Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of
field armies
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 wit ...
during
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The
German Army Group
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
** ...
was subordinated to the ''
Oberkommando des Heeres
The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat at ...
'' (OKH), the German army high command, and coordinated the operations of attached separate
army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics, including the
Army Group North Rear Area
Army Group North Rear Area (''Rückwärtiges Heeresgebiet Nord'') was one of the three Army Group Rear Area Commands, established during the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union. Initially commanded by General Franz von Roques, it was an area ...
.
Operational history
The Army Group North was created on the 2 September 1939 by reorganization of the
2nd Army Headquarters. Commander in Chief as of 27 August 1939 was Field Marshal
Fedor von Bock
Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German who served in the German Army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland ...
.
Invasion of Poland
The first employment of Army Group North was in the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...
of 1939, where in September it controlled:
*
3rd Army
*
4th Army
* a reserve of four divisions
**
10th Panzer Division
**
73rd Infantry Division
**
206th Infantry Division
**
208th Infantry Division.
The Army Group was commanded by
Fedor von Bock
Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German who served in the German Army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland ...
for the operation.
After the end of the campaign, it was transferred to the Western Theatre and on the 10 October 1939 was renamed as the
Army Group B, and consisted of:
*
6th Army
* 4th Army
Invasion of the Soviet Union
In preparation for
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 ...
, Army Group North was reformed from Army Group C on 22 June 1941. Army Group North was commanded by Field Marshal
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb (5 September 1876 – 29 April 1956) was a German field marshal and war criminal in World War II. Leeb was a highly decorated officer in World War I and was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph which gr ...
and staged in
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
. Its strategic goal was
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, with operational objectives being the territories of the
Baltic republics and securing the northern
flank of
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...
in
Northern Russia
Russian North (russian: Русский Север) is an ethnocultural region situated in the northwestern part of Russia. It spans the regions of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Komi Republic, Vologda Oblast and Nenets Autonomous ...
between
Western Dvina River and
Daugavpils
Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...
-
Kholm Army Group boundary. On commencement of the Wehrmacht's
Baltic offensive operation the army group deployed into Lithuania and northern Belorussia. It served mainly in Baltic territories and north Russia until 1944. Commander in Chief 22 June 1941:
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb (5 September 1876 – 29 April 1956) was a German field marshal and war criminal in World War II. Leeb was a highly decorated officer in World War I and was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph which gr ...
.
Its subordinate armies were deployed with the following immediate objectives:
*
18th Army - from Koenigsberg to Ventspils - Jelgava
*
4th Panzer Group
The 4th Panzer Army (german: 4. Panzerarmee) (operating as Panzer Group 4 (german: 4. Panzergruppe) from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, when it was redesignated as a full army) was a German panzer formation during World War ...
- Pskov
*
16th Army - Kaunas, Daugavpils
*Army Group troops
** Army-Group signals regiment 537
** Army-Group signals regiment 639 (2nd echelon)
The Baltic offensive operation
All operational objectives such as
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
were achieved despite stubborn Red Army resistance and several unsuccessful
counter-offensive
In the study of military tactics, a counter-offensive is a large-scale strategic offensive military operation, usually by forces that had successfully halted the enemy's offensive, while occupying defensive positions.
The counter-offensive ...
s such as the
Battle of Raseiniai, and the army group approached Leningrad, commencing the
Siege of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of ...
. However, while the Baltic states were overrun, the
Siege of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of ...
continued until 1944, when it was lifted as a result of the Red Army
Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive operation.
In September 1941, the Spanish
Blue Division was assigned to Army Group North.
Northern Russia offensive operation
Composition:
October 1941
* 16th Army
* 18th Army
Nevsky Pyatachok
Operation Nordlicht
Northern Russia defensive campaign
Commander in Chief 17 January 1942: GFM
Georg von Küchler
Composition:
September 1942
* 11th Army
* 16th Army
* 18th Army
December 1942
* 16th Army
* 18th Army
Demyansk Pocket
Kholm Pocket
The Kholm Pocket (german: Kessel von Cholm; russian: Холмский котёл) was the name given for the encirclement of German troops by the Red Army around Kholm, south of Leningrad, in World War II's the Eastern Front, from 23 January ...
Soviet
Toropets-Kholm Operation
Battle of Velikiye Luki
The Battle of Velikiye Luki, also named Velikiye Luki offensive operation (russian: Великолукская наступательная операция), started with the attack by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the W ...
Battle of Krasny Bor
The Battle of Krasny Bor was part of the Soviet offensive Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda in the Eastern Front of World War II. It called for a pincer attack near Leningrad to build on the success of Operation Iskra and completely lift the sie ...
Baltic defensive campaign
Commander in Chief 9 January 1944: Field marshal
Walter Model
Otto Moritz Walter Model (; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German field marshal during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of def ...
Commander in Chief 31 March 1944: Generaloberst
Georg Lindemann
Georg Lindemann (8 March 1884 – 25 September 1963) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the 18th Army during the Soviet Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive.
World War II
In 1936, Lindemann was promoted to Generalmajor and given com ...
Commander in Chief 4 July 1944: Generaloberst
Johannes Frießner
__NOTOC__
Johannes Friessner (22 March 1892 – 26 June 1971) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
Biography
Born in Chemnitz, Saxony, Friessner ...
Commander in Chief 23 July 1944: GFM
Ferdinand Schörner
March 1944
*
Army detachment "Narwa"
* 16th Army
* 18th Army
Battle of Narva, consisting of:
#
Battle for Narva Bridgehead and
#
Battle of Tannenberg Line
Combat in South Estonia, 1944
Soviet
Baltic Offensive
Battle of Porkuni
Battle of Vilnius (1944)
Battle of Memel
After becoming trapped in the
Courland Cauldron after 25 January 1945, the Army Group was renamed
Army Group Courland. On the same day, in East Prussia, a new Army Group North was created by renaming Army Group Center. On the 2 April 1945, the army group was dissolved, and the staff formed the
12th Army headquarters.
Campaign in East Prussia
Army Group North (old Army Group Centre), was driven into an ever
smaller pocket around Königsberg in
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
. On April 9, 1945 Königsberg finally fell to the Red Army, although remnants of Army Group units continued to resist on the
Heiligenbeil &
Danzig beachheads until the end of the war in Europe.
October 1944
* 16th Army
*
Armee-Abteilung Grasser
* 18th Army
November 1944
* 16th Army
*
Armee-Abteilung Kleffel
* 18 Armee
December 1944
* 16th Army
* 18th Army
Soviet
East Prussian Offensive
Battle of Königsberg
Heiligenbeil pocket
Campaign in West Prussia
Commander in Chief 27 January 1945: Generaloberst
Dr. Lothar Rendulic
Commander in Chief 12 March 1945:
Walter Weiß
Composition:
February 1945
*
Armee-Abteilung Samland
*
4th Army
Soviet
East Pomeranian Offensive
Battle of Kolberg
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 ...
On the 25 January 1945 Hitler renamed three army groups. Army Group North became
Army Group Courland, more appropriate as it had been isolated from Army Group Centre and was trapped in Courland, Latvia;
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...
became Army Group North and
Army Group A became Army Group Centre.
Commanders
See also
*
Army Group South
Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II.
It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group So ...
*
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...
*
German order of battle for Operation Fall Weiss
This article details the order of battle of German military units during the invasion of Poland in 1939.
The German army's forces for the invasion of Poland (codename ''Fall Weiss,'' English - "Case White") were divided into Army Group North (co ...
*
Police Regiment North __NOTOC__
The Police Regiment North (''Polizei-Regiment Nord'') was a police formation under the command of the SS of Nazi Germany. During Operation Barbarossa, it was deployed in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, in the Army Group North ...
Notes and references
Bibliography
*
{{Subject bar
, portal1=Military of Germany
, portal2=World War II
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
Military units and formations established in 1939
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945