The XVI Army Corps (16th Corps) was a corps in the German Army 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 opposing ...

. The XVI (motorized) Corps (german: Generalkommando XVI. (mot.) Armeekorps) was activated as a headquarters for motorized units in February 1938 in Berlin. The XVI Corps was assigned to the 10th Army in the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

and to

Army Group B Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Operational history Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second formation of Ar ...

during the

invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...

. During the French campaign, the corps fought at the battles of Hannut and

Gembloux Gembloux (; wa, Djiblou; nl, Gembloers, ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants. The total area is 95.86 km², yielding a population dens ...

. On February 17, 1941, the corps headquarters was inactivated in order to form the 4th Panzer Group. In July 1944, ''Generalkommando z.b.V. Kleffel'' was organized as an ''ad hoc'' corps headquarters subordinated to the 16th Army in northern Russia. On October 30, 1944, this headquarters was made permanent and designated the XVI Army Corps. As such, the corps remained under 16th Army command until the surrender of the 16th Army in Courland in May 1945.

Area of operations

* XVI motorized Corps: ** Poland - September 1939 ** Belgium and northern France - May to June 1940 * XVI Army Corps: ** Northern Russia - 1944 ** Latvia (Courland) - 1945

Commanders

* Generaloberst

Erich Hoepner Erich Kurt Richard Hoepner (14 September 1886 – 8 August 1944) was a German general during World War II. An early proponent of mechanisation and armoured warfare, he was a Wehrmacht army corps commander at the beginning of the war, leading hi ...

, February 1938 to February 1941 * General der Kavallerie

Philipp Kleffel __NOTOC__ Philipp Kleffel (9 December 1887 – 10 October 1964) was a German general during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. For 10 days, Kleffel served as th ...

, July to October 1944 * Generalleutnant

Horst von Mellenthin __NOTOC__ Horst von Mellenthin (31 July 1898 – 8 January 1977) was a German general during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Awards and decoratio ...

, October 1944 to November 1944 * General der Kavallerie Philipp Kleffel, November 1944 to December 1944 * General der Infanterie

Ernst-Anton von Krosigk __NOTOC__ Ernst-Anton von Krosigk (5 March 1898 – 16 March 1945) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 16th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany ...

, December 1944 to March 1945 * Generalleutnant

Gottfried Weber Jacob Gottfried Weber (March 1, 1779 – September 21, 1839) was a prominent German writer on music (especially on music theory), composer, and jurist. Biography Weber was born at Freinsheim. From 1824 to 1839, he was the editor of ''Cäcilia'', ...

, March 1945 to May 1945lexicon-der-wehrmacht.de
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Notes and sources

* Georg Tessin. ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939-1945'', Volume 4. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag, 1975. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Xvi Panzer Corps (Germany) Army,16 Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945