Army Group C

Army Group C
Heeresgruppe C
Active	1939–41, 1943–45
Disbanded	2 May 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Commanders
Notable commanders	Albert Kesselring

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Army Group C (in German, Heeresgruppe C or HGr C) was an army group of the German Wehrmacht, that was formed twice during the Second World War.

History[]

Army Group C was formed from Army Group 2 in Frankfurt on 26 August 1939. It initially commanded all troops on Germany's western front but after the Polish campaign it was reduced to commanding the southern half of the western front, overseeing the frontal breakthrough through the Maginot Line during June 1940. At the end of the battle of France it moved back to Germany then – under the cover name "Section Staff East Prussia" – moved to East Prussia on 20 April 1941. On 21 June 1941 it was renamed Army Group North.

It was re-formed on 26 November 1943, by being separated from the staff of Supreme Commander South (OB Süd Luftwaffe) and put in command of the southwestern front and the Italian Campaign. As such, the commander of Heeresgruppe C served also as the Oberbefehlshaber (OB) Südwest.

On 2 May 1945 Army Group C surrendered.

Commanders[]

1st time

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Leeb, WilhelmGeneralfeldmarschall Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (1876–1956)	26 August 1939	21 June 1941	1 year, 299 days

2nd time

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Kesselring, AlbertGeneralfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (1885–1960)	26 November 1943	26 October 1944 (in hospital after being severely wounded in an accident)	335 days
2		Vietinghoff, HeinrichGeneraloberst Heinrich von Vietinghoff (1887–1952)	26 October 1944	15 January 1945	81 days
(1)		Kesselring, AlbertGeneralfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (1885–1960)	15 January 1945 (recovered from his wounds)	9 March 1945 (transferred to the Western Front)	53 days
(2)		Vietinghoff, HeinrichGeneraloberst Heinrich von Vietinghoff (1887–1952)	10 March 1945	30 April 1945	51 days
3		Schulz, FriedrichGeneral der Infanterie Friedrich Schulz (1897–1976)	30 April 1945	1 May 1945	1 day
4		Röttiger, HansGeneral der Panzertruppe Hans Röttiger (1896–1960)	1 May 1945	2 May 1945	1 day

Composition[]

• Army Group C Order of Battle from August, 1944.

Sources[]

• Lexikon de Wehrmacht Heeresgruppe C
• Axis History Heeresgruppe C