The LXVIII Army Corps () was an

army 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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

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 corps was initially formed in April 1943.

History

The LXVIII Army Corps, initially known as ''Generalkommando z.b.V. LXVIII'', ''General Command for special deployment 68'', was formed on 9 April 1943 from the personnel of the Generalkommando z.b.V. which had been formed on 23 September 1942 from personnel that had served on

Special Staff F Special Staff F () was the cover name for a German military mission to Iraq during World War II. ''Sonderstab F'' was created on 20 May 1941 and ceased to exist on 20 June 1941. Description On 23 May, the instructions for ''Sonderstab F'' were det ...

as part of the German support for the insurgents in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allies of World War II, Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état with assista ...

. The first corps commander of LXVIII General Command was

Hellmuth Felmy Hellmuth Felmy (28 May 1885 – 14 December 1965) was a German general and war criminal during World War II, commanding forces in occupied Greece and Yugoslavia. A high-ranking Luftwaffe officer, Felmy was tried and convicted in the 1948 Hostage ...

. The LXVIII General Command was moved to

Army Group E Army Group E () was a German Army Group active during World War II. Army Group E was created on 1 January 1943 from the 12th Army. Units from this Army Group were distributed throughout the Eastern Mediterranean area, including Albania, Greece ...

, part of

Army Group F Army Group F () was a strategic command formation of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. The commander of Army Group F served also as the ''OB South East, Oberbefehlshaber Südost'' (Commander-in-Chief in the Southeast). Created 12 Augus ...

, in late May 1943 and set up its headquarters in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In June 1943, the staff had not yet been assigned divisions but stood by in the reserves of Army Group E. By 7 July, it had been assigned the 1st Panzer Division and the

117th Jäger Division 117th Jäger Division was a German infantry division of World War II. The division was formed in April 1943 by the reorganization and redesignation of the 717th Infantry Division. The 717th Division had been formed in April 1941. It was transfe ...

. The LXVIII General Command remained in charge of these two divisions until late October 1943. In September, the two divisions were briefly joined by the 29th Infantry Division "Piemonte" and the 59th Infantry Division "Cagliari" of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

as part of the short-lived 11th Italian Army. After that, the LXVIII General Command was once again transferred to Army Group E. By 8 November 1943, the 1st Panzer Division had been transferred away and the

11th Luftwaffe Field Division The 11th ''Luftwaffe'' Field Division () was an infantry division of the ''Luftwaffe'' branch of the ''Wehrmacht'' that fought in World War II. History The division was formed into the army on 1 November 1943, near Novgorod in Northern Russia. ...

and the

Brandenburgers The Brandenburgers () were members of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht special forces unit during World War II. Originally, the unit was formed by and operated as an extension of the military's intelligence and counter-espionage organ, the ''Abwehr''. ...

had joined the corps. The exact organizational composition of the LXVIII General Command between January and March 1944 is unclear, as the administrative papers are lost to history. Documents are once again available starting on 15 April, at which point the LXVIII General Command consisted of the 117th Jäger Division, the 11th Luftwaffe Field Division and the newly added 41st Infantry Division. The Brandenburgers had been transferred away. This composition stayed consisted until 31 August 1944. By 16 September, the 11th Luftwaffe Field Division had been transferred away, leaving only the 117th Jäger Division and the 41st Infantry Division. The staff was renamed to become LXVIII Army Corps on 30 September 1943. The 117th Jäger Division was also removed from the LXVIII Army Corps in September, leaving only the 41st Infantry Division by 13 October 1944. Subsequently, the LXVIII Army Corps was itself transferred and was taken from Army Group E to the

2nd Panzer Army The 2nd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941. Organisation Panzer Group Guderian () was formed on 5 June 1940 and named after its commander, general Heinz Gude ...

. Here, it was reunited with the 117th Jäger Division and further strengthened by the 118th Jäger Division and the 1st Mountain Division by 5 November. The 41st Infantry Division was not passed along with the transfer and was thus no longer part of the corps. By 26 November, the 118th Jäger Division and 1st Mountain Division had left the corps, whereas the 44th Infantry Division as well as the

13th In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the Musical note, note thirteen scale degrees from the root (chord), root of a chord (music), chord and also the interval (music), interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is m ...

and 31st SS Divisions had been added. Felmy was succeeded as corps commander by

Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller (29 August 1897 – 20 May 1947) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He led an infantry regiment in the early stages of the war and by 1943 was commander of the 22nd Air Landing Divisio ...

on 8 December 1944. By 31 December, the 117th Jäger Division as well as the 31st SS Division had left the corps, whereas the 71st Infantry Division had been added. This left the 44th and 71st Infantry Divisions as well as the 13th SS Division going into the new year 1945. Müller was succeeded as corps commander by

Rudolf Konrad __NOTOC__ Rudolf Konrad (7 March 1891 – 10 June 1964) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who served as a corps commander. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and, by the end of the war, held the ran ...

on 29 January 1945. By 19 February, the 44th Infantry Division had left the corps, leaving only the 13th SS Division and the 71st Infantry Division. This stayed unchanged through 1 March. By 12 April, the 297th Infantry Division was added. By 7 May 1945, one day before

German surrender in World War II The end of World War II in Europe occurred in May 1945. Following the suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30 April, leadership of Nazi Germany passed to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz and the Flensburg Government. Soviet troops conquered Berlin on 2 May, and ...

, the 297th Infantry Division had left the corps and the 118th Jäger Division had rejoined. Thus, the LXVIII Army Corps consisted of the 13th SS Division, the 71st Infantry Division and the 118th Jäger Division when World War II ended.

Structure

Noteworthy individuals

, corps commander of LXVIII Army Corps (May 1943 – 8 December 1944). *

, corps commander of LXVIII Army Corps (8 December 1944 – 29 January 1945). *

, corps commander of LXVIII Army Corps (29 January 1945 – May 1945).

Notes

References

{{German Army Corps of the Wehrmacht Corps of Germany in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945