X Army Corps (X. Armeekorps) was a corps in the German Army during World War II. It was formed in mid-May 1935 from the Cavalry Division.
After the mobilization of 28 August 1939, the corps was deployed under General Wilhelm Ulex on the right wing of the 8th Army (commanded by General
Blaskowitz) during the Polish campaign. After taking part in the
Battle of the Bzura
The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was the largest Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Google Print snippet ...
the corps was transferred to Warsaw. It later moved to western Europe and was eventually stationed in Normandy.
In April 1941 the corps was transferred to
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
to take part in
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 ...
as part of the
16th Army in
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 ...
. The invasion of Russia commenced on 22 June following.
In 1942 the corps was trapped in the
Demyansk Pocket
The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...
near
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 ...
, surrounded by Soviet troops and cut off for several months from the rest of the army. They were supplied by air until German troops could break through to them.
After the lifting of the
siege of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...
by Generals
Govorov and
Merezkow and the loss of
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
to the
Soviet 59th Army in January 1944, the 16th Army was forced to retreat. Having retreated to
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
the corps came under the command of the
18th Army.
After the breakthrough of the
Soviet 51st Army under General Kreiser on 10 October near Polangen on the Baltic Sea, X Corps, with the 11th, 30th, and 61st Infantry Divisions, took command of the southern front of the
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...
. From October 27 to November 2, 1944, they withstood the main attack of the Soviet
5th Tank Army and sustained losses of more than 4,000 men. The German Army surrendered on May 8, 1945.
Commanders
* Cavalry General (''
General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...
'')
Wilhelm Knochenhauer, May 1935 – June 1939
* Lieutenant-General
Generalleutnant
is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...
Erich Lüdke
Erich Lüdke (20 October 1882 – 13 February 1946) was a German General of the Infantry who was supreme commander of the German forces in Denmark from 1 June 1940 to 29 September 1942. Taken into custody by the Soviets after the war, he died in ...
, 29. June – 26. August 1939
* Infantry General (''
General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to:
* General of the Infantry (Austria)
* General of the Infantry (Bulgaria)
* General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...
'')
Wilhelm Ulex, 26. August – October 1939
* Artillery General (''
General der Artillerie
General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean:
1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...
'')
Christian Hansen, 15. October 1939 – May 1942
* Tank general (''
General der Panzertruppe
General der Panzertruppe () was a General of the branch OF8 rank of the German Army, introduced in 1935. A ''General der Panzertruppe'' was a Lieutenant General, above Major General (Generalleutnant), commanding a Panzer corps.
Rank and ran ...
'')
Otto von Knobelsdorff
Otto von Knobelsdorff (31 March 1886 – 21 October 1966) was a German general during World War II who led the 19th Panzer Division and then held a series of higher commands. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Le ...
, May – June 1942
* Artillery General (''
General der Artillerie
General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean:
1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...
'')
Christian Hansen, Juni 1942 bis 1. Juli 1943
* Lieutenant-General
Generalleutnant
is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...
Otto Sponheimer __NOTOC__
Otto Sponheimer (19 December 1886 – 14 March 1961) was a German general (General of the Infantry) in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Na ...
, 1. Juli – 31. July 1943 m.st.F.b.
* Artillery General (''
General der Artillerie
General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean:
1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...
'') Christian Hansen, 1 August – 4 November 1943
* Infantry General (''
General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to:
* General of the Infantry (Austria)
* General of the Infantry (Bulgaria)
* General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...
'')
Thomas-Emil von Wickede
__NOTOC__
Thomas-Emil von Wickede (23 April 1893 – 23 June 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the X Army Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Wickede was ...
, 4 November 1943 – 23 June 1944
* Infantry General (''
General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to:
* General of the Infantry (Austria)
* General of the Infantry (Bulgaria)
* General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...
'')
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 ...
, 25 June – 3 September 1944
* Infantry General (''
General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to:
* General of the Infantry (Austria)
* General of the Infantry (Bulgaria)
* General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...
'')
Hermann Foertsch
Hermann Foertsch (4 April 1895 – 27 December 1961) was a German general during World War II who held commands at the divisional, corps and army levels. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Foertsch was tr ...
, 21 September – 21 December 1944
* Lieutenant-General
Generalleutnant
is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...
Johannes Mayer
Johannes Mayer (6 September 1893 – 7 August 1963) was a German General of the Infantry 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 and Swords.
Promotions
*9.3. ...
, 21 – 27 December 1944
* Artillery General (''
General der Artillerie
General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean:
1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...
'')
Siegfried Thomaschki __NOTOC__
Siegfried Thomaschki (20 March 1894 – 31 May 1967) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 11th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
Thomas ...
, 27 Dezember 1944 – May 1945
Areas of Operation
* Poland : September 1939 – May 1940
* France : May 1940 – June 1941
* Eastern Front, North Sector : June 1941 – October 1944
* Courland Pocket : October 1944 – May 1945
References
* Based on a translation of the equivalent article (
:de:X. Armeekorps (Wehrmacht)) on German Wikipedia
*
Georg Tessin
Georg may refer to:
* ''Georg'' (film), 1997
*Georg (musical), Estonian musical
* Georg (given name)
* Georg (surname)
* , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker
See also
* George (disambiguation)
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* G ...
: ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945'', Volume 3, Frankfurt/Main und Osnabrück 1966, pp 163–164.
*
Percy Ernst Schramm
Percy Ernst Schramm (14 October 1894 – 21 November 1970) was a German historian who specialized in art history and medieval history. Schramm was a Chair and Professor of History at the University of Göttingen from 1929 to 1963.
Early lif ...
(Hrsg.): ''Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht'', Bernard & Graefe Verlag for Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965.
** Volume I: 1940/41 written by
Hans-Adolf Jacobsen.
** Volume II: 1942 written by
Andreas Hillgruber
Andreas Fritz Hillgruber (18 January 1925 – 8 May 1989) was a conservative German historian who was influential as a military and diplomatic historian who played a leading role in the ''Historikerstreit'' of the 1980s. In his controversial book ...
, Bernard & Graefe Verlag for Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965.
** Volume III: 1943 written by
Walther Hubatsch
Walther Hubatsch (17 May 1915 – 29 December 1984) was a German military historian.
He was born in Königsberg in East Prussia. During World War II he served in the German Army. He was appointed professor in Göttingen from 1949, and from 1 ...
, Bernard & Graefe Verlag for Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main 1965.
{{Subject bar
, portal1=Military of Germany
, portal2=World War II
Army,10
Military units and formations established in 1935
1935 establishments in Germany
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945