the
Rzhev salient
The Battles of Rzhev (russian: Ржевская битва, Rzhevskaya bitva) were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between January 8, 1942, and March 31, 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place ...
, under the
9th Army of
Army Group Centre, where it was involved in
Battle of Rzhev in the summer of 1942. Army Group Centre evacuated the Rzhev salient early in 1943. During the autumn, the Corps took part in the defence against
Operation Suvorov
The second Smolensk operation (7 August – 2 October 1943) was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943. Staged almost simultaneously with the Lower Dnieper Offensive (13 Aug ...
, withdrawing to positions east of
Mogilev
Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...
.
During June 1944 the XXXIX Panzer Corps took part in the defence against the Soviet summer offensive,
Operation Bagration
Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...
; covering the strategically important highway through Mogilev, it was one of the strongest corps in the Army Group at the time, with four high-quality divisions. Soviet breakthroughs to the north and south saw the Corps threatened with encirclement within a matter of days, while the 12th Infantry Division was encircled in Mogilev and destroyed. The corps commander, General
Robert Martinek
__NOTOC__
Robert Martinek (2 February 1889 – 28 June 1944) was an Austrian general who served 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.
An artillery offic ...
was killed on 28 June and his replacement
Otto Schünemann __NOTOC__
Otto Schünemann (6 October 1891 – 29 June 1944) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Schünemann was killed on 29 June 1944 near Mogilev in Belarus durin ...
, was killed the following day. The Corps disintegrated at the
Berezina River crossings as its columns attempted to cross the river under heavy air attack; nearly all its units were destroyed by the
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front ( Russian: Второй Белорусский фронт, alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front) was a military formation, of Army group size, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Soviet army g ...
in the subsequent encirclement east of
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
. The commanders of the 110th, 12th, 31st and ''Feldherrnhalle'' Divisions, Kurowski, Bamler, Ochsner, and Steinkeller respectively, were all captured.
The Corps was reformed by redesignating ''Gruppe von Saucken'', composed of ''ad hoc'' battle groups along with the
5th Panzer Division and commanded by
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 ...
. Renamed XXXIX Panzer Corps, it fought for the control of Minsk and then retreated in the face of the subsequent stages of the Soviet strategic offensive through Belarus, Poland and Lithuania, being pushed back into the
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...
. During this period, the rebuilt Corps was reinforced with the
4th and
12th
12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6.
It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...
Panzer Divisions as well as the
Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland
The Panzergrenadier Division " Großdeutschland", also commonly referred to simply as Großdeutschland or Großdeutschland Division, was an elite combat unit of the German Army (''Heer'') that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
Origin ...
, taking part in
Operation Doppelkopf
Operation Doppelkopf (german: Unternehmen Doppelkopf) and the following Operation Cäsar were German counter-offensives on the Eastern Front in the late summer of 1944 in the aftermath of the major Soviet advance in Operation Bagration with the a ...
. Late in the year it was redeployed to
East Prussia before being reorganised and withdrawn for use in the
Ardennes Offensive
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 ...
. It was assigned to
Hasso von Manteuffel
Freiherr Hasso Eccard von Manteuffel (14 January 1897 – 24 September 1978) was a German baron born to the Prussian noble von Manteuffel family and was a general during World War II who commanded the 5th Panzer Army. He was a recipient of th ...
's
5th Panzer Army
5th Panzer Army (german: 5. Panzerarmee) was the name of two different German armoured formations during World War II. The first of these was formed in 1942, during the North African campaign and surrendered to the Allies at Tunis in 1943. The ...
.
After the defeat of the Ardennes offensive in the
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 was redeployed against the Soviet offensives in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
as part of the newly organised
11th SS Panzer Army __NOTOC__
The 11th SS Panzer Army (''SS-Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11'') was not much more than a paper army formed in February 1945 by Heinrich Himmler while he was commander of Army Group Vistula.
The military historian Antony Beevor wrote that whe ...
,
Army Group Vistula. It was employed in
Operation Solstice
Operation Solstice (german: Unternehmen Sonnenwende), also known as ''Unternehmen Husarenritt'' or the Stargard tank battle, was one of the last German armoured offensive operations on the Eastern Front in World War II.
It was originally plann ...
, the failed counter-offensive at
Stargard against the spearheads of the
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...
. On 27 March the Corps was thrown into a disastrous counter-attack to relieve the fortress of
Küstrin, and was almost entirely destroyed.
Commanders
* Generaloberst
Rudolf Schmidt
Rudolf Schmidt (12 May 1886 – 7 April 1957) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 2nd Panzer Army on the Eastern Front. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leav ...
(1 February 1940 – 10 November 1941)
* Generaloberst
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
Hans-Jürgen Bernard Theodor von Arnim (; 4 April 1889 – 1 September 1962) was a German general in the Nazi Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several armies. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Early life ...
(11 November 1941 – 30 November 1942)
* General der Artillerie
Robert Martinek
__NOTOC__
Robert Martinek (2 February 1889 – 28 June 1944) was an Austrian general who served 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.
An artillery offic ...
(1 December 1942 – 13 November 1943)
* General der Infanterie
Carl Püchler __NOTOC__
Carl Püchler (13 May 1894 – 5 February 1949) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Awards and decorations
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 Dec ...
(13 November 1943 – 18 April 1944)
* General der Artillerie
Robert Martinek
__NOTOC__
Robert Martinek (2 February 1889 – 28 June 1944) was an Austrian general who served 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.
An artillery offic ...
(18 April 1944 – 28 June 1944) - KIA
* Generalleutnant
Otto Schünemann __NOTOC__
Otto Schünemann (6 October 1891 – 29 June 1944) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Schünemann was killed on 29 June 1944 near Mogilev in Belarus durin ...
(28 June 1944 – 29 June 1944) - KIA
* General der Panzertruppe
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 ...
(29 June 1944 – 15 October 1944)
* General der Panzertruppe
Karl Decker (15 October 1944 – 21 April 1945)
* Generalleutnant
Karl Arndt
__NOTOC__
Karl Hermann Arndt (10 March 1892 – 30 December 1981) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Ger ...
(21 April 1945 – 8 May 1945)
Orders of battle
* May 1940
**
208th infantry division
**
225th infantry division
* June 1941
**
14th Infantry Division
**
20th Infantry Division
**
7th Panzer Division
**
20th Panzer Division
The 20th Panzer Division ( en, 20th Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. It was created from parts of the 19th Infantry Division.
The division fought exclusively on the Eastern Front, taking part in th ...
* October 1942
**
78th Infantry Division
**
102nd Infantry Division
**
1st Panzer Division
**
5th Panzer Division
* June 1944
**
12th Infantry Division
**
31st Infantry Division
**
110th Infantry Division
**
337th Infantry Division
**
''Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle'' (reserve)
* 27 March 1945 – Küstrin Counterattack
** Korps Stab
*** Arko 140
*** Korps-Nachrichten-Abteilung 439
*** Korps-Nachschub-Truppen 439
*** Ost-Bataillon 439
***
schwere-SS-Panzer-Abteilung 502
***
Kampfgruppe ''1001 Nachtes''
**
Panzer-Division Müncheberg
**
20.Panzergrenadier-Division
**
25.Panzergrenadier-Division
**
''Führer''-Grenadier-Division
Footnotes
References
*
*
*
*
;Websites
*
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P039
Military units and formations established in 1940
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945