Army Group A (Heeresgruppe A) was the name of several German Army Groups during World War II. During the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, the army group named Army Group A was composed of 45½ divisions, including 7 armored panzer divisions. It was responsible for breaking through the heavily-forested

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

region. The operation, which was part of ''Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow), was resoundingly successful for the Germans, as the army group outflanked the best troops of France and its allies, eventually leading to France's surrender. In 1942, Army Group South on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union was split into Army Group A and Army Group B, and Army Group A was responsible for the invasion into the Caucasus. In 1945, months before the fall of Nazi Germany, Army Group A was renamed

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 fo ...

Western Front, 1940

During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was under the command of Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes. It was composed of 45½ divisions, including the 7 panzer divisions of Panzer Group Kleist. Order of Battle * 4th Army Generaloberst Günther von Kluge ** V Army Corps (Wehrmacht) General Infantry Richard Ruoff *** 211th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Kurt Renner *** 251st Infantry Division - Generalmajor

Hans Kratzert Hans Kratzert (3 February 1940 – 15 August 2023) was a German screenwriter and film director. Kratzert was born in Heerwegen in the Province of Silesia during the Second World War. He was part of the mass emigration of Germans westward follow ...

*** 263rd Infantry Division - Generalmajor Franz Karl ** VIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht) General Infantry Walter Heitz *** 8th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) GenLt Rudolf Koch-Erpach ***

28th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 28th Division or 28th Infantry Division may refer to: Infantry divisions: * 28th Division (German Empire) * 28th Reserve Division (German Empire) * 28th Jäger Division (Wehrmacht) * 28th Infantry Division Aosta, Kingdom of Italy * 28th Division (I ...

GenMaj

Johann Sinnhuber __NOTOC__ Johann Sinnhuber (27 March 1887 – 23 October 1979) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LXXXII Army Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Awards and decorations * K ...

** II Army Corps (Wehrmacht) General Infantry Adolf Strauss *** 12th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) GenLt

Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach Walther Kurt von Seydlitz-Kurzbach (; 22 August 1888 – 28 April 1976) was a German general during World War II who commanded the LI Army Corps during the Battle of Stalingrad. At the end of the battle, he gave his officers freedom of action ...

***

32nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 32nd Infantry Division (german: 32. Infanterie-Division) of the German Army was mobilized on 1 August 1939 for the upcoming invasion of Poland. At that time, it consisted of the usual German infantry division elements: three infantry regimen ...

GenLt Franz Böhme **

XV Army Corps (Wehrmacht) The XV Army Corps / XV AK (german: XV. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the German Army before and in the early stages of World War II. It was set up on 10 October 1938. It was also known as Gruppe Hoth / Panzergruppe Hoth during the in ...

General Infantry Hermann Hoth *** 5th Panzer Division GenLt Joachim Lemelsen *** 7th Panzer Division GenMaj

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

***

62nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 62nd Infantry Division (german: 62. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. It was formed in Wehrkreis VIII (Silesia) in August 1939. After heavy casualties in March 1944, it was first briefly reass ...

GenMaj Walter Keiner * 12th Army Generaloberst Wilhelm List ** VI Army Corps (Wehrmacht) (

Förster Förster or Foerster is a German surname meaning " forester". (It has often been Anglicised as Forster). Notable people of this name include: Förster * Arnold Förster (1810–1884), a German entomologist * August Förster (physician) (1822–1 ...

) ** III Army Corps (Wehrmacht) (

Haase Haase may refer to: *Haase (car), a Veteran Era car make People with the surname *Barry Haase (born 1945), Australian politician *Bertil Haase (1923–2014), Swedish modern pentathlete * Camila Haase Quiros, Costa Rican swimmer * Christian Haase ( ...

) ** XVII Army Corps (Wehrmacht) ( Kienitz) * 16th Army General Infantry Ernst Busch ** VII Army Corps (Wehrmacht) ( Schobert) ** XIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht) ( Vietingoff) ** XXIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht) GenLt Albrecht Schubert * Panzer Group Kleist **

XIX Army Corps (Wehrmacht) The XIX Army Corps ( German: ''XIX. Armeekorps'') was an armored corps of the German Wehrmacht between 1 July 1939 and 16 November 1940, when the unit was renamed Panzer Group 2 (German: ''Panzergruppe 2'') and later 2nd Panzer Army (German: ''2. P ...

( Guderian) ***

2nd Panzer Division The 2nd Panzer Division ( en, 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II. Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss an ...

( Veiel) *** 1st Panzer Division (

Kirchner Kirchner, a surname of German origin, from the Middle High German word, 'kirchenaere' (English: ' sexton'). Kirchner originated as an occupational surname for a church worker, such as a priest, church assistant or a church property administrator. N ...

) *** 10th Panzer Division ( Schaal) *** Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland **

XLI Army Corps (Wehrmacht) XXXXI Panzer Corps (also written as: XLI Panzer Corps) was a Panzer (armoured) corps in the German Army during World War II. Operational history The corps was originally formed, as the XXXXI Corps, on 5 February 1940 in ''Wehrkreis'' VIII (Sile ...

( Reinhardt) *** 6th Panzer Division ( Kempf) *** 8th Panzer Division ( Kuntzen) ***

2nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 2nd Infantry Division of Nazi Germany's Army was created from components of the ''Reichswehr's'' old 2nd Division in 1934, at first under the cover name ''Wehrgauleitung Stettin'' and later ''Artillerieführer II''; it did not take its real na ...

(

Bader Bader is a German occupational surname derived from the German word "Bad" meaning "bath". It originally referred to the owners or attendants of bathhouses, who subsequently took on other tasks including cutting hair and dentistry. List of people wi ...

) **

XIV Army Corps (Wehrmacht) XIV Panzer Corps (also: XIV Army Corps or XIV. ''Armeekorps'') was a corps-level formation of the German Army which fought on both the Eastern Front and in the Italian Campaign. History The XIV Panzer Corps was originally formed as the XIV Mot ...

( Wietersheim) ***

13th Panzer Division The 13th Panzer Division ( en, 13th Armoured Division) was a unit of the German Army during World War II, established in 1940. The division was organized under the code name Infantry Command IV (''Infanterieführer IV'') in October 1934. On O ...

( Rothkirch und Panthen) ***

29th Motorized Infantry Division The 29th Infantry Division was a unit of the German army created in the fall of 1936. It was based on the old Reichswehr 15th Infantry Regiment and drew its initial recruits from Thuringia. It was upgraded to 29th Motorized Infantry Division in ...

( Langermann und Erlencamp) * Reserves ** XXXX Corps - Generalleutnant Georg Stumme ***

4th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 4th Infantry Division, designated ''4.Infanterie-Division'' in German was one of the first divisions raised and served during part of World War II. In 1940 it was reorganized as 14th Panzer Division. History The 4th Infantry Division was ...

GenLt Erick-Oskar Hansen ***

87th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 87th Infantry Division (german: 87. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1939 to 1945. Operational history The 87th Infantry Division was created on 26 August 1939 in Alt ...

GenLt Bogislav von Studnitz ***

211th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 211th Infantry Division (german: 211. Infanterie-Division) was a German infantry division of the German Heer during World War II, active from 1939 to 1944. In 1944, it was redeployed as 211th Volksgrenadier Division, which was active until 19 ...

GenLt Kurt Renner ***

263rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 263rd Infantry Division (german: 263. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. Operational history The 263rd Infantry division was formed on 26 August 1939 with reserve unit personnel in Wehrkreis ...

GenLt Franz Karl ***

267th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 267th Infantry Division (german: 267. Infanterie-Division) was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 26 August 1939 in Hanover. Called the 'Horsehead' division because of its emblem, after it was mobilised in August 1939 it ...

GenLt

Ernst Fessmann Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975- ...

Eastern Front, 1942

In 1942, Army Group South was in southern Russia on the Eastern Front. For Case Blue (''Fall Blau''), the summer offensive of the German Armed Forces ('' Wehrmacht''), Army Group South was split into Army Group A and Army Group B. Army Group A was ordered south to capture the oil fields in the Caucasus. Army Group A included the following armies: * German 1st Panzer Army * German 11th Army * German 17th Army *

Romanian 3rd Army The 3rd Army (Armata a 3-a Română) was a field army of the Romanian Land Forces active from the 19th century to the 1990s. It fought as part of the German Army Group B during World War II, in Ukraine, the Crimea, and the Caucasus. General Petre ...

Eastern Front, 1944-1945

Army Group A was formed a third time on September 23, 1944, in southern Poland and the Carpathian region by renaming Army Group North Ukraine.
The army group was used to defend southern Poland and Slovakia.
Subordinate were : * 9th Army, *

4th Panzer Army 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 ...

* the newly formed 17th Army *

1st Panzer Army The 1st Panzer Army (german: 1. Panzerarmee) was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II. When originally formed on 1 March 1940, the predecessor of the 1st Panzer Army was named Panzer Group ...

. After the breakthrough of the Red Army near Baranow on the Vistula during the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive, on January 16, 1945 Colonel Bogislaw von Bonin, the Chief of the Operational Branch of the Army General Staff (''Generalstab des Heeres'') gave Heeresgruppe A permission to retreat rejecting a direct order from Adolf Hitler for them to hold fast. Although Heeresgruppe A escaped encirclement and regrouped, von Bonin was arrested by the Gestapo on January 19, 1945, and imprisoned. On 25 January 1945 Hitler renamed three army groups. Army Group North became Army Group Courland; Army Group Center became Army Group North and Army Group A became Army Group Center.

Commanders

Chiefs of Staff

References

{{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=World War II Army groups of the German Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945