III Army Corps was a

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 great ...

level formation of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

III Army Corps

The III Corps was formed in October 1934 as III. Armeekorps. The corps took part in Fall Weiss, the 1939 invasion of Poland as a part of

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 comma ...

. It then took part in

Fall Gelb The Manstein Plan or Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb) also known as Operation Sichelschnitt (german: Sichelschnittplan, from the English language, English term sickle cut), was the Military operation plan, war plan of the German Army (Wehrmacht), ...

as a part of

Army Group A Army Group A (Heeresgruppe A) was the name of several German Army Groups during World War II. During the Battle of France, the army group named Army Group A was composed of 45½ divisions, including 7 armored panzer divisions. It was responsibl ...

, participating in the assault through the

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 ...

. In March 1941, the corps was upgraded to a motorised corps status and redesignated III Armeekorps (mot). The Corps was attached to

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 Sou ...

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 after ...

, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The corps advanced through Ukraine and took part in the Battle of Brody, Battle of Kiev, Battle of Rostov,

Battle of Kharkov The Battle of Kharkov was any one of four World War II battles in and near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv (known in Russian as ''Kharkov''). In usage the term is sometimes indistinct, perhaps meaning the collection of all fighting at Kharkov inclu ...

and

Battle of Uman The Battle of Uman (15 July – 8 August 1941) was the World War II German offensive in Uman, Ukraine against the 6th and 12th Soviet Armies. In a three-week period, the Wehrmacht encircled and annihilated the two Soviet armies. The battle occ ...

III Panzer Corps

III Panzer Corps was formed in June 1942 from III Army Corps and attached to

, the formation tasked with capturing the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

as a part of

Fall Blau Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the Wehrmacht, German Armed Forces' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields o ...

. In mid-1943, following the loss of the 6th Army at the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

, III Panzer Corps took part in the battles around Kharkov as part of

Army Group Don Army Group Don was a short-lived army group of the German Army during World War II. On 20 November 1942 Hitler again ordered the reorganization of the southern front in the Soviet Union. The order was following: "Between the Army Group A and B a ...

. During

Operation Citadel Operation Citadel (german: Unternehmen Zitadelle) was a German offensive operation in July 1943 against Soviet forces in the Kursk salient, proposed by Generalfeldmarschall Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein during the Second World War on ...

, the Corps was the striking force of Army Detachment Kempf as they attempted to protect the right flank of the

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 ...

. It also took part in

Operation Roland Operation Roland was a local German offensive inside the Soviet Union during the Second World War on the Eastern Front, and was conducted as a local operation within the overarching German summer offensive, Operation Citadel, on the southern side ...

, and was involved in the retreat from

Belgorod Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics The population of Be ...

to the

Dniepr } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

. At the beginning of 1944, the Corps participated in the relief of the forces trapped in the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. In March the Corps was encircled in the

Kamenets-Podolsky pocket Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

, along with the rest of the 1st Panzer Army. III Corps drove the breakout and escape. Due to heavy losses, from November 1944 to January 1945, the corps was redesignated as Gruppe Breith, after its commander General der Panzertruppe

Hermann Breith __NOTOC__ Hermann Albert Breith (7 May 1892 – 3 September 1964) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Breith commanded the III Army Corps. ...

. In late 1944, III Panzerkorps participated in

Operation Konrad Operation Konrad was the German- Hungarian effort to relieve the encircled garrison of Budapest during the Battle of Budapest in January 1945. The operation was divided into three parts: * Operation Konrad I - 1 January 1945 - Led by IV SS Panz ...

, the failed attempts to relieve the German and Hungarian garrison at

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. The corps then took part in

Operation Spring Awakening Operation Spring Awakening (german: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton defensive operati ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. After its failure, the corps retreated through Austria, surrendering to the U.S. Army on 8 May 1945.

Commanders

*Generaloberst

Curt Haase Curt Haase (15 December 1881 – 9 February 1943) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He commanded the III Corps during the Invasion of Poland and France. He later commanded the 15th Army in German-occu ...

(1 Sep 1939 - 13 Nov 1940) *General der Infanterie Kurt von Greiff (13 Nov 1940 - 15 Jan 1941) *Generaloberst

Eberhard von Mackensen Friedrich August Eberhard von Mackensen (24 September 1889 – 19 May 1969) was a German general and war criminal during World War II who served as commander of the 1st Panzer Army and the 14th Army. Following the war, Mackensen stood trial fo ...

(15 Jan 1941 - 31 Mar 1942) *General der Panzertruppe

Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg Leo Dietrich Franz Reichsfreiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg (2 March 1886 – 27 January 1974), was a German general during World War II, noted for his pioneering stance and expertise in the field of armoured warfare. He commanded the 5th Panzer Arm ...

(31 Mar 1942 - 20 July 1942) *Generaloberst

(20 July 1942 - 2 Jan 1943) *General der Panzertruppe

(2 Jan 1943 - 20 Oct 1943) *General der Artillerie

Heinz Ziegler Heinz Ziegler (19 May 1894 – 21 August 1972) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II acting commander of the 5th Panzer Army and commander of the 14th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Ir ...

(20 Oct 1943 - 25 Nov 1943) *General der Infanterie

Friedrich Schulz __NOTOC__ Friedrich Schulz (15 October 1897 – 30 November 1976) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Awards * 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class ...

(25 Nov 1943 - 9 Jan 1944) *General der Panzertruppe

(9 Jan 1944 - 31 May 1944) *General der Panzertruppe

Dietrich von Saucken Dietrich Friedrich Eduard Kasimir von Saucken (16 May 1892 – 27 September 1980) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 2nd Army and the Army East Prussia. Turning down an offer to escape by air, he surrendered to the Re ...

(31 May 1944 - 29 June 1944) *General der Panzertruppe

(29 June 1944 - 8 May 1945)

Orders Of Battle

III.Armeekorps, May 1940 - Fall Gelb *Stab der Korps **Arko 3 **Korps-Nachrichten-Abteilung 43 **Korps-Nachschubtruppen 403 **Feldgendarmerie-Trupp 403 * 3. Infanterie Division * 23. Infanterie Division * 52. Infanterie Division III.Armeekorps (mot), September 1941 - Operation Barbarossa *Stab der Korps **Arko 3 **Korps-Nachrichten-Abteilung 43 **Korps-Nachschubtruppen 403 **Feldgendarmerie-Trupp 403 * 14.Panzer Division * 60.Infanterie Division (mot) * 13.Panzer Division * SS-Division ''Wiking'' * 198.Infanterie Division III.Panzerkorps, July 1943 - Operation Citadel * Corps Troops (Stab der Korps) ** Artillery Commander 3 (Arko 3) ** 43rd Panzer Signal Battalion ** Korps-Nachrichten-Abteilung 43 ** Korps-Nachschubtruppen 403 ** Feldgendarmerie-Trupp 403 * Corps attached units ** Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 228 ** Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 905 ** Sturmgeschütz-Batterie 393 ** schwere-Panzer-Abteilung 503 * 6.Panzer-Division under Major General

Walther von Hünersdorff __NOTOC__ Walther von Hünersdorff (28 November 1898 – 17 July 1943) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 6th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht), 6th Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross wit ...

** 11.Panzer-Regiment (with 86 tanks) ** 4.Panzergrenadier-Regiment ** 114.Panzergrenadier-Regiment ** 76.Panzerartillerie-Regiment * 7.Panzer-Division under Lieutenant General Hans Freiherr von Funck ** 25.Panzer-Regiment (with 87 tanks) ** 6.Panzergrenadier-Regiment ** 7.Panzergrenadier-Regiment ** 78.Panzerartillerie-Regiment * 19.Panzer-Division under Lieutenant General Gustav Schmidt ** 27.Panzer-Regiment (with 70 tanks) ** 73.Panzergrenadier-Regiment ** 74.Panzergrenadier-Regiment ** 19.Panzerartillerie-Regiment * 168.Infanterie-Division under Major General

Walter Chales de Beaulieu Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

** 417.Infanterie-Regiment ** 429.Infanterie-Regiment ** 442.Infanterie-Regiment ** 248.Artillerie-Regiment III Panzerkorps, March 1944 - Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket *Stab der Korps **Arko 3 **Korps-Nachrichten-Abteilung 43 **Korps-Nachschubtruppen 403 **Feldgendarmerie-Trupp 403 * 1.Panzer Division * 16.Panzer Division * 17.Panzer Division * 1.SS Panzer Division ''Leibstandate SS Adolf Hitler'' * schwere Panzer Abteilung 503 , II Panzerkorps, March 1945 - Operation Spring Awakening *Stab der Korps **Arko 3 **Korps-Nachrichten-Abteilung 43 **Korps-Nachschubtruppen 403 **Feldgendarmerie-Trupp 403 ** schwere-Panzer-Abteilung 509 * 3.Panzer Division * 1.Panzer Division * 23.Panzer Division

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iii Army Corps (Wehrmacht) Army,03 Panzer corps of Germany in World War II Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

III Army Corps

III Panzer Corps

Commanders

Orders Of Battle

See also

External links