LXVIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)

The LXVIII Army Corps (German: LXVIII. Armeekorps) was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The corps was initially formed in April 1943.

History
Hellmuth Felmy

The LXVIII Army Corps, initially known as Generalkommando z.b.V. LXVIII, General Command for special deployment 68, was formed on 9 April 1943 from the personnel of the Generalkommando z.b.V. which had been formed on 23 September 1942 from personnel that had served on Special Staff F as part of the German support for the insurgents in Iraq in the Anglo-Iraqi War.[1] The first corps commander of LXVIII General Command was Hellmuth Felmy.[2]

The LXVIII General Command was moved to Army Group E, part of Army Group F,[Note 1] in late May 1943 and set up its headquarters in Athens. In June 1943, the staff had not yet been assigned divisions but stood by in the reserves of Army Group E. By 7 July, it had been assigned the 1st Panzer Division and the 117th Jäger Division. The LXVIII General Command remained in charge of these two divisions until late October 1943.[3] In September, the two divisions were briefly joined by the 29th Infantry Division "Piemonte" and the 59th Infantry Division "Cagliari" of the Kingdom of Italy as part of the short-lived 11th Italian Army.[4] After that, the LXVIII General Command was once again transferred to Army Group E. By 8 November 1943, the 1st Panzer Division had been transferred away and the 11th Luftwaffe Field Division and the Brandenburgers had joined the corps.[3]

The exact organizational composition of the LXVIII General Command between January and March 1944 is unclear, as the administrative papers are lost to history.[3]

Documents are once again available starting on 15 April, at which point the LXVIII General Command consisted of the 117th Jäger Division, the 11th Luftwaffe Field Division and the newly added 41st Infantry Division. The Brandenburgers had been transferred away. This composition stayed consisted until 31 August 1944. By 16 September, the 11th Luftwaffe Field Division had been transferred away, leaving only the 117th Jäger Division and the 41st Infantry Division.[3]

The staff was renamed to become LXVIII Army Corps on 30 September 1943.[1]

The 117th Jäger Division was also removed from the LXVIII Army Corps in September, leaving only the 41st Infantry Division by 13 October 1944.[3] Subsequently, the LXVIII Army Corps was itself transferred and was taken from Army Group E to the 2nd Panzer Army. Here, it was reunited with the 117th Jäger Division and further strengthened by the 118th Jäger Division and the 1st Mountain Division by 5 November. The 41st Infantry Division was not passed along with the transfer and was thus no longer part of the corps. By 26 November, the 118th Jäger Division and 1st Mountain Division had left the corps, whereas the 44th Infantry Division as well as the 13th and 31st SS Divisions had been added.[5]

Felmy was succeeded as corps commander by Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller on 8 December 1944.[2]

By 31 December, the 117th Jäger Division as well as the 31st SS Division had left the corps, whereas the 71st Infantry Division had been added. This left the 44th and 71st Infantry Divisions as well as the 13th SS Division going into the new year 1945.[5]

Müller was succeeded as corps commander by Rudolf Konrad on 29 January 1945.[2]

By 19 February, the 44th Infantry Division had left the corps, leaving only the 13th SS Division and the 71st Infantry Division. This stayed unchanged through 1 March. By 12 April, the 297th Infantry Division was added.[5]

By 7 May 1945, one day before German surrender in World War II, the 297th Infantry Division had left the corps and the 118th Jäger Division had rejoined. Thus, the LXVIII Army Corps consisted of the 13th SS Division, the 71st Infantry Division and the 118th Jäger Division when World War II ended.[5]

Structure
Organizational structure of the LXVIII (68th) Army Corps of the Wehrmacht[1]
Year Date Commander[2] Subordinate units[3][4][5] Army Army Group Operational area
1943 1 June Hellmuth Felmy None Army Group E[Note 1] Army Group F Athens
7 July 1st Panzer, 117th Jäger
5 August
September 1st Panzer, 117th Jäger, 29th Italian Infantry, 59th Italian Infantry 11th Italian Army
4 October 1st Panzer, 117th Jäger Army Group E[Note 1]
8 November 117th Jäger, 11th LFD, Brandenburgers
3 December
1944 January Unknown
February
March
15 April 117th Jäger, 11th LFD, 41st Infantry
15 May
17 June
15 July
31 August
16 September 117th Jäger, 41st Infantry
13 October 41st Infantry
5 November Brdbg., 117th Jäger, 118th Jäger, 1st Mountain 2nd Panzer Army Serbia, Hungary (Drava)
26 November Brdbg., 117th Jäger, 13th SS, 31st SS, 44th Infantry
31 December Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller 44th Infantry, 71st Infantry, 13th SS
1945 19 February Rudolf Konrad 13th SS, 71st Infantry Army Group South Hungary (Drava)
1 March
12 April 13th SS, 71st Infantry, 297th Infantry
7 May 13th SS, 71st Infantry, 118th Jäger Oberbefehlshaber Südost Styria

Noteworthy individuals

Notes
  1. While nominally an army group, Army Group E was subordinate to Army Group F and effectively fulfilled the role of a field army between 26 August 1943 and 25 March 1945.

References
  1. Tessin, Georg (1977). "Generalkommando z.b.V. LXVIII (röm. 68 z.b.V.) Generalkommando LXVIII. Armeekorps (röm. 68. AK)". Die Landstreitkräfte 31-70. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 5. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 278. ISBN 3764810971.
  2. MacLean, French L. (2014). Unknown Generals - German Corps Commanders In World War II. Pickle Partners Publishing. pp. 115–117. ISBN 9781782895220.
  3. Tessin, Georg (1977). "Heeresgruppe E". Die Landstreitkräfte: Namensverbände. Luftstreitkräfte (Fliegende Verbände). Flakeinsatz im Reich 1943-1945. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 14. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 62–64. ISBN 3764810971.
  4. Tessin, Georg (1977). "11. Italienische Armee". Die Landstreitkräfte 15-30. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 4. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 194–195. ISBN 3764810971.
  5. Tessin, Georg (1977). "2. Panzer-Armee (Pz. AOK 2)". Die Landstreitkräfte 1-5. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 2. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 89–93. ISBN 3764810971.
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