X Army Corps (X. Armeekorps) was a corps in the German Army during World War II. It was formed in mid-May 1935 from the Cavalry Division. After the mobilization of 28 August 1939, the corps was deployed under General Wilhelm Ulex on the right wing of the 8th Army (commanded by General Blaskowitz) during the Polish campaign. After taking part in the

Battle of the Bzura The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was both the largest battle and Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Goog ...

the corps was transferred to Warsaw. It later moved to western Europe and was eventually stationed in Normandy. In April 1941 the corps was transferred to

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

to take part 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 ...

as part of the 16th Army in

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

. The invasion of Russia commenced on 22 June following. In 1942 the corps was trapped in the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (; ) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February to 21 April 1942. A much ...

near

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, surrounded by Soviet troops and cut off for several months from the rest of the army. They were supplied by air until German troops could break through to them. After the lifting of the

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

by Generals Govorov and Merezkow and the loss of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

to the Soviet 59th Army in January 1944, the 16th Army was forced to retreat. Having retreated to

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

the corps came under the command of the 18th Army. After the breakthrough of the Soviet 51st Army under General Kreiser on 10 October near Polangen on the Baltic Sea, X Corps, with the 11th, 30th, and 61st Infantry Divisions, took command of the southern front of the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket was a Pocket (military), pocket located on the Courland Peninsula in Latvia on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 9 October 1944 to 10 May 1945. Army Group North of the ''Wehrmacht'' were ...

. From October 27 to November 2, 1944, they withstood the main attack of the Soviet

5th Tank Army The 5th Tank Army is the name of several Soviet units during World War II (not to be confused with the 5th Guards Tank Army). Its first formation occurred on 5 June, 1942, commanded by Major-General Alexander Lizyukov, serving under the Bryansk ...

and sustained losses of more than 4,000 men. The German Army surrendered on May 8, 1945.

Commanders

* Cavalry General (''

General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry () was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers of equivalent rank were called ...

'')

Wilhelm Knochenhauer Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Wilhe ...

, May 1935 – June 1939 * Lieutenant-General

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 ...

Erich Lüdke Erich Lüdke (20 October 1882 – 13 February 1946) was a German General of the Infantry who was supreme commander of the German forces in Denmark from 1 June 1940 to 29 September 1942. Taken into custody by the Soviets after the war, he died in c ...

, 29. June – 26. August 1939 * Infantry General (''

General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

'')

Wilhelm Ulex Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Wilhe ...

, 26. August – October 1939 * Artillery General (''

General der Artillerie (English language, en: General of the artillery) may mean: A rank of three-star rank, three-star General of the branch, general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussian A ...

'') Christian Hansen, 15. October 1939 – May 1942 * Tank general (''

General der Panzertruppe ''General der Panzertruppe'' () was a General of the branch rank of the German Army (1935–1945), German Army, introduced in 1935. A ''General der Panzertruppe'' was a lieutenant general, above major general (''Generalleutnant''), commanding a ...

'')

Otto von Knobelsdorff Otto von Knobelsdorff (31 March 1886 – 21 October 1966) was a German general during World War II who led the 19th Panzer Division and then held a series of higher commands. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Le ...

, May – June 1942 * Artillery General (''

'') Christian Hansen, Juni 1942 bis 1. Juli 1943 * Lieutenant-General

Otto Sponheimer __NOTOC__ Otto Sponheimer (19 December 1886 – 14 March 1961) was a German general (General of the Infantry) in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of N ...

, 1. Juli – 31. July 1943 m.st.F.b. * Artillery General (''

'') Christian Hansen, 1 August – 4 November 1943 * Infantry General (''

'') Thomas-Emil von Wickede, 4 November 1943 – 23 June 1944 * Infantry General (''

'') Friedrich Köchling, 25 June – 3 September 1944 * Infantry General (''

'') Hermann Foertsch, 21 September – 21 December 1944 * Lieutenant-General

Johannes Mayer Johannes Mayer (6 September 1893 – 7 August 1963) was a German General of the Infantry in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Promotions *9. ...

, 21 – 27 December 1944 * Artillery General (''

'') Siegfried Thomaschki, 27 Dezember 1944 – May 1945

Areas of Operation

* Poland : September 1939 – May 1940 * France : May 1940 – June 1941 * Eastern Front, North Sector : June 1941 – October 1944 * Courland Pocket : October 1944 – May 1945

References

* Based on a translation of the equivalent article ( :de:X. Armeekorps (Wehrmacht)) on German Wikipedia * Georg Tessin: ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945'', Volume 3, Frankfurt/Main und Osnabrück 1966, pp 163–164. *

Percy Ernst Schramm Percy Ernst Schramm (14 October 1894 – 12 November 1970) was a German historian who specialized in art history and medieval history. Schramm was a Chair and Professor of History at the University of Göttingen from 1929 to 1963. Early lif ...

(Hrsg.): ''Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht'', Bernard & Graefe Verlag for Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965. ** Volume I: 1940/41 written by Hans-Adolf Jacobsen. ** Volume II: 1942 written by

Andreas Hillgruber Andreas Fritz Hillgruber (18 January 1925 – 8 May 1989) was a Conservatism, conservative German historian who was influential as a military and diplomatic historian who played a leading role in the ''Historikerstreit'' of the 1980s. In his contr ...

, Bernard & Graefe Verlag for Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965. ** Volume III: 1943 written by Walther Hubatsch, Bernard & Graefe Verlag for Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965. {{German Army Corps of the Wehrmacht Army,10 Military units and formations established in 1935 1935 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945