XXXXII Army Corps (XXXXII. Armeekorps) was a corps in 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 ...
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 ...
.
Commanders
* General der Pioniere
Walter Kuntze
__NOTOC__
Walter Kuntze (23 February 1883 – 1 April 1960) was a German general and war criminal during World War II who commanded the 12th Army. He was the commanding officer responsible for the execution of men and teenage boys in the Kraguj ...
, 29 January 1940 – 24 October 1941
* Generalleutnant (''Major General'')
Hans Graf von Sponeck, 24 October 1941 – 29 October 1941
* General der Infanterie (''Lieutenant General'')
Bruno Bieler
__NOTOC__
Bruno Bieler (18 June 1888 – 22 March 1966) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who commanded the XLII Corps during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Awards and decorations
* Iron Cr ...
, 30 October 1941 – 4/6 December 1941
* Generalleutnant (''Major General'')
Hans Graf von Sponeck, 4/6 December 1941 – 1 January 1942
** Graf von Sponeck, on leave, but still official commander of the 22nd Infantry Division, took over for Bieler (who had requested a short recovery leave on 1 December 1941) on c. 6 December 1941 ("charged with deputy leadership"), although arriving at the Corps headquarters on 4 December 1941.
* General der Infanterie (''Lieutenant General'')
Franz Mattenklott
Franz Friedrich Hugo Mattenklott (19 November 1884 – 28 June 1954) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Born in Silesia, Mattenklott became a m ...
, 1 January 1942 – 22 June 1943
* General der Infanterie (''Lieutenant General'')
Anton Dostler
Anton Dostler (10 May 1891 – 1 December 1945) was a German army officer who fought in both World Wars. During World War II, he commanded several units as a General of the Infantry, primarily in Italy. After the Axis defeat, Dostler was executed ...
, 22 June 1943 – July 1943
* General der Infanterie (''Lieutenant General'')
Franz Mattenklott
Franz Friedrich Hugo Mattenklott (19 November 1884 – 28 June 1954) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Born in Silesia, Mattenklott became a m ...
, July 1943 – January 1944
* Generalleutnant
Theo-Helmut Lieb
__NOTOC__
Theo-Helmut Lieb (25 November 1889 – 20 March 1981) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who held several divisional commands during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. ...
(''acting''), January 1944 – March 1944 (Corps destroyed)
* General der Infanterie (''Lieutenant General'')
Franz Mattenklott
Franz Friedrich Hugo Mattenklott (19 November 1884 – 28 June 1954) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Born in Silesia, Mattenklott became a m ...
, 15 March 1944 – 14 June 1944
* General der Infanterie (''Lieutenant General'')
Hermann Recknagel
__NOTOC__
Hermann Recknagel (18 July 1892 – 23 January 1945) was a German general during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Recknagel was shot and killed by Polish parti ...
, 14 June 1944 – 23 January 1945 (Killed in action)
* Generalmajor
Arthur Finger __NOTOC__
Arthur Finger (18 January 1898 – 27 January 1945), born in Toruń, was a German general (Generalmajor) in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Finger was kille ...
, 23 January 1945 – 27 January 1945 (Killed in action)
Operations
The General Command XXXXII. Army Corps was created on 29 January 1940 in military district XIII. In 1940 the Corps took part in the western campaign.
In June 1941, it was transported to the Eastern Front and added to
9th Army. Here it fought in the Baltics and participated in the
conquest of Tallinn and the Baltic islands. In October 1941 it was transferred to the Crimea, where it participated in the aftermath of the fighting on the peninsula. In the spring of 1942, it participated in the
conquest of the fortress Sevastopol. From 19 August 1942 to April 1943, the Corps occupied the Crimea. By the end of April 1943, the corps was transferred to the Kharkov area. After heavy fighting in the upper Donets it participated in the
Operation Citadel
Operation Citadel () was the German offensive operation in July 1943 against Soviet forces in the Kursk salient, proposed by Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein during the Second World War on the Eastern Front that initiated the Battle of ...
, the German offensive at Kursk. After their failure, defense and retreat battles followed to the Dnieper. The corps was destroyed in early March 1944 in the
Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...
. The remainder served to refresh the
88th Infantry Division.
Reorganized on 15 March 1944, the XXXXII. Army Corps was again fully operational on 19 July 1944. It was subordinated 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 ...
and fought in the area west of Lutsk. By the end of 1944, the corps had to withdraw to the Vistula, where it was involved in heavy fighting. In January 1945, the Corps was again destroyed and not rebuilt.
See also
*
List of German corps in World War II
List of German corps in World War II
This is a list of German Army corps that existed during World War II.
Army (Heer)
Infantry corps
I–IX
* I Army Corps
* II Army Corps
* III Army Corps
* IV Army Corps
* V Army Corps
* VI Army Corps
* ...
Source
*
{{German Army Corps of the Wehrmacht
Army,50
Military units and formations established in 1940
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945