German XXXXIV. Corps (XXXXIV. 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 ...
.
History
The General Command XXXXIV. Armee Korps was established on 15 April 1940 in the Wehrkreis XVII (Vienna) and took part in the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
in the section of the
6th Army. After the breakthrough over the Aisne, it advanced towards the Loire and occupied Orléans. In July 1940, the Corps was transferred to the General Government (Poland) and placed under the command of the 4th Army.
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), again under the command of the 6th Army, the XXXXIV Army Corps , composed of the 9th, 262nd, 297th and 57th Infantry Divisions, operated on the
Southern Bug
, ''Pivdennyi Buh''
, name_etymology =
, image = Sunset S Bug Vinnitsa 2007 G1.jpg
, image_size = 270
, image_caption = Southern Bug River in the vicinity of Vinnytsia, Ukraine
, map = PietinisBug ...
, and took
Sokal
Sokal ( uk, Сокаль, romanized: ''Sokal'') is a city located on the Bug River in Chervonohrad Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sokal urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population is appro ...
and
Krystynopol. During the
Battle of Brody (1941)
The Battle of Brody (other names in use include Battle of Dubna, Battle of Dubno, Battle of Rovne, Battle of Rovne-Brody) was a tank battle fought between the 1st Panzer Group's III Army Corps and XLVIII Army Corps (Motorized) and five mec ...
, the XXXXIV Corps was subjected to strong counter-attacks by the Soviet
15th Mechanized Corps. After withstanding the attack, the advance towards
Koziatyn
Koziatyn ( uk, Козятин; also referred to as Kozyatyn, pl, Koziatyn, russian: Каза́тин) is a town in the Vinnytsia Oblast (Oblast, province) in central Ukraine. Serving as the Capital city, administrative center of the Koziatyn Raio ...
continued.
In August 1941, during the
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 oc ...
, the corps was subordinated to the
1st Panzer Army
The 1st Panzer Army (german: 1. Panzerarmee) was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II.
When originally formed on 1 March 1940, the predecessor of the 1st Panzer Army was named Panzer Group ...
and advanced to the Dnieper after the battle. In September 1941, assigned to the
17th Army, the Corps, as part of Gruppe
Schwedler, secured the Dnieper Section in the Cherkassy area during the
Battle of Kiev with the 68th and 297th Infantry Divisions.
In January 1942, the Corps was pushed back in the
Barvenkovo–Lozovaya Offensive by troops of the Southern Front (under Malinovsky) in the Izyum area. After the ensuing
Second Battle of Kharkov
The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objectiv ...
, the Corps took part in the successful counter-offensive from 17 May, called "Operation Fridericus". During the German summer offensive, the Corps
invaded the Caucasus from
Sloviansk
Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
via the lower Don near
Konstantinovsk
Konstantinovsk (russian: Константи́новск) is a town and the administrative center of Konstantinovsky District in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the Don River near the Seversky Donets. Population:
History
Town status was granted ...
in July 1942. After advancing towards
Maikop
Maykop (russian: Майкоп, p=mɐjˈkop Help:IPA/Russian, mɐj'kop); ady, Мыекъуапэ, Mıéquapə ) is the capital city of the Republic of Adygea in Russia, located on the right bank of the Belaya River (Kuban), Belaya River (a tribut ...
, it tried in vain to break through to
Tuapse
Tuapse (russian: Туапсе́; ady, Тӏуапсэ ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population:
Tuapse i ...
on the Black Sea.
In the spring of 1943, the Corps was withdrawn to the
Kuban Bridgehead
The Kuban Bridgehead (german: Kuban-Brückenkopf), also known as the "Goth's head position" (), was a German military position on the Taman Peninsula, Russia, between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Existing from January to October 1943, the b ...
. Pulled back to the Taman Peninsula in July 1943, the Corps was reassigned to the 6th Army on the Lower
Dnieper
}
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 ...
and fought during October 1943 against the Soviet
Lower Dnieper Offensive
The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front.
Over four ...
.
On March 13, 1944, the city of
Cherson was lost to troops of the
4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th Ukrainian Front (Russian: Четвёртый Украинский фронт) was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, by ...
after the
Bereznegovatoye–Snigirevka Offensive. Pushed back to Moldavia, the Corps fought in the
Jassy–Kishinev Offensive (August 1944), under command of Ludwig Müller. The corps was attacked by troops of the
3rd Ukrainian Front
The 3rd Ukrainian Front (Russian: Третий Украинский фронт) was a Front of the Red Army during World War II.
It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwester ...
from
Dubăsari
Dubăsari ( ro, Dubăsari , Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet: Дубэсарь) or Dubossary (russian: Дубоссары; yi, דובאסאר; uk, Дубоcсари) is a city in Transnistria, with a population of 23,650. Claimed by both the Republic ...
, pushed back and surrounded at
Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...
and completely destroyed.
The Corps was officially dissolved on 27 September 1944 and never rebuilt.
Commanders
* General der Infanterie
Friedrich Koch
Friedrich Ernst Koch (3 July 1862 – 30 January 1927) was a German composer, cello, cellist and teacher.
Biography
He was born in Berlin and studied cello with Robert Hausmann and composition with Woldemar Bargiel at the Berlin Berlin Universit ...
, 1 May 1940 – 10 December 1941
* Generalleutnant
Otto Stapf, 1 January 1942 – 26 January 1942
* General der Artillerie
Maximilian de Angelis
__NOTOC__
Maximilian de Angelis (2 October 1889 – 6 December 1974) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
On 4 April 1946 Angelis was ext ...
, 26 January 1942 - 30 November 1943
* General der Infanterie
Friedrich Köchling
__NOTOC__
Friedrich Köchling (22 June 1893 – 6 June 1970) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who held commands at the division and corps levels. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron ...
, 30 November 1943 – 15 January 1944
* General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis, 15 January 1944 - 8 April 1944
* General der Infanterie
Ludwig Müller
Johan Heinrich Ludwig Müller (23 June 1883 – 31 July 1945) was a German theologian, a Lutheran pastor, and leading member of the pro-Nazi "German Christians" (german: Deutsche Christen) faith movement. In 1933 he was appointed by the Nazi go ...
, 8 April 1944 - August 1944 (POW and Corps destroyed)
Area of operations
* France : May 1940 – July 1940
*
Eastern Front, southern sector – June 1941 – August 1944 (Corps destroyed)
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
* ...
External links
*
{{Subject bar
, portal1=Military of Germany
, portal2=World War II
Army,44
Military units and formations established in 1940
1940 establishments in Germany
Military units and formations disestablished in 1944