LXXII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)

The LXXII Army Corps (German: LXXII. Armeekorps) was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The corps was formed in February 1944. Before October 1944, it carried the designation z. b. V., marking it as a corps 'for special deployment'.

History

The LXXII Army Corps z. b. V. was formed on 13 February 1944 in southern Russia. It was initially subordinate to the 6th Army (subordinate to Army Group A, later Army Group South Ukraine) in the Galați area in Moldavia. It was moved to the 3rd Romanian Army under Army Group South Ukraine in May 1944, but then transferred back to 6th Army in August, to the army group reserves in September, and once again to the 6th Army, now under Army Group South, in October.[1]

Beginning in October 1944, the designation z. b. V. was dropped and the corps subsequently referred to as LXXII Army Corps.[1]

In December 1944, the LXXII Army Corps was assigned to the 3rd Hungarian Army under Army Group South, before being transferred back to the 6th Army in January 1945. After subordination to the 8th Army between February and April 1945, it was transferred to the newly formed Army Group Ostmark. Under Army Group Ostmark, the LXXII Army Corps surrendered at the end of the war in May 1945.[1]

Structure

Organizational structure of the LXXII (72nd) Army Corps of the German Wehrmacht, 1944 – 1945[1]
Year Date Commander[2] Subordinate units[3][4][5][6][7] Army Army Group Operational area
1944 3 March Sigismund von Förster 370th Infantry, 5th Luftwaffe Field Division 6th Army Army Group A Galați
15 April 304th Infantry, 5th LFD Army Group South Ukraine
15 May 153rd Infantry, 15th Romanian, 21st Romanian 3rd Romanian Army
15 June None (in reserves)
15 July
31 August 6th Army
September Georg Zwade directly under army group Inactive
13 October August Schmidt 76th Infantry 6th Army Army Group South Southern Hungary
5 November 76th Infantry, 25th Hungarian
26 November 271st Infantry, 1st Hungarian Cavalry 3rd Hungarian Army
31 December 2nd Hungarian Armored, 3rd Panzer, 6th Panzer 6th Army
1945 19 February 8th Jäger, 101st Jäger 8th Army Hungary
1 March 8th Jäger, Kampfgruppe Kaiser Hungary (Esztergom)
12 April 46th Infantry, 182nd Infantry, 271st Infantry, 711th Infantry
5 May Werner Schmidt-Hammer 78th Infantry, 254th Infantry, 304th Infantry 1st Panzer Army Army Group Ostmark Moravia

Noteworthy individuals

  • Sigismund von Förster, corps commander of LXXII Army Corps z.b.V. (22 July 1943 – 25 September 1944).[2]
  • Georg Zwade, corps commander of LXXII Army Corps z.b.V. (25 September 1944 – October 1944).[2]
  • August Schmidt, corps commander of LXXII Army Corps z.b.V. and LXXII Army Corps (October 1944 – April 1945).[2]
  • Anton Grasser, corps commander of LXXII Army Corps (6. – 20. April 1945)
  • Werner Schmidt-Hammer, corps commander of LXXII Army Corps (April 1945 – May 1945).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Tessin, Georg (1977). "Generalkommando LXXII. Ameekorps z. b. V. (röm. 72. AK)". Die Landstreitkräfte 71-130. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 6. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 8. ISBN 3764810971.
  2. ^ a b c d e MacLean, French L. (2014). Unknown Generals - German Corps Commanders In World War II. Pickle Partners Publishing. pp. 117–119. ISBN 9781782895220.
  3. ^ Tessin, Georg (1977). "6. Armee". Die Landstreitkräfte 6-14. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 3. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 1–8. ISBN 3764810971.
  4. ^ Tessin, Georg (1977). "3. Rumänische Armee". 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. 158–159. ISBN 3764810971.
  5. ^ Tessin, Georg (1977). "3. Ungarische Armee". 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. 158–159. ISBN 3764810971.
  6. ^ Tessin, Georg (1977). "8. Armee". Die Landstreitkräfte 6-14. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 3. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 87–90. ISBN 3764810971.
  7. ^ Tessin, Georg (1977). "1. Panzer-Armee". 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. 5–8. ISBN 3764810971.