The XXII (Motorized) Army Corps () was a German army corps 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 ...

History

The XXII (Motorized) Army Corps was created on 26 August 1939 in

Wehrkreis X The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military dist ...

. The Corps participated the next month 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 ...

, during which it broke through the southern wing of the Polish Army. In May 1940, the High Command of the XXII Corps also received command over the XIV ( von Wietersheim), XXXXI ( Reinhardt) and

XIX Army Corps The XIX Army Corps (German language, German: ''XIX. Armeekorps'') was an Panzer corps, armored corps of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht between 1 July 1939 and 16 November 1940, when the unit was renamed Panzer Group 2 (German: ''Panzergrupp ...

(

Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...

), and renamed as Panzer Group Kleist (), was engaged 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 ...

under command of Ewald von Kleist. It played a crucial role in the German victory, when it overwhelmed the French defenses at Sedan, and advanced west reaching the sea at Abbeville. In June 1940, during

Fall Rot ''Fall Rot'' (Case Red) was the plan for a German military operation after the success of (Case Yellow), the Battle of France, an invasion of the Benelux countries and northern France. The Allied armies had been defeated and pushed back in t ...

, the second phase in the Battle of France, Panzergruppe von Kleist was in control of the XIV ( von Wietersheim) and

XVI Panzer Corps The XVI Army Corps (16th Corps) was a corps in the German Army during World War II. The XVI (motorized) Corps () was activated as a headquarters for motorized units in February 1938 in Berlin. The XVI Corps was assigned to the 10th Army in the ...

( Hoepner), and advanced as far as the Spanish border. In July 1940, the Corps was again reverted from a Panzer Group to the XXII Army Corps. On 16 November 1940 the XXII Corps was converted into

Panzergruppe 1 The 1st Panzer Army () was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II. When originally formed on 1 March 1940, the predecessor of the 1st Panzer Army was named Panzer Group Kleist (''Panzergruppe ...

, still under command of Von Kleist.

Commanders

* Generaloberst Ewald von Kleist * Chief of Staff : Colonel

Kurt Zeitzler Kurt Zeitzler (9 June 1895 – 25 September 1963) was a Chief of the Army General Staff in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. Zeitzler was almost exclusively a staff officer, serving as chief of staff in a corps, army, and ...

Area of operations

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 ...

- September 1939 to October 1939 *

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

- June 1940 to July 1940

Sources

XXII. Armeekorps on Lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:XXII Army Corps (Wehrmacht) Army,22 Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940