- LVI Panzer Corps
LVI Panzer Corps was a tank corps in the German Army during
World War II .This corps was activated in February 1941 for the German invasion of the
Soviet Union , which commenced on June 22, 1941.Erich von Manstein led the corps in its advance fromEast Prussia toDemyansk , where, in September 1941, he was informed of his appointment as commander of the German Eleventh Army. [Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, "Lost Victories", pp. 180-203. First published in English in 1958. St. Paul, Minn.: Zenith Press, 2004. ISBN 0-7603-2054-3]In 1942, as part of Army Group Center's 3rd Panzer Army, the LVI Panzer Corps was used to fight
Soviet partisans on the Eastern Front. The corps was active in theSpas-Demensk andKirov area before withdrawing toKrichev and across theDnieper .In the Spring of 1944, the LVI Panzer Corps fought at
Zhlobin andKalinkovichi inBelarus . FromJune 22 toAugust 19 , duringOperation Bagration , the Soviets destroyed Army Group Center and swept the Germans from Belarus. The corps withdrew through thePripet Marshes towardsBrest-Litovsk . From13 July to29 July , as part of the 4th Panzer Army, the LVI Panzer Corps was involved in the unsuccessful German defense against the SovietLvov-Sandomierz Offensive . The corps continued to withdraw throughPoland and intoGermany as the Soviet advance continued.In 1945, the LVI Panzer Corps became part of
Army Group Vistula 's 9th Army. From16 April to19 April , at theBattle of Seelow Heights , the corps suffered heavy losses along with the rest of the 9th Army. The remnants of the LVI Panzer Corps ended the war defending theNazi capital in theBattle of Berlin .Commanders
* Infantry General ("General der Infanterie")
Erich von Manstein - From February 1941 to 13 September 1941.
* General of the Tank Troops ("General der Panzertruppen")Ferdinand Schaal - From16 March 1942 to1 August 1943
* Infantry General ("General der Infanterie")Friedrich Hoßbach - From1 August 1943 to14 November 1943
* Infantry General ("General der Infanterie")Anton Graßer - From14 November 1943 to9 December 1943
* Infantry General ("General der Infanterie")Friedrich Hoßbach - From9 December 1943 to14 June 1944
* Infantry General ("General der Infanterie")Johannes Block - From15 June 1944 to26 January 1945
* General of the Cavalry ("General der Kavallerie")Rudolf Koch-Erpach - From26 January 1945 to10 April 1945
* General of the Artillery ("General der Artillerie")Helmuth Weidling - From10 April 1945 to2 May 1945 - Briefly replaced by Major General of the Reserve ("Generalmajor der Reserve")Werner Mummert from25 April to26 April Area of operations
* Eastern Front, central sector - From March 1942 to July 1944
* Poland - From July 1944 to January 1945
* Eastern Germany and the city ofBerlin - From January 1945 to May 1945Notes
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