The LXXXXI Army Corps (german: LXXXXI. Armeekorps) was an
army 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 ...
of
Germany's Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
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 ...
. It was active from August 1944 to May 1945.
History
The LXXXXI Army Corps was established using the staff of ''Oberfeldkommandantur 395'', the former ''Befehlshaber
Saloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
-
Ägäis'', on 7 August 1944. It was initially deployed in occupied Greece and occupied Serbia under
Army Group E
Army Group E (''Heeresgruppe E'') was a German Army Group active during World War II.
Army Group E was created on 1 January 1943 from the 12th Army. Units from this Army Group were distributed throughout the Eastern Mediterranean area, includin ...
(
Löhr), which was in turn subordinate to
Army Group F
Army Group F (german: Heeresgruppe F, italic=yes) was a strategic command formation of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. The commander of Army Group F served also as the ''Oberbefehlshaber Südost'' ( OB South East).
Created 12 August ...
(
von Weichs).
Between 6 and 21 March 1945, the Corps attacked the Soviets and Bulgarians in Southern Hungary from Yugoslavia 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 ...
,
but was defeated in the
Battle of the Transdanubian Hills
The Battle of the Transdanubian Hills (also known in Bulgaria as the Drava Operation ( bg, Дравска операция, ''Dravska operatsiya'')) was a defensive operation of the Bulgarian First Army during Bulgaria's participation in ...
.
In April 1945 the Corps moved to the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
, before eventually surrendering in
Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
in May 1945.
Commanders
* Generalleutnant
Ulrich Kleemann
Ulrich Kleemann (23 March 1892 – 1 January 1963) was a German general during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He commanded the 90th Light Africa Division in North Africa from 10 April 1942 t ...
, corps commander between August 1944 and September 1944.
* General der Infanterie
Werner von Erdmannsdorff
__NOTOC__
Werner von Erdmannsdorff (27 July 1891 – 5 June 1945) was a general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was married to Helene ''née'' von Tschirsky und Bögendorff (18 ...
, corps commander between September 1944 and May 1945.
References
{{German Army Corps of the Wehrmacht
Corps of Germany in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945