The 18th Army (German: ''18. Armee'') was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

field army A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...

in the German ''Wehrmacht''. Formed in November 1939 in Military Region (''Wehrkreis'') VI, the 18th Army was part of the offensive into the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

(

Battle of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands ( nl, Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( nl, Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb), the Nazi German invasion of ...

) and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the ...

(

Battle of Belgium The invasion of Belgium or Belgian campaign (10–28 May 1940), often referred to within Belgium as the 18 Days' Campaign (french: Campagne des 18 jours, nl, Achttiendaagse Veldtocht), formed part of the greater Battle of France, an offensive ...

) during

Fall Gelb The Manstein Plan or Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb) also known as Operation Sichelschnitt (german: Sichelschnittplan, from the English term sickle cut), was the war plan of the German armed forces (german: Wehrmacht) during the Battle of Franc ...

and later moved into

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1940. The 18th Army was then moved East and participated in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

in 1941. The Army was a part of the

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comm ...

until early 1945, when it was subordinated to Army Group Kurland. In October 1944, the army was encircled by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

offensives and spent the remainder of the war in the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...

Commanders

Chiefs of the Generalstab * 5 November 1939 – 10 December 1940 Generalmajor Erich Marcks * 10 December 1940 – 19 January 1941 Generalmajor Wilhelm Hasse * 19 January 1941 – 17 November 1942 Generalmajor Dr. Ing. h.c. Kurt Waeger * 24 November 1942 – 1 December 1943 Generalmajor Hans Speth * 1 December 1943 – 25 January 1945 Generalmajor Friedrich Foertsch * 25 January 1945 – 5 March 1945 Oberst i.G. Wilhelm Hetzel * 5 March 1945 – 10(!) May 1945 Generalmajor Ernst Merk

Orders of Battle

10 May 1940

* XXVI Army Corps ** 256th Infantry Division ** 254th Infantry Division ** SS "Der Führer" Regiment * X Army Corps ** SS "Adolf Hitler" Regiment ** 227th Infantry Division ** 207th Infantry Division ** 1st Cavalry Division * Direct control of Army Headquarters ** SS "Verfügungstruppe" Division ** 9th Panzer Division ** 208th Infantry Division ** 225th Infantry Division

1 July 1941

* XXXVIII Army Corps ** 58th Infantry Division ** 291st Infantry Division * XXVI Army Corps ** 1st Infantry Division ** 61st Infantry Division ** 217th Infantry Division * I Army Corps ** 11th Infantry Division ** 21st Infantry Division

September 1941

* L Army Corps * LIV Army Corps * XXVI Army Corps * XXVIII Army Corps * I Army Corps

15 July 1944

12 April 1945

* L Army Corps ** 11th Infantry Division ** 290th Infantry Division * II Army Corps ** 563rd Volksgrenadier Division ** 126th Infantry Division ** 263rd Infantry Division ** 87th Infantry Division * I Army Corps ** 225th Infantry Division ** 132nd Infantry Division * X Army Corps ** 30th Infantry Division ** 121st Infantry Division ** Kampfgruppe (Ernst) Gise * Direct control of Army Headquarters ** 52nd Security Division ** 14th Panzer Division

References

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 18 Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1939 establishments in Germany