German XXXIV. Corps (XXXIV. Armeekorps) 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 opposin ...
, 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 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 aft ...
, the H.Kdo was stationed there between December 1939 and June 1941.
After the start of
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 ...
(June 1941), the H.Kdo saw its first action at the beginning of July 1941 in the
Battle of Kiev (1941)
The First Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a huge encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. This encirclement is considered the largest encirclement in the history of warfar ...
.
As part of the
6th Army, the H.Kdo formed part of the southern flank along the
Dnieper River
}
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 B ...
. 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
Livny (russian: Ливны, p=ˈlʲivnɨ) is a town in Oryol Oblast, Russia. As of 2018, it had a population of 47,221. :ru:Ливны#cite note-2018AA-3
History
The town is believed to have originated in 1586 as Ust-Livny, a wooden fort on th ...
towards
Yelets
Yelets, or Elets (russian: Еле́ц), is a city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Bystraya Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don. Population:
History
Yelets is the oldest center of the Central Black Earth Region. It was ment ...
, 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
Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...
and held the
Syrmian Front
The Syrmian Front ( sh, Srijemski front/Sremski front) was an Axis line of defense during World War II. It was established as part of the Eastern Front in late October 1944 in Syrmia and east Slavonia, northwest of Belgrade.
After the Yugosla ...
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
Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...
,
Vinkovci
Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surrounde ...
,
Županja
Županja (, hu, Zsupanya, german: Schaupanie) is a town in eastern Slavonia, Croatia, located 254 km east of Zagreb. It is administratively part of the Vukovar-Syrmia County. It is inhabited by 12,090 people (2011).
Županja lies on the Sa ...
, and finally
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
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
__NOTOC__
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller (29 August 1897 – 20 May 1947) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He led an infantry regiment in the early stages of the war and by 1943 was commander of the 22nd Air Landing ...
, (13 November 1944 – 8 December 1944)
* General der Flieger
Hellmuth Felmy
Hellmuth Felmy (28 May 1885 – 14 December 1965) was a German general and war criminal during World War II, commanding forces in occupied Greece and Yugoslavia. A high-ranking Luftwaffe officer, Felmy was tried and convicted in the 1948 Hostag ...
, (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
The Dutch Wikipedia ( nl, Nederlandstalige Wikipedia) is the Dutch-language edition of the free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. It was founded on 19 June 2001.
As of , the Dutch Wikipedia is the -largest Wikipedia edition, with articles. It w ...
,
Höheres Kommando z.b.V. XXXIV.''
* This is a translation of the article in the
Dutch Wikipedia
The Dutch Wikipedia ( nl, Nederlandstalige Wikipedia) is the Dutch-language edition of the free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. It was founded on 19 June 2001.
As of , the Dutch Wikipedia is the -largest Wikipedia edition, with articles. It w ...
,
34e Legerkorps (Wehrmacht).''
*
*
{{Subject bar
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, 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