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XXXXI Panzer Corps (also written as: XLI Panzer Corps) was a
The corps was originally formed, as the XXXXI Corps, on 5 February 1940 in ''
Panzer
This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, ...
(armoured) 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 ...
in the German Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
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 ...
.
Operational history
The corps was originally formed, as the XXXXI Corps, on 5 February 1940 in ''Wehrkreis
The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...
'' VIII (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 ...
) as "Armeekorps (mot)". Reorganised as a Panzer Corps, it was known as the XXXXI Panzer Corps and was commanded by General Georg-Hans Reinhardt. In the May 1940 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 ...
, the XXXXI Panzer Corps was one of the three Panzerkorps that broke through the Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
in the Battle of Sedan
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...
and drove west to the sea at Abbeville
Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France.
It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...
.
In June 1941, the XXXXI Panzer Corps was deployed on the Eastern Front for 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 ...
, the invasion of the Soviet Union. It defeated the Soviet 3rd Mechanised & 12th Mechanised Corps in the Battle of Raseiniai
The Battle of Raseiniai (23–27 June 1941) was a large tank battle that took place in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The battle was fought between the elements of the German 4th Panzer Group a ...
in late June, which destroyed more than 300 Soviet tanksSteven H Newton (2003) ''Panzer Operations: The Eastern Front Memoirs of General Raus 1941-1941''. Da Capo Press. pp. 14-34 and led the advance of Army Group North
Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comma ...
to the outskirts of Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in October.
It was reorganised in 1942, becoming part of 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 ...
of Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...
. The XXXXI Panzer Corps fought at Bely, in the anti-partisan operations at Nikitinka
Nikitinka (russian: Никитинка) is a rural locality (a village) in Sukkulovsky Selsoviet, Yermekeyevsky District, Bashkortostan, Russia. The population was 6 as of 2010. There is 1 street.
Geography
Nikitinka is located 26 km north of Ye ...
, Yartsevo Yartsevo (russian: Ярцево) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Yartsevo, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Yartsevsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorporated as Yartsevskoye Urban Settlement ...
, Vyazma
Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Throu ...
, and Dukhovshchina Dukhovshchina (russian: Духовщина) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Dukhovshchina, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Dukhovshchinsky District of Smolensk Oblast
;Rural localities
* Dukhovshchina, Irkutsk ...
.
In March 1943, the corps fought at Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
, Kromy
Kromy (russian: Кромы) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Kromy, Oryol Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Kromskoy District of Oryol Oblast
;Rural localities
* Kromy, Ivanovo Oblast, a '' selo'' in V ...
, and Bryansk
Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population:
Geography Urban layout
The location of the settlement was originally ass ...
. In April 1943, it fought in Sevsk Sevsk (russian: Севск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Sevsk, Bryansk Oblast, a town in Sevsky District of Bryansk Oblast;
;Rural localities
* Sevsk, Kemerovo Oblast, a settlement in Burlakovskaya R ...
and Ponyri
Ponyri (russian: Поныри) is the name of several inhabited localities in Kursk Oblast, Russia.
;Urban localities
*Ponyri, Ponyrovsky District, Kursk Oblast, a work settlement in Ponyrovsky District
;Rural localities
*Ponyri, Fatezhsky Dist ...
. Later, the XXXXI Panzer Corps fought at the Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...
. During this period it transferred several times between the 9th
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
and 2nd Panzer Armies.
In June / July 1944 the corps was almost destroyed during the Soviet summer offensive, Operation Bagration
Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...
, and required complete rebuilding. As part of the reconstructed 4th Army, it faced the East Prussian Offensive during January 1945. After a week of heavy fighting, its divisions were encircled in the Heiligenbeil pocket
The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron (german: Kessel von Heiligenbeil) was the site of a major encirclement battle on the Eastern Front during the closing weeks of World War II, in which the Wehrmacht's 4th Army was almost entirely ...
on the Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
coast, where they were destroyed in March. The corps headquarters where evacuated by sea to northern Germany and where placed under the 12th Army under general Walther Wenck
Walther Wenck () (18 September 1900 – 1 May 1982) was a German officer and industrialist. He was the youngest General of the branch (''General der Truppengattung'') in the German Army and a staff officer during World War II. At the end of the w ...
. On May 7th it surrendered to US troops at Tangermünde
Tangermünde (; nds, Tangermünn) is a historic town on the Elbe River in the district of Stendal, in the northeastern part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Geography
Tangermünde is situated in the historic Altmark region of the North German Plain, ...
with the rest of the 12th Army.
Commanders
* Lieutenant GeneralGeorg-Hans Reinhardt
Georg-Hans Reinhardt (1 March 1887 – 23 November 1963) was a German general and war criminal during World War II. He commanded the 3rd Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944, and Army Group Centre in 1944 and 1945, reaching the rank of colonel genera ...
:Samuel W. Mitcham
Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. is an American author and military historian who specializes in the German war effort during World War II and the Confederate war effort during the American Civil War. He is the author of more than 40 books and has collabo ...
(2000): ''The Panzer Legions''. Stackpole Books p. 265 5 February 1940 – 5 October 1941
* Lieutenant General Otto-Ernst Ottenbacher __NOTOC__
Otto-Ernst Ottenbacher (18 November 1888 – 7 January 1975) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Ottenbacher was wounded durin ...
: 5 October – 1 November 1941
* General of Panzer Troops Walther Model
Otto Moritz Walter Model (; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German field marshal during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defen ...
: 1 November 1941 – 10 January 1942
* General of Panzer Troops Josef Harpe
Josef Harpe (21 September 1887 – 14 March 1968) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 9th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany.
Harpe served on the ...
: 10 January 1942 – 15 October 1943
* General of Artillery Helmuth Weidling
Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling (2 November 1891 – 17 November 1955) was a German general during World War II. He was the last commander of the Berlin Defence Area during the Battle of Berlin, and led the defence of the city against Soviet force ...
: 15 October 1943 – 19 June 1944
* Lieutenant-General Edmund Hoffmeister
Edmund Hoffmeister (4 March 1893 – 20 February 1951) was an officer in the German Army, mainly notable for his service in World War II.
Hoffmeister's military service began in 1914 in the Imperial German army. During the 1930s, Hoffmeis ...
: 19 June – 1 July 1944
* General of Artillery Helmuth Weidling: 1 July 1944 – 10 April 1945
* Lieutenant-General Wend von Wietersheim
Wend von Wietersheim (18 April 1900 – 19 September 1975) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany.
Career
Wietersheim was bo ...
: 10–19 April 1945
* Lieutenant-General Rudolf Holste
Rudolf Holste (9 April 1897 – 4 December 1970) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the XLI Panzer Corps during the Battle of Berlin, allegedly abandoning his troops on 1 May 1945, one day before the city capitulated.
Caree ...
: 19 April – 7 May 1945
References & Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xxxxi Panzer Corps (Germany) P041 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945