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217th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 217th Infantry Division () was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. It later became the Division Group 217. It is also listed as the 217th Volksgrenadier Division. Operational history The 217th Infantry Division, part of the third ''Aufstellungswelle'', was initially formed on 17 August 1939 as a training division in Wehrkreis I (East Prussia) in Allenstein. The division was upgraded to a full division on the day of German mobilization, 26 August 1939. It initially consisted of the Infantry Regiments 311, 346 and 389, as well as Artillery Regiment 217. At the beginning of the Invasion of Poland that started on 1 September 1939, the 217th Infantry Division served in the reserve of Georg von Küchler's 3rd Army under Fedor von Bock's Army Group North. It did not see heavy combat in the Poland campaign. After the conclusion of the campaign, the division was transferred to XXXV Army Corps on the border to the Soviet-occupied part of Poland. During ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (Wehrmacht)
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the German Air Force, ''Luftwaffe'' (German Air Force). , the German Army had a strength of 63,047 soldiers. History Overview A German army equipped, organized, and trained following a single doctrine and permanently unified under one command was created in 1871 during the unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia. From 1871 to 1919, the title ''German Army (German Empire), Deutsches Heer'' (German Army) was the official name of the German land forces. Following the German defeat in World War I and the end of the German Empire, the main army was dissolved. From 1921 to 1935 the name of the German land forces was the ''Reichswehr, Reichsheer'' (Army of the Realm) and from 1935 to 1945 the name ''German Army (We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georg Von Küchler
Georg Carl Wilhelm Friedrich von Küchler (30 May 1881 – 25 May 1968) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. He commanded the 18th Army and Army Group North during the Soviet-German war of 1941–1945. After the end of the war, he was tried in the High Command Trial, as part of the Subsequent Nuremberg trials. On 27 October 1948 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Soviet Union. He was released in 1953. Early life and World War I Born on 30 May 1881 at Schloss Philippsruhe, Küchler's family were Prussian Junker. He entered the Imperial Army in 1900 as an officer cadet in the artillery. He was posted to the 25th Field Artillery Regiment and the following year was commissioned as a '' Leutnant'' (second lieutenant). He remained in his regiment until 1907, when he was assigned to Military Riding School. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a front, with the main goal of capturing territory up to a line between Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan, known as the A-A line. The attack became the largest and costliest military offensive in history, with around 10 million combatants taking part in the opening phase and over 8 million casualties by the end of the operation on 5 December 1941. It marked a major escalation of World War II, opened the Eastern Front—the largest and deadliest land war in history—and brought the Soviet Union into the Allied powers. The operation, code-named after the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa ("red beard"), put into action Nazi Germany's ideological goals of eradicating communism and conquering the western Soviet Union to repopulate it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
II Army Corps (Wehrmacht)
II Army Corps (II. Armeekorps) was a corps in the German Army during World War II. Organisation Organisation of the corps at different times included; 1939 (September) * Corps Staff and Headquarters **402nd Corps Signals Unit **42nd Corps Propaganda Battalion ** 402nd Corps Supply Troops ** 402nd Field Gendarmerie Troop * 3rd Infantry Division * 32nd Infantry Division * 2nd Artillery Command 1940 (May) * Corps Headquarters ** 42nd Corps Signal Battalion ** 402nd Corps Mapping Platoon ** 402nd Courier Platoon ** 402nd Field Post Platoon ** 402nd Supply Battalion ** 402nd Military Police Platoon ** 1st Heavy Reconnaissance Flight, 11th Reconnaissance Squadron (attached from Luftwaffe) ** 3rd Heavy Reconnaissance Flight, 21st Reconnaissance Squadron (attached from Luftwaffe) ** 1st Battalion, 13th Anti-Aircraft Regiment (attached from Luftwaffe) ** 86th Light Anti-Aircraft Battalion (attached from Luftwaffe) * 7th Panzer Division * 12th Infantry Division * 32nd Infantr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 18th Army (German: ''18. Armee'') was a World War II field army in the German ''Wehrmacht''. Formed in November 1939 in Military Region (''Wehrkreis'') VI, the 18th Army was part of the offensive into the Netherlands (Battle of the Netherlands) and Belgium (Battle of Belgium) during Fall Gelb and later moved into France in 1940. The 18th Army was then moved East and participated in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. The Army was a part of the Army Group North until early 1945, when it was subordinated to Army Group Kurland. In October 1944, the army was encircled by the Red Army offensives and spent the remainder of the war in the Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket was a Pocket (military), pocket located on the Courland Peninsula in Latvia on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 9 October 1944 to 10 May 1945. Army Group North of the ''Wehrmacht'' were .... History On 22 July 1940, the 18th Army consisted of XXVI Corps ( 161st and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XXVI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)
The XXVI Army Corps () was a Wehrmacht army corps during World War II. It existed from 1939 to 1945. It was also known as Corps Wodrig () during the Invasion of Poland. History The XXVI Army Corps was formed under the name ''Führungsstab z. b. V.'' under the supervision of AOK 1 in Königsberg on 22 August 1939. Its initial commander was Albert Wodrig, earning it the nickname ''Korps Wodrig'' before the official designation as an army corps on 1 October. Wodrig remained in command until 1 October 1942. During the Invasion of Poland, Corps Wodrig oversaw the 1st and 12th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 1st Cavalry Brigade. Corps Wodrig was stationed in southern East Prussia as part of 3rd Army, commanded by Georg von Küchler. The 3rd Army was in turn under the supervision of Army Group North, commanded by Fedor von Bock. In the opening days of the invasion, Corps Wodrig struck straight south into the units of the Polish Modlin Army in the Mława area. The resulting Batt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 4th Army () was a field army of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Invasions of Poland and France The 4th Army was activated on 1 August 1939 with General Günther von Kluge in command. It took part in the Invasion of Poland of September 1939 as part of Army Group North, which was under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. The 4th Army contained the II Corps and III Corps, each with two infantry divisions, the XIX Corps with two motorized and one panzer divisions, and three other divisions, including two in reserve. Its objective was to capture the Polish Corridor, thus linking mainland Germany with East Prussia. During the attack on the Low Countries and France, the 4th Army, as part of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group A, invaded Belgium from the Rhineland. Along with other German armies, the 4th Army penetrated the Dyle Line and completed the trapping of the Allied forces in France. During the Western Campaign, the 4th Army was at the center of an organiz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Army Corps (Wehrmacht)
The I Army Corps () was a corps of the German army during World War II. It was active between 1934 and 1945, and participated in the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France and the campaigns on the Eastern Front before eventually ending the war trapped in the Courland Pocket. Operational history Peacetime The I Army Corps General Command () was formed in October 1934 from the 1st Division of the Reichswehr. Like the 1st Division before it, the I Army Corps was headquartered at Königsberg in East Prussia. The final commander of the 1st Division, Walther von Brauchitsch, became the first commanding general of I Army Corps on 21 June 1935. Invasion of Poland I Army Corps participated in the Invasion of Poland as part of 3rd Army (operating from East Prussia) of Army Group North, Its subordinate divisions were Panzer Division Kempf (with SS Regiment ''Großdeutschland'' and 10th Panzer Regiment), 11th Infantry Division and 61st Infantry Division. Walter Petzel was th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberkommando Des Heeres
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 Moscow in December 1941. During World War II, OKH had the responsibility of strategic planning of Armies and Army Groups. The General Staff of the OKH managed operational matters. Each German Army also had an Army High Command ( or AOK). The Armed Forces High Command () then took over this function for theatres other than the Eastern front. The OKH commander held the title of Commander-in-chief of the Army (). After the Battle of Moscow, the OKH commander Field marshal Walther von Brauchitsch was removed from office, and Hitler appointed himself as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. From 1938, OKH was, together with () and () formally subordinated to the . OKH vs OKW OKH had been independent until February 1938, when Hitler creat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of France
The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and French Third Republic, France. The plan for the invasion of the Low Countries and France was called (Case Yellow or the Manstein plan). (Case Red) was planned to finish off the French and British after the Dunkirk evacuation, evacuation at Dunkirk. The Low Countries and France were defeated and occupied by Axis troops down to the Demarcation line (France), Demarcation line. On 3 September 1939, French declaration of war on Germany (1939), France and United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939), Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, over the German invasion of Poland on 1 September. In early September 1939, the French army began the limited Saar Offensive but by mid-October had withdrawn to the start line ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet Union, it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country by area, extending across Time in Russia, eleven time zones and sharing Geography of the Soviet Union#Borders and neighbors, borders with twelve countries, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, third-most populous country. An overall successor to the Russian Empire, it was nominally organized as a federal union of Republics of the Soviet Union, national republics, the largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR. In practice, Government of the Soviet Union, its government and Economy of the Soviet Union, economy were Soviet-type economic planning, highly centralized. As a one-party state go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XXXV Army Corps (Wehrmacht)
German XXXV. Corps (XXXV. Armeekorps) was a corps in the German Army during World War II. History The Corps was first known as Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXXV (H.Kdo.) and was established on 15 October 1939 in Breslau. After the Invasion of Poland, the H.Kdo was stationed there between December 1939 and June 1941. After the start of Operation Barbarossa (June 1941), the H.Kdo saw its first action at the beginning of July 1941 in the Battle of Kiev (1941). As part of the 2nd Army, the H.Kdo formed part of the northern pincer. After successfully completing this battle, the H.Kdo advanced with the 2nd Panzer Army towards Moscow. The H.Kdo. advanced towards Yefremov, but was overstretched and had hardly any contact with its neighbors. Now it was time for the Soviets to launch their Yelets Offensive on 6 December 1941. Soon the H.Kdo. was in full retreat under heavy attacks from the Soviet 3rd Army. The front line stabilised on December 17, 1941, but had moved almost 100 k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
