III Army Corps (Wehrmacht)

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For the equivalent formation in World War I, see III Corps (German Empire).
III. Armeekorps
III Panzerkorps unit marking Unternehmen Zitadelle.png
III. Panzerkorps
ActiveOctober 1934 – 8 May 1945
Country Nazi Germany
BranchArmy
TypePanzer corps
RoleArmoured warfare
SizeCorps
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Hermann Breith
Eberhard von Mackensen
Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg

III Army Corps was a corps level formation of the German Army during World War II.

III Army Corps[]

The III Corps was formed in October 1934 as III. Armeekorps. The corps took part in Fall Weiss, the 1939 invasion of Poland as a part of Army Group North. It then took part in Fall Gelb as a part of Army Group A, participating in the assault through the Ardennes. In March 1941, the corps was upgraded to a motorised corps status and redesignated III Armeekorps (mot). The Corps was attached to Army Group South for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The corps advanced through Ukraine and took part in the Battle of Brody, Battle of Kiev, Battle of Rostov, Battle of Kharkov and Battle of Uman.

III Panzer Corps[]

III Panzer Corps was formed in June 1942 from III Army Corps and attached to Army Group A, the formation tasked with capturing the Caucasus as a part of Fall Blau. After the loss of the 6th Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, III Panzer Corps took part in the battles around Kharkov as part of Army Group Don. During Operation Citadel, the Corps was the striking force of Army Detachment Kempf as they attempted to protect the right flank of the 4th Panzer Army. It also took part in Operation Roland, and was involved in the retreat from Belgorod to the Dniepr.

At the beginning of 1944, the Corps participated in the relief of the forces trapped in the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. In March the Corps was encircled in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket, along with the rest of the 1st Panzer Army. III Corps drove the breakout and escape. Due to heavy losses, from November 1944 to January 1945, the corps was redesignated as Gruppe Breith, after its commander General der Panzertruppe Hermann Breith.

In late 1944, III Panzerkorps participated in Operation Konrad, the failed attempts to relieve the German and Hungarian garrison at Budapest. The corps then took part in Operation Spring Awakening in Hungary. After its failure, the corps retreated through Austria, surrendering to the U.S. Army on 8 May 1945.

Commanders[]

  • Generaloberst Curt Haase (1 Sep 1939 - 13 Nov 1940)
  • General der Infanterie (13 Nov 1940 - 15 Jan 1941)
  • Generaloberst Eberhard von Mackensen (15 Jan 1941 - 31 Mar 1942)
  • General der Panzertruppe Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg (31 Mar 1942 - 20 July 1942)
  • Generaloberst Eberhard von Mackensen (20 July 1942 - 2 Jan 1943)
  • General der Panzertruppe Hermann Breith (2 Jan 1943 - 20 Oct 1943)
  • General der Artillerie Heinz Ziegler (20 Oct 1943 - 25 Nov 1943)
  • General der Infanterie Friedrich Schulz (25 Nov 1943 - 9 Jan 1944)
  • General der Panzertruppe Hermann Breith (9 Jan 1944 - 31 May 1944)
  • General der Panzertruppe Dietrich von Saucken (31 May 1944 - 29 June 1944)
  • General der Panzertruppe Hermann Breith (29 June 1944 - 8 May 1945)

Orders Of Battle[]

III.Armeekorps, May 1940 - Fall Gelb

III.Armeekorps (mot), September 1941 - Operation Barbarossa

III.Panzerkorps, July 1943 - Operation Citadel

  • Corps Troops (Stab der Korps)
    • Artillery Commander 3 (Arko 3)
    • 43rd Panzer Signal Battalion
    • Korps-Nachrichten-Abteilung 43
    • Korps-Nachschubtruppen 403
    • Feldgendarmerie-Trupp 403
  • Corps attached units
    • Sturmgeschütz-Batterie 393
    • schwere-Panzer-Abteilung 503
  • 6.Panzer-Division under Major General Walther von Hünersdorff
    • (with 86 tanks)
  • 7.Panzer-Division under Lieutenant General Hans Freiherr von Funck
    • (with 87 tanks)
  • 19.Panzer-Division under Lieutenant General Gustav Schmidt
    • (with 70 tanks)
  • 168.Infanterie-Division under Major General

III Panzerkorps, March 1944 - Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket

|II Panzerkorps, March 1945 - Operation Spring Awakening

See also[]

External links[]

"III. Armeekorps". Lexikon der Wehrmacht. Retrieved 30 November 2010.

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