The XII SS Army Corps was a German

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 the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

. It saw action on both the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and Eastern Fronts 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 ...

Formation

It was formed on 1 August 1944 in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

from the remains of the ''Kampfgruppe von Gottberg'' and the LIII Army Corps, and added to the

3rd Panzer Army The 3rd Panzer Army (german: 3. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942. 3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Group (german: Panzergruppe 3) was formed on 16 November ...

. From September 1944, it fought in the West as part of the 1st Parachute Army. Later it fought under the 15th Army on the

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...

and the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

Front. The corps was surrounded and destroyed in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945.

Commanders

* 1 August 1944 : SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS

Matthias Kleinheisterkamp Matthias Kleinheisterkamp (22 June 1893 – 29 April 1945) was an SS-''Obergruppenführer'' during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Totenkopf, SS Division Nord, SS Division Das Reich, III SS Panzer Corps, VII SS Panzer Corps, IV S ...

* 6 August 1944 : SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS

Curt von Gottberg Curt Gustav Friedrich Walther von Gottberg (11 February 1896 – 31 May 1945) was a high-ranking SS ''Obergruppenführer'' who served as Higher SS and Police Leader for central Russia and, from September 1943, as the ''Generalkommissar'' (Comm ...

* 18 October 1944 : SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS

Karl Maria Demelhuber Karl Maria Demelhuber (26 May 1896 – 18 March 1988) was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era. Reaching the rank of ''Obergruppenführer'' (General) in the Waffen-SS during World War II, he commanded the 2nd SS Division Das Reich, SS- ...

* 20 October 1944 : General of the Infantry

Günther Blumentritt Günther Blumentritt (10 February 1892 – 12 October 1967) was an officer in World War I, who became a Staff Officer under the Weimar Republic and went on to serve as a general for Nazi Germany during World War II. He served throughout the war, ...

* 20 January 1945 : Generalleutnant

Fritz Bayerlein Fritz Hermann Michael Bayerlein (14 January 1899 – 30 January 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He initially served as a staff officer, including with Erwin Rommel in the Afrika Korps. He then commanded t ...

* 29 January 1945 : Generalleutnant

Eduard Crasemann Eduard Crasemann (5 March 1891 – 29 April 1950) was a German ''General der Artillerie'' in the Wehrmacht and convicted war criminal who commanded several Panzer divisions during World War II. Crasemann fought as an artillery officer during W ...

Order of battle

; On 16 September 1944: * 548th Grenadier-Division * 7th Panzer-Division ; On 1 March 1945: * 176th Infantry Division * 183rd Volksgrenadier-Division * 338th Infantry Division *

Panzer-Lehr-Division The Panzer-Lehr-Division (in the meaning of: Armoured training division) was an elite German armoured division during World War II. It was formed in 1943 onwards from training and demonstration troops (''Lehr'' = "teach") stationed in Germany, t ...

Sources

* Rolf Stoves: Die gepanzerten und motorisierten deutschen Großverbände 1935–1945. Ed. Dörfler im Nebel-Verlag, Eggolsheim 2003, {{DEFAULTSORT:12 Waffen-SS corps Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945