|
1st Parachute Army (Wehrmacht)
The German 1st Parachute Army (1. ''Fallschirm-Armee'') was formed in September, 1944, comprising 30,000 men. History Its first commander was Colonel General Kurt Student, the ''Wehrmacht''s airborne pioneer. During the Allied Operation Market Garden, Student's men delayed the Allied advance across the south of the Netherlands. The 30,000 soldiers were likely the only combat-ready reserve forces in Germany at the time. However, few of the Army's units or personnel were paratroopers. Student was transferred to the Eastern Front, and on 18 November 1944, command of the First Parachute Army passed to General der Fallschirmtruppe Alfred Schlemm, who opposed the Canadian First Army during the Battle of the Reichswald. The Canadian First Army and Lieutenant-General William Hood Simpson’s U.S. Ninth Army compressed Schlemm’s forces into a small bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Wesel. On 10 March 1945, the rearguard of the 1st Parachute Army evacuated their bri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurt Student
Kurt Arthur Benno Student (12 May 1890 – 1 July 1978) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the '' Fallschirmjäger'', and as the most senior member of the ''Fallschirmjäger'', commanded it throughout the war. Student led the first major airborne attack in history, the Battle for The Hague, in May 1940. He also commanded the ''Fallschirmjäger'' in its last major airborne operation, the invasion of Crete in May 1941. The operation was a success despite German losses, and led the Allies to hasten the training and development of their own airborne units. In 1947, Student was tried and convicted of war crimes for the mistreatment and murder of prisoners of war by his men in Crete. Student was also responsible for a wave of reprisal massacres committed against Cretan civilians in 1941 but avoided harsh punishment. Early life and career Stude ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Der Fallschirmtruppe
''General der Fallschirmtruppe'' (en: ''General of the parachute corps'') was a General of the branch rank of the Deutsche Luftwaffe (en: German Air Force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of World War II in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on three-star level ( OF-8), equivalent to a US Lieutenant general. The "General of the branch" ranks of the Luftwaffe were in 1945: * General of parachute troops * General of anti-aircraft artillery * General of the aviators * General of air force communications troops * General of the air force The rank was equivalent to the General of the branch ranks of the '' Heer'' (army) as follows: ;Heer: * General of artillery * General of mountain troops * General of infantry * General of cavalry * General of the communications troops * General of panzer troops (armoured troops) * General of engineers * General of the medical corps * General of the veterinary corps ;Other services: The rank was also equivalent to the German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erich Straube
__NOTOC__ Erich Straube (11 December 1887 – 31 March 1971) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held several corps level commands. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. In late August 1944 Straube took command of a provisional army made up of approximately 70,000 personnel. This force suffered heavy casualties during the Battle of the Mons Pocket, with approximately 3,500 Germans being killed and 25,000 taken prisoner. Straube escaped. Awards and decorations * Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (11 September 1914) & 1st Class (5 May 1916)Thomas 1998, p. 359. * Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 in 1934 * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (15 November 1939) & 1st Class (17 May 1940) * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ** Knight's Cross on 19 July 1940 as ''Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
84th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 84th Infantry Division (german: 84. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. Operational history The 84th Infantry Division was raised as part of the 25th deployment wave, along with the 77th, 85th, 89th, 91st and 92nd Infantry Divisions. The deployment of the 25th wave had been ordered on 9 January 1944 and was to use manpower of the Ersatzheer. Divisions of the 25th wave only received two instead of three regiments. The 84th was sent to France to serve under 15th Army of Army Group D, along with the 77th and 85th, whereas the 89th went to Norway, the 91st to Baumholder and the 92nd to Tuscany. Initially, the 84th Infantry Division consisted of the Grenadier Regiments 1051 and 1052. It was deployed on 2 February 1944. The 84th Infantry Division, under 15th Army and Army Group B between May and July, was used as part of the German defense against the Allied Operation Overlord, which began on 6 June 1944, beginning on 29 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Parachute Division (Germany)
The 7. Fallschirmjäger-Division (7th Parachute Division) was a fallschirmjäger (airborne) division of the German military during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The division was first formed as Fallschirmjäger-Division Erdmann in August 1944, from a collection of training units and remnants of other formations, named for its commander Wolfgang Erdmann. It fought at Arnhem during Operation Market-Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ... in September, and in October was redesignated as the 7. Fallschirmjäger-Division. It contained the 19th, 20th and 21st Fallschirmjäger Regiments, and the 7th Fallschirmjäger Artillery Regiment. The division fought on the Western Front for the remainder of the war, surrendering at Oldenburg with the end of hos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LXIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)
The LXIII Army Corps (german: LXIII. Armeekorps) was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The corps was formed in November 1944. History The LXIII Army Corps was formed on 14 November 1944 using the officer staff of '' Generalkommando Dehner'' in southern France. The initial corps commander of the LXIII Army Corps was Friedrich-August Schack. The corps was initially assigned to 19th Army (Friedrich Wiese) in the Upper Rhine area, initially under Army Group G ( Hermann Balck), between December 1944 and January 1945. On 13 December 1944, Schack was succeeded as corps commander by Erich Abraham. By 1945, the 19th Army under which LXIII Army Corps was placed had been moved from the supervision of Army Group G to the supervision of Army Group Upper Rhine (Heinrich Himmler). The corps was then moved to the 1st Parachute Army ( Alfred Schlemm) under Army Group H (Johannes Blaskowitz) in February and March 1945 and eventually the Army Detachment Lüttwitz ( Hein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LXXXVI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)
The LXXXVI Army Corps (german: LXXXVI. Armeekorps) was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was formed in 1942 and existed until 1945. History The LXXXVI Army Corps was formed on 19 November 1942 under the supervision of '' Oberbefehlshaber West'' (Army Group D). The corps was initially headquartered at Dax in southwestern France. The initial commander of the LXXXVI Army Corps was Bruno Bieler. The corps was put under the supervision of the 1st Army in December 1942. After the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944, the LXXXVI Army Corps was called away from the defensive position in the southwest to help the defense of Normandy. The corps was assigned to the 5th Panzer Army under Army Group B. Subsequently, it was driven back by the Allied advance to the Lille area, where it served under the 15th Army in September. The LXXXVI Army Corps was successively driven back to the Venlo and the Lower Rhine regions, where it served under the 1st Parachute Army and agai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Parachute Corps (Germany)
The II Fallschirmkorps (2nd Parachute Corps) was created in 1943 from Division Meindl an experienced division on the Eastern Front. In the wake of this new Corps, the 3rd and 5th Fallschirmjägerdivision were raised and attached to the Corps. A year later the Corps was almost completely annihilated while fighting in the Falaise Pocket during the Battle for Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Nor .... The II Fallschirmkorps was later refitted with replacement troops provided by Fallschirm-Jäger-Ersatz-Battalion 2 and sent to aid the 1st Fallschirm-Armee until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. Under the command of the Werner E. Kranz. Commanding officer * Generalleutnant Eugen Meindl, 5 November 1943 – 5 May 1945 Organisation September 1944 * 3rd Fallsc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies greatly, but from two to five divisions and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 are the numbers stated by the US Department of Defense. Within military terminology a corps may be: *an operational formation, sometimes known as a field corps, which consists of two or more divisions, such as the , later known as ("First Corps") of Napoleon I's ); *an administrative corps (or mustering) – that is a specialized branch of a military service (such as an artillery corps, a medical corps, or a force of military police) or; *in some cases, a distinct service within a national military (such as the United States Marine Corps). These usages often overlap. Corps may also be a generic term for a non-military organization, such as the US Peace Corps an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity (24 March 1945) was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it was the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day and in one location. ''Varsity'' was part of Operation Plunder, the Anglo-American-Canadian assault under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross the northern Rhine River and from there enter Northern Germany. ''Varsity'' was meant to help the surface river assault troops secure a foothold across the Rhine River in Western Germany by landing two airborne divisions on the eastern bank of the Rhine near the village of Hamminkeln and the town of Wesel. The plans called for the dropping of two divisions from U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, under Major General Matthew B. Ridgway, to capture key territory and to generally disrupt German defenses to aid the advance of Allied ground for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Günther Blumentritt
Günther Blumentritt (10 February 1892 – 12 October 1967) was an officer in World War I, who became a Staff Officer under the Weimar Republic and went on to serve as a general for Nazi Germany during World War II. He served throughout the war, mostly on the Western Front, and mostly as a Staff Officer, though he was eventually given his own Corps and made a ''General der Infanterie''. Blumentritt was instrumental in planning the 1939 German invasion of Poland and the 1940 invasion of France, he participated in Operation Barbarossa, and afterward bore a large part of the responsibility for planning the defense of the Atlantic Wall and Normandy. After the war, Blumentritt gave an affidavit at the Nuremberg Trials, though he never testified in person, and then later helped in the rearmament of Germany during the Cold War and the development of the modern German army. Personal life and early career Family and character Born in Munich, Günther Alois Friedrich Blumentritt was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Hood Simpson
General William Hood Simpson (May 18, 1888 – August 15, 1980) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is best known for being the Commanding officer, Commanding General of the Ninth United States Army in Western Front (World War II), northwest Europe during World War II. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he was ranked 101st out of 103 in the class of 1909, Simpson served in the Philippines, where he participated in suppression of the Moro Rebellion, and in Mexico with the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916. During World War I he saw active service in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front on the staff of the 33rd Infantry Division (United States), 33rd Division, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army), Army Distinguished Service Medal and Silver Citation Star. Between the wars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
