XXXXVIII Panzer Corps


XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, was a corps-level formation of the German Army which saw extensive action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II.

History

The corps was originally formed on 15 December 1940 in Germany. At the dawn of Operation Barbarossa, on 22 June 1941, the Corps was attached to Field Marshal Ewald von Kleist's Panzer Group 1, a part of Army Group South. The corps took part in the Battle of Brody early in the campaign, and later saw action at Berdichev and Kirovograd. As did all German Corps on the Eastern Front, the XLVIII Motorized Corps implemented the criminal Commissar Order.
From late 1941 to May 1942, the corps took part in defensive operations in the Kursk area. It was renamed the XLVIII Panzer Corps in early summer 1942. Thereafter the corps joined the Fall Blau offensive towards Stalingrad under Army Group B.
During the Battle of Stalingrad the 29th Motorized Infantry Division, the 14th Panzer Division and the 24th Panzer Division was trapped inside the Stalingrad pocket.
The remaining major units, 22nd Panzer Division and 1st Armoured Division, were almost destroyed during Operation Uranus. It was quickly reformed and used by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein's Operation Winter Storm efforts to relieve General Friedrich Paulus' trapped Sixth Army still in Stalingrad.
In February 1943, the XLVIII Panzer Corps took part in the battles around Kharkov, and in June it was committed to the southern flank of the Battle of Kursk as part of 4th Panzer Army. After the failure of Operation Citadel, the corps took part in the retreat from Ukraine. By February 1945, the corps found itself in Silesia, and it ended the war defending the Elbe River, where it surrendered in May 1945.

Commanders

  • General der Panzertruppe Werner Kempf
  • General der Panzertruppe Rudolf Veiel
  • Generalleutnant Ferdinand Heim
  • General der Panzertruppe Hans Cramer
  • General der Panzertruppe Heinrich Eberbach
  • General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff
  • General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz
  • General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff
  • General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz
  • General der Panzertruppe Heinrich Eberbach
  • General der Panzertruppe Hermann Balck
  • General der Panzertruppe Walther Nehring
  • General der Panzertruppe Fritz-Hubert Gräser
  • General der Panzertruppe Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Edelsheim
  • Generalleutnant Wolf Hagemann

    General Staff Officers

  • Oberstleutnant Friedrich von Mellenthin, Chief of General Staff
  • Major Eitel-Friedrich Binder, Operations Officer

    Subordinate units

XXXXVIII Motorized Corps
XXXXVIII Panzer Corps
XXXXVIII Panzer Corps
  • As of November 1942
  • * 22nd Panzer Division
  • * 1st Armoured Division
XXXXVIII Panzer Corps