HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Army Group H () was a German army group during World War II, active between November 1944 and May 1945. It was deployed mainly in the German-occupied Netherlands. The staff was known as Supreme Commander North West () from 7 April. The army group surrendered at Lüneburg Heath on 4 May 1945. H was the highest letter given to a German army group during World War II.


History

In mid-to-late 1944, the Western Allies had undertaken the ambitious Operation Market Garden, a multi-layered airborne assault against several targets in the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
with the aim to quickly cross the major geographic barrier of the area, the
Rhine river The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...
. Although the German counterattack against Market Garden broadly succeeded and inflicted heavy Allied casualties (especially at
Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...
), German operational planners feared repeated Allied attempts to break through the German defenses in the northern sector of the Western Front. Army Group H was formed on 11 November 1944 in the German-occupied Netherlands, using personnel from the former Army Detachment Kleffel as well as parts of the former Army Detachment Serbia. Kurt Student was assigned for command of the army group, then being prepared for formation, on 27 October 1944. The staff for the army group was assembled on 10 November. After 7 April 1945, the command staff of Army Group H was also designated "Supreme Commander North West". Army Group H was mainly to hold the German defenses along the Rhine river, though it also had to shield several key targets on the west bank of the river, such as the
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...
bridgehead (which stretched from
Dinslaken Dinslaken () is a town in the Wesel (district), district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known for its harness racing track, its now closed Coal mining, coal mine in Dinslaken-Lohberg, Lohberg and its wealthy neighborhoods ''Hi ...
via
Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...
to Düsseldorf), with which the Germans intended to shield the vital Rhine-Ruhr industrial region. Secondary defensive lines inside this bridgehead were installed at Duisburg-Homburg, Krefeld-Uerdingen, and Düsseldorf. As of December 1944, Army Group H contained the 1st Parachute Army and the 15th Army. On 1 December 1944, Army Group H counted 484,656 soldiers. In the broader German strategy of the Western Front, Army Group H was subordinate to Supreme Command West (also known, from its previous designation, as "Army Group D"), along with
Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...
and
Army Group G Army Group G () fought on the Western Front of World War II and was a component of OB West. History Army Group G was initially deployed as an '' Armeegruppe''-type formation on 28 April 1944, but was later upgraded to ''Heeresgruppe''-type on 1 ...
. Army Group H stood opposite the northern flank of the Western Allied forces, which was mainly covered by the Allied 21st Army Group (with the 1st Canadian Army and 2nd British Army). Planning for the German ''Ardennes Offensive'' ("
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...
", December 1944 – January 1945) initially gave Army Group H an active role, but the 15th Army was then repurposed to merely serve to cover the flank of the advancing 6th SS Panzer Army. Army Group H was then intended to join the offensive with a southwards thrust once the operational breakthrough to
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
had been secured. As this breakthrough did not materialize, Army Group H did not join the Ardennes Offensive with its own forces. Initially, Army Group H had been intended to receive the
I SS Panzer Corps The I SS Panzer Corps () was a German armoured corps of the ''Waffen-SS''. It saw action on both the Western Front (World War II), Western and Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Fronts during World War II. Formation and training The Corps was ...
(with 1st SS Panzer Division and 12th SS Panzer Division) in late January 1945 to possibly commence counterattacks against the advancing Western Allies, but the I SS Panzer Corps was rerouted on short notice to join the Austrian front, where the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
was making rapid gains.
Johannes Blaskowitz Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. After joining the Imperial German Army in 1901, Blaskowitz served throughout World War I, where he earned the Iron Cross for brav ...
replaced Student as commander of Army Group H on 30 January 1945. Between January and March 1945, the army group contained the 1st Parachute and the 25th Army. On 1 February 1945, the army group was supplied with the 172nd Reserve Division for coastal defense in
Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...
. On 10 February 1945, VI Flak Corps was formed to oversee 16th Flak Division, 9th Flak Brigade and 18th Flak Brigade in the sector of Army Group H. On 1 March 1945, the army group had an overall strength of seven infantry divisions, four airborne divisions, one panzer division, one ''Panzergrenadier'' division and the 106th Panzer Brigade. With the deep advances by the Western Allies into the German heartland between March and April (such as the capture of
Eisenach Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...
and
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
on 7 April), western Germany was effectively split into several areas of defense, of which the remaining forces of Army Group H in the "Fortress Holland", especially 25th Army, were the strongest. Ernst Busch replaced Blaskowitz as commander of Army Group H on 15 April 1945.


Noteworthy individuals

* Kurt Student, commander of Army Group H from 7 November 1944 until 30 January 1945. *
Johannes Blaskowitz Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. After joining the Imperial German Army in 1901, Blaskowitz served throughout World War I, where he earned the Iron Cross for brav ...
, commander of Army Group H from 30 January until 15 April 1945 (also "Supreme Commander North West" from 7 April 1945 until 15 April 1945). * Ernst Busch, commander of Army Group H (and "Supreme Commander North West") from 15 April 1945 until capitulation.


References

{{Army Groups Germany Army groups of the German Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945