XIV Panzer Corps (also: XIV Army Corps or XIV. ''Armeekorps'') was a
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 ...
-level formation of the
German Army
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'' (G ...
which fought on both the
Eastern Front and in the
Italian Campaign.
History
The XIV Panzer Corps was originally formed as the XIV Motorised Corps in
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
on 1 April 1938 to take command of units in the process of motorisation, where it was placed under the leadership of
Gustav von Wietersheim.
The Corps participated in the
Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
in 1939 where it fought in the
Battle of Kock. The Corps later saw action in the
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, Luxembour ...
in 1940, as part of
Panzer Group Kleist, where the
2nd Motorised Division,
13th Motorised Division and the
29th Motorised Division served under it. It was renamed the XIV Panzer Corps on 21 June 1942.
In June 1941, it participated in
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 ...
, where as part of
Panzer Group 1, it served with
Army Group South on the southern sector of the eastern front, advancing via
Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
,
Ternopil and
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...
to
Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...
and in the
Mius sector.
It took part in
Case Blue where it commanded the
60th Motorised Infantry Division,
16th Panzer Division and the
3rd Motorised Infantry Division. Elements of the Corps were the first German units to reach Stalingrad. It was surrounded in the
Stalingrad pocket in November 1942. Hitler ordered its commander, ''
General der Panzertruppe''
Hans-Valentin Hube, to be flown out of the Stalingrad pocket on 15 January 1943. ''
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 ...
''
Helmuth Schlömer, who succeeded Hube, surrendered the Corps to the Soviets.
Re-formed and reorganized at
Dnipro
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
and
Zaporizhzhia
Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...
in 1943, it was transferred to the West and directed all German forces in the
Battle of Sicily under Hube where it commanded the
1st Parachute Division,
15th Panzergrenadier Division,
1st Paratroop Panzer Division ''Hermann Göring'' and elements of the
29th Panzergrenadier Division.
It was briefly commanded by
Hermann Balck in September and October 1943, before he was seriously injured in a plane crash.
The Corps also participated in the
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...
under the command of
General von Senger und Etterlin and included among its formations,
the 1st Parachute Division, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division and the 29th Panzergrenadier Division, which had previously fought under it in Sicily. It remained on the
Italian front until its surrender at the end of the war.
Commanders
*
Gustav Anton von Wietersheim 1 April 1938 – 13 September 1942
*
Hans-Valentin Hube 14 September 1942 – January 1943
*
Helmuth Schlömer 17 January 1943 – 4 March 1943
* Hans-Valentin Hube 5 March 1943 – 1 September 1943
*
Hermann Balck 2 September 1943 – 30 September 1943
* Hans-Valentin Hube 1 October – 21 October 1943
*
Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin 22 October 1943 – May 1945
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Panzer corps of Germany in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1938
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945