Army Detachment Kempf was an army-sized formation of the ''

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

'' on the Eastern Front during World War II. As part of

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

, Detachment Kempf saw action during

Operation Citadel Operation Citadel () was the German offensive operation in July 1943 against Soviet forces in the Kursk salient, proposed by Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein during the Second World War on the Eastern Front that initiated the Battle of ...

, the German attempt to cut off the Kursk salient and destroy a large part of the Soviet Army.

Operational history

The detachment was formed on 1 February 1943 as ''Armee-Abteilung Lanz'', led by

Hubert Lanz Karl Hubert Lanz (22 May 1896 – 15 August 1982) was a German general during the Second World War, in which he led units in the Eastern Front and in the Balkans. After the war, he was tried for war crimes and convicted in the Southeast Case, s ...

. On 21 February 1943 Lanz was replaced by

Werner Kempf Werner Kempf (9 March 1886 – 6 January 1964) was a general in the German Army rising to corps-level command during World War II. Kempf is best known for commanding the Army Detachment Kempf during the Battle of Kursk. Career Kempf joined th ...

and the detachment was renamed to reflect this change. In February–March that year, The detachment fought in the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Nazi Germany's Army Group South against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February ...

. The detachment took part in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

. Beginning on the night of 4/5 July 1943, the III Panzer Corps, the detachment's primary attack formation, spearheaded the thrust east of Belgorod. After the failure of the operation, Army Detachment Kempf retreated with the rest of

. Kempf was relieved of command on 17 August 1943. He was replaced by Otto Wöhler on August 16 and the detachment was designated as the 8th Army. The order of battle for Operation Citadel was:''Mine Operations During the Battle of Kursk''
/ref> *III Panzer Corps: 6th, 7th, & 19th Panzer Divisions, 168th Infantry Division *XI Army Corps: 106th, 198th, 320th Infantry Divisions *XLII Army Corps: 39th, 161st, 282nd Infantry Divisions

Commander

References

{{Armies of the German Army Military units and formations of the German Army in World War II CAtegory:Ad hoc units and formations of World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943