The German 12th Army was a Wehrmacht’s major military unit, which fought during World War II. It was a field army composed of four corps, each of which included two or three divisions. Created in August, 1939, it would soon participate in the Polish Campaign as part of Army Group South, which was under Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt.
Between May and June, 1940, the 12th Army took part in the German invasion of France. In April 1941, it successfully carried out Operation Marita, which was the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece; during this military campaign it was made up of four army corps, one panzer group, and one supplementary Panzerdivision.
After Marita, the Wehrmacht’s 12th Army remained deployed in Greece. Meanwhile, the other German armies took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941). In early 1943, it would be redeployed in the southeast of Europe as it was reinforced and temporarily converted into Army Group E to become the 12th Army again in early 1945. It would fight on the Eastern Front until the end of the war, participating in the Battle of Berlin April-May 1945.
12th Army’s Units in 1941
– XVII Mountain Corps, commanded by General Franz Böhme
– XXX Infantry Corps, led by General Otto Hartmann
– XL Panzer Corps, under Georg Stumme
– L Infantry Corps, commanded by Georg Lindemann
– 1st Panzer Group, under Ewald von Kleist
– 16th Panzerdivision
12th Army’s units in 1945
– XX Corps
– XXXIX Corps
– XLI Corps
– XLVIII Corps
Commanders
– Wilhelm List (1939-1941)
– Walter Kuntze (1941-1942)
– Alexander Löhr (1942)
– Walther Wenck (1945)
A 12th Army’s platoon in northern Greece, April, 1941
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