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XVIII SS Corps
XVIII SS Army Corps was formed in December 1944 on the Upper Rhine from the remnants of 3 Wehrmacht Infantry Divisions. In January 1945, the Corps joined the 19th Army until the end of the War. It fought on the upper reaches of the Rhine between Donaueschingen and Schaffhausen. On May 6, 1945, between the Black Forest and the Bodensee, it surrendered to the French First Army. Commanders * SS-Gruppenführer Heinz Reinefarth (December 1944 - 12 February 1945) * SS-Obergruppenführer Georg Keppler Georg Keppler (7 May 1894 – 16 June 1966) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Das Reich, SS Division Totenkopf, I SS Panzer Corps, III SS Panzer Corps and the XVIII SS Army Corps. Care ... (12 February 1945 - 6 May 1945) SourcesLexicon der Wehrmacht {{DEFAULTSORT:18 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Schutzstaffel
A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the Maritime flag, maritime environment, where Flag semaphore, semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin , meaning "flag" or "banner". National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes. Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A ''flag'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from three regiments to over 38 division (military), divisions during World War II, and served alongside the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army (''Heer''), ''Ordnungspolizei'' (uniformed police) and other security units. Originally, it was under the control of the (SS operational command office) beneath Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. With the start of World War II, tactical control was exercised by the (OKW, "High Command of the Armed Forces"), with some units being subordinated to (Command Staff Reichsführer-SS) directly under Himmler's control. Initially, in keeping with the racial policy of Nazi Germany, membership was open only to people of Germanic origin (so-called "Nazi racial theor ... [...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 military organization, operational formation, sometimes known as a field corps, which consists of two or more division (military), divisions, such as the I Corps (Grande Armée), , later known as ("First Corps") of Napoleon I's ); *an administrative corps (or Muster (military), mustering) – that is a #Administrative corps, 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 ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the scale beginning in Konstanz and ending in Rotterdam). The ''Upper Rhine'' is one of four sections of the river (the others being the High Rhine, Middle Rhine and Lower Rhine) between Lake Constance and the North Sea. The countries and states along the Upper Rhine are Switzerland, France (Alsace) and the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. The largest cities along the river are Basel, Mulhouse, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Mainz. The Upper Rhine was straightened between 1817 and 1876 by Johann Gottfried Tulla and made navigable between 1928 and 1977. The Treaty of Versailles allows France to use the Upper Rhine for hydroelectricity in the Grand Canal d'Alsace. On the left bank are the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
19th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 19th Army (German: ''19. Armee'') was a World War II field army of the German Army. History Formed in August 1943 in occupied southern France from ''Armeegruppe Felber'' (the '' LXXXIII. Armeekorps''), the 19th Army defended southern France, the Vosges Mountains, Alsace, Baden and southern Württemberg during the Allied invasion of southern France and other large Allied military operations that had as their goal the liberation of southern France and the invasion of southern Germany. Although nominally a field army, the 19th Army was under strength and consisted of third tier soldiers, wounded veterans, conscripts and Hiwis. Southern France in general was treated as a third tier theatre and given minimal attention by the OKW. The entire army was outfitted with damaged and obsolete equipment, with four of the 19th army's divisions designated "static divisions," meaning that they were stripped of all mobile assets and forbidden to move from their assigned positions. The Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donaueschingen
Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar '' Kreis''. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Danube (in german: Donau). Donaueschingen stands in a basin within low mountainous terrain. It is located about south of Villingen-Schwenningen, west of Tuttlingen, and about north of the Swiss town of Schaffhausen. In 2015 the population was 21,750, making it the second largest town in the district (''Kreis'') of Schwarzwald-Baar. It is a regional rail hub. Geography Donaueschingen lies in the Baar basin in the southern Black Forest at the confluence of the Brigach and Breg rivers—the two source tributaries of the Danube—from which the town gets its name. This is today considered the true source of the Danube. An enclosed karst spring on the castle grounds, the source of the "Donaubach", is known as the source of the Danube ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffhausen, canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 36,000 It is located right next to the shore of the High Rhine; it is one of four Swiss towns located on the northern side of the Rhine, along with , the historic , and . The old town has many fine Renaissance era buildings decorated with exterior frescos and sculpture, as well as the old canton fortress, the ''Munot''. Schaffhausen is also a railway junction of Swiss and German rail networks. One of the lines connects the town with the nearby Rhine Falls in , Europe's largest waterfall, a tourist attraction. The official language of Schaffhausen is (the Swiss variety of Standard) Swiss Standard German, German, but the main spoken language ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers. Its highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of above sea level. Roughly oblong in shape, with a length of and breadth of up to , it has an area of about 6,009 km2 (2,320 sq mi). Historically, the area was known for forestry and the mining of ore deposits, but tourism has now become the primary industry, accounting for around 300,000 jobs. There are several ruined military fortifications dating back to the 17th century. History In ancient times, the Black Forest was known as , after the Celtic deity, Abnoba. In Roman times (Late antiquity), it was given the name ("Marcynian Forest", from the Germanic word ''marka'' = "border"). The Black Forest probably represented the bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodensee
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake Rhine (''Seerhein''). These waterbodies lie within the Lake Constance Basin () in the Alpine Foreland through which the Rhine flows. The lake is situated where Germany, Switzerland, and Austria meet. Its shorelines lie in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, Thurgau, and Schaffhausen, and the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The actual location of the border is disputed. The Alpine Rhine forms in its original course the Austro-Swiss border and flows into the lake from the south. The High Rhine flows westbound out of the lake and forms (with the exception of the Canton of Schaffhausen) the German-Swiss border as far as to the city of Basel. The most populous towns on the Upper Lake are Con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French First Army
The First Army (french: 1re Armée) was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. First World War On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the charge of the First Army, which comprised the 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, and 21st Army Corps, two divisions of cavalry and one reserve infantry division. It was massed between Belfort and the general line Mirecourt-Lunéville with headquarters at Epinal. First Army then took part, along with the French Second Army, in the Invasion of Lorraine. The First Army intended to take the strongly defended town of Sarrebourg. Bavarian Crown Prince Rupprecht, commander of the German Sixth Army, was tasked with stopping the French invasion. The French attack was repulsed by Rupprecht and his stratagem of pretending to retreat and then strongly attacking back. On 20 August Rupprecht launched a major counter-offensive, driving the French armies out. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinz Reinefarth
Heinz Reinefarth (26 December 1903 – 7 May 1979) was a German SS commander during World War II and government official in West Germany after the war. During the Warsaw Uprising of August 1944 his troops committed numerous atrocities. After the war, Reinefarth became the mayor of the town of Westerland, on the isle of Sylt, and member of the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag. Polish demands for extradition were never accepted, and Reinefarth was never convicted of any war crime. Early years Reinefarth was born in Gnesen (Gniezno), Province of Posen. After finishing the gymnasium in 1922, he studied law at the University of Jena. He became a member of the student fraternitLandsmannschaft Suevia Jena(this was the origin of the "Schmiss" – German for "dueling scar" – on his left cheek). He graduated in 1927 and passed the 1st degree state exams. Until 1930 he completed his application at the local court in Jena and was promoted to judge. On 1 August 1932, he joined the NSDAP an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
