German XXXIV. Corps (XXXIV. Armeekorps) was a corps in the German Army during
World War II, that was formed twice.
History
First formation : Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXXIV (1939-1941)
The Corps was first known as Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXXIV (H.Kdo.) and was established on 15 October 1939 in
Küstrin.
After the
Invasion of Poland, the H.Kdo was stationed there between December 1939 and June 1941.
After the start of
Operation Barbarossa (June 1941), the H.Kdo saw its first action at the beginning of July 1941 in the
Battle of Kiev (1941).
As part of the
6th Army, the H.Kdo formed part of the southern flank along the
Dnieper River. After successfully completing this battle, the H.Kdo advanced with the
2nd Panzer Army
The 2nd Panzer Army (german: 2. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941.
Organisation
Panzer Group Guderian (german: Panzergruppe Guderian) was formed on 5 June 1940 ...
towards Moscow.
The H.Kdo. marched via
Livny towards
Yelets, where the advance was halted. The Soviets launched their
Yelets counter offensive on 6 December 1941. The XXXIV H.Kdo., composed of the
45th and
134th Infantry Divisions, was surrounded and partly destroyed. The survivors retreated towards
Oryol
Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fed ...
and
Kursk
Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...
. The front line stabilised on December 17, 1941, but had moved almost 100 km back to the west. The H.Kdo. had lost 12,000 men and was hardly a combat-ready unit any more.
On 31 January 1942, the H.Kdo. was disbanded and its survivors added to the newly formed
XXXV Army Corps.
Second formation : XXXIV Corps (1944-1945)
On 13 November 1944, the XXXIV Corps was recreated from ''Kommandanten Kreta'' a.k.a. ''Korps Müller'', which had retreated from Crete.
The Corps was stationed around
Vukovar and held the
Syrmian Front between Danube and Sava until mid-April 1945. On 12 April 1945, the
Yugoslav First Partisan Army, broke through the XXXIV Corps' defenses in Syrmia, and captured the cities of
Vukovar,
Vinkovci,
Županja, and finally
Zagreb in the last month of the war.
The Corps retreated towards the west and surrendered to the British in May 1945.
Commanders
Höheres Kommando XXXIV
* General der Infanterie Hermann Metz (15 october 1939 - 1 september 1941)
* Generalleutnant Ferdinand Schaal (1 september 1941 - 13 september 1941)
* General der Infanterie Hermann Metz (13 september 1941 - 23 december 1941)
* General der Infanterie
Alfred Wäger
Alfred Wäger (17 August 1883 – 9 July 1956) was a General of the Infantry in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during the Second World War who commanded several units. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Career
After the ...
(23 december 1941 - 31 january 1942)
XXXIV Corps
* General der Infanterie
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller, (13 November 1944 – 8 December 1944)
* General der Flieger
Hellmuth Felmy, (8 December 1944 - 8 May 1945)
Area of operations
* Poland : December 1939 – June 1941
*
Eastern Front, central sector – July 1941 – January 1942
* Croatia : November 1944 - May 1945
See also
*
List of German corps in World War II
List of German corps in World War II
This is a list of German Army corps that existed during World War II.
Army (Heer)
Infantry corps
I–IX
* I Army Corps
* II Army Corps
* III Army Corps
* IV Army Corps
* V Army Corps
* VI Army Corps
* ...
Sources
* This is a translation of the article in the
Dutch Wikipedia,
Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXXIV
German XXXIV. Corps (XXXIV. Armeekorps) was a corps in the German Army during World War II, that was formed twice.
History
First formation : Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXXIV (1939-1941)
The Corps was first known as Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXX ...
.''
* This is a translation of the article in the
Dutch Wikipedia,
34e Legerkorps (Wehrmacht).''
*
*
{{Subject bar
, portal1=Military of Germany
, portal2=World War II
Army,34
Military units and formations established in 1939
Military units and formations established in 1944
1939 establishments in Germany
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
1942 disestablishments in the Soviet Union
Military units and formations disestablished in 1942