The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (''III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps'') was a ''

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

armoured corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other arm ...

which saw action on the Eastern Front during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The ''(Germanische)'' (lit. Germanic) part of its designation was granted as it was composed primarily of foreign volunteer formations.

History

The corps was formed in April 1943 as a headquarters for the 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Wiking" and the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland". The corps was placed under the control of former ''Wiking'' commander ''SS-

Obergruppenführer (, ) was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissioned SS rank after ...

Felix Steiner Felix Martin Julius Steiner (23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served in the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the SS, and commanded several SS divisions and corps. He was awarded t ...

. After training, the corps took part in operations against the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

. The corps was then sent to a quiet sector in

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

, now made up of the ''Nordland'' Division and the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade "Nederland". By this stage, ''Wiking'' had been sent south and came under the control 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 ...

's 8th Army. Forced back by the 1944 Soviet winter offensive, the corps participated in the

Battle for Narva Bridgehead The Battle of Narva Bridgehead (, , ; 2 February – 26 July 1944) was the campaign that stalled the Soviet Estonian operation in the surroundings of the town of Narva for six months. It was the first phase of the Battle of Narva campaign f ...

in the summer of 1944. It then retreated with the rest of the army group across

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and into the

Courland Peninsula The Courland Peninsula (, German: ''Kurland''), also sometimes known as the Couronian Peninsula, is a distinct geographical, historical and cultural region in western Latvia. It represents the north-westernmost part of the broader region of Co ...

. Transferred to the Oder Front and placed under Steiner's

11th SS Panzer Army __NOTOC__ The 11th SS Panzer Army (''SS-Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11'') was little more than a paper army formed in February 1945 by Heinrich Himmler while he was commander of Army Group Vistula. (The army was officially listed as the 11th Army but ...

, the corps participated in

Operation Solstice Operation Solstice (), 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 planned as a major offensive but w ...

before being assigned as the reserve corps to the

3rd Panzer Army The 3rd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942. 3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Group () was formed on 16 November 1940. It was a constituent part of Army Grou ...

Commanders

* ''SS-Obergruppenführer''

(1 May 1943 – 30 October 1944) * ''SS-Obergruppenführer''

Georg Keppler Georg Keppler (7 May 1894 – 16 June 1966) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Das Reich, SS Division Totenkopf, I SS Panzer Corps, III SS Panzer Corps and the XVIII SS Army Corps. Career ...

(30 October 1944 – 4 February 1945) * ''SS-Obergruppenführer''

Matthias Kleinheisterkamp Matthias Kleinheisterkamp (22 June 1893 – 29 April 1945) was a high-ranking German SS commander during the Nazi era. Reaching the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, he commanded the SS Division Totenkopf, SS Division Nord, SS Division Das Rei ...

(4 February 1945 – 11 February 1945) * ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

Martin Unrein __NOTOC__ Martin Unrein (1 January 1901 – 22 January 1972) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions. Career Unrein enlisted the German army in the final stages of World War I and then joined the re-established R ...

(11 February 1945 – 5 March 1945) * ''SS-Obergruppenführer'' Felix Steiner (5 March 1945 – 8 May 1945)

Orders of battle

15 June 1944 — Narva Front *

103rd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 103rd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion () was a German heavy tank battalion of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Operational history The unit was originally formed on 1 July 1943 as the II Battalion, 11th SS Panzer Regiment and sent to Yugoslavia t ...

* 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland" * 20th SS Division Logo

20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) The 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) was a foreign infantry division of the Waffen-SS that served alongside the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II. According to some sources, the division was under ''Reichsführer-SS'' Hei ...

* 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade "Nederland" 16 September 1944 *

* 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland" * 20th SS Division Logo

* 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade "Nederland" * 5th SS Volunteer Assault Brigade "Wallonien" * Shield of the Flemish Legion

6th SS Volunteer Assault Brigade "Langemarck" * 11th Infanterie Division Logo 1

11th Infantry Division * 300th Special Infantry Division * Romanian SS Shield

Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS (1st Romanian)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:03 Waffen-SS corps Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945