The XI SS Corps (German: ''XI. SS-Armeekorps'' later ''XI. 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 ...

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 ...

created on July 24, 1944 in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on the basis of the remains of the headquarters of the defeated V Army Corps and employed on the Eastern Front in 1944-1945 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 ...

. There were no SS units in the corps, as the SS prefix in the name is explained only by the fact that the commander,

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 ...

, was not a general 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 ...

'', but an ''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 ...

''. On February 1, 1945 the corps was transformed into the XI SS Panzer Corps.

History

The corps was formed in August 1944 in Western Galicia as part of the 17th Army, which was subordinate to

Army Group North Ukraine The Army Group North Ukraine () was a major formation of the German army in World War II. History It was created on 5 April 1944 by renaming Army Group South under Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model. In April 1944 it consisted of 1st Panzer Arm ...

(in October renamed

Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...

). It defended the front between

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

and

Pilzno Pilzno is a town in Poland, in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in Dębica County. It had 4,943 inhabitants as of 2018. Notable residents * Karol Irzykowski (1873–1944), writer and literary critic * Sebastian Petrycy (1554–1626), a Polish ph ...

until it had to withdraw to the

Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians () are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland w ...

during the Vistula–Oder offensive in January 1945. It became part of the 9th Army tasked with holding a defensive line on the

Oder River The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through west ...

. On February 1, 1945 the corps was upgraded to the XI SS Panzer Corps, and was ordered to destroy the Soviet bridgehead near Küstrin and relieve the fortress, but failed. The corps then fought in the

Battle of the Seelow Heights The Battle of the Seelow Heights () was part of the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation (16 April – 2 May 1945). A pitched battle, it was one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of the Second World War. It was fough ...

and the

Battle of Halbe The Battle of Halbe (, Battle of the Halbe Pocket; , Halbe pocket) was a battle lasting from April 24 – May 1, 1945 in which the German Ninth Army—under the command of General Theodor Busse—was destroyed as a fighting force by the Red A ...

in late April 1945 and was defeated by Soviet troops. Kleinheisterkamp was among those captured and committed suicide shortly after.

Orders of battle

September 1944 * 78th Sturm-Division Logo

78th Assault Division The 78th Infantry Division (), later known as the 78th Assault Division (), was a German infantry formation which fought during World War II. After the 78th Assault Division was destroyed near Minsk in July 1944, the 78th Volksgrenadier Division ...

* 544th Grenadier Division * 545th Grenadier Division March 1945 *

25th Panzergrenadier Division The 25th Infantry Division () was a military unit of the German Wehrmacht. It was later reclassified to 25th Motorized Infantry Division (), and in June 1943 to the 25th Panzergrenadier Division (). The 25th Panzergrenadier Division fought in t ...

712th Infantry Division The 712th Infantry Division () was a German Army Infantry division in World War II. Operational history The 712th Infantry Division was raised in early 1941 as part of the 15th wave of Wehrmacht forces, and was moved to occupied France along th ...

Panzergrenadier Division Kurmark The Panzergrenadier Division Kurmark, sometimes also referred to as Panzer Division Kurmark, was a armoured formation of the German Army during World War II. It was raised in January 1945 as part of the preparation for the Battle of Berlin. It wa ...

* Küstrin Fortress

Sources

* ''This is a translation of an article in the

Dutch Wikipedia The Dutch Wikipedia () is the Dutch-language edition of the free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. It was founded on 19 June 2001. As of , the Dutch Wikipedia is the -largest Wikipedia edition, with articles. It was the fourth Wikipedia ed ...

, XI SS Korps.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:11 Waffen-SS corps Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945