II.SS-Panzer-Korps
History | ||
| The II.SS-Panzer-Korps was formed in 7.42 in Bergen (Holland) as ssPanzer-Generalkommando. It was ready for action 8.42, and in 6.43it was renamed as tje Generalkommando II.SS-Panzerkorps. The Korps wasfirst used to control reorganizing SS-Infanterie-Divisionen in France inthe Summer of 1942. The Korps was sent to the Southern Front in Russia inEarly 1943 where it took part in operations to stem the Soviet 1943 WinterOffensive and then to recapture Kharkov and Belgorod in the earlySpring, 1943. After the German success on the Eastern Front in stemming SovietOffensives, the Germans launched an offensive of their own in the Summerof 1943 aimed at further crushing the Soviet forces already pushed back fromthe previous months of fighting. This was the Kursk Offensive, and it wasthe most massive and important tank battle in all of History. TheII.SS-Panzer-Korps spearheaded this offensive by driving into thesouthern edge of the Kursk salient. The Divisions of the Korpsmanaged to push deeper into the salient then any other unitin the offensive. Against massive Soviet pressure and manpower, theoffensive stalled and was called off shortly after it was launched,and the II.SS-Panzer-Korps was pulled back. The Korps was ordered to Italy to help stabilize the rapidly crumblingsituation of Germany’s Italian Ally after the failed Kursk offensive.Mussolini was deposed on the same day that the II.SS-Panzer-Korps wasordered to Italy, and in the end, only the 1.SS-Panzer-Division actaully was transfered, while theother unit of the Korps stayed on the Eastern Front. In the Winter of 1943 the Korps was in France again, until the Spring of1944 when it was transfered to the Eastern Front once more. In June, 1944,the Korps was once again back in France, this time fighting against theD-Day landings in Normany. In Late Summer, 1944, the Korps took part in theBattle of Falaise gap, and managed to break-out before the Allies closed thering around them. In Septemeber, 1944, the II.SS-Panzer-Korps took part in opeationsduring the Allied Operation Market-Garden, an air and land assault intothe Netherlands. The 9.SS-Panzer-Divison and the 10-SS-Panzer-Division were present in and aroundthe city of Arnhem, the Northern most goal of the Allied offensive. TheBritish 1st Airborne Division was dropped on Arnhem, and then crushedunder the shear pressure of the German counter-attack. The 9th and 10thtook part in these operations against the Allies under control of theII.SS-Panzer-Korps. The II.SS-Panzer-Korps took part in the Ardennes Offensive inDecember, 1944, and was later transfered to the Eastern Front where it endedthe War in May, 1945. | ||
Korps Units | ||
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Attached Units | ||
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Commanders | ||
| Paul Hausser 6.01.42 – 6.28.44 Wilhelm Bittrich 7.10.44 – 5.08.45 |