Army Group E
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| Army Group E | |
|---|---|
Heer (  Wehrmacht) | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Alexander Löhr |
Army Group E (German: Heeresgruppe E) was a German Army Group active during World War II.
Army Group E was created on 1 January 1943 from the 12th Army. Units from this Army Group were distributed throughout the Eastern Mediterranean area, including Albania, Greece, the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, and the Independent State of Croatia.
Composition
Its principal units were:[2]
- 11th Luftwaffe Field Division (Attica garrison) - Generalleutnant Wilhelm Kohler
- Rhodes Assault Division (amalgamated with the Brandenburg Panzergrenadier Division in 1944)
- LXVIII Army Corps (eastern Greece and Peloponnese)
- 117th Jäger Division - General der Gebirgstruppe Karl von Le Suire
- Walter Krüger
- XXII Mountain Army Corps (western Greece) - General der Gebirgstruppe Hubert Lanz
- 104th Jäger Division - General der Infanterie Hartwig von Ludwiger
- Walter Stettner
- 41st Fortress Division
- Fortress Crete
- 22nd Division - General der Infanterie Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller
- Also within the Army Group command were 22 penal "fortress battalions" of the "999" series.
Service history
The Army Group participated in
Retreat from Greece
When the fighting in Romania developed into a
Army Group E was joined with what was left of Maximilian von Weichs' Army Group F. That army group had been dissolved on 25 March 1945. In the spring of 1945, some troops were sent to Hungary, with some units moving to Austria and southern Germany. During the 1945 retreat the fortress units were amalgamated into the LXXXXI Army Corps.
Last fight in Croatia
Colonel General Alexander Löhr tried to hold the Independent State of Croatia against the People's Liberation Army. A major offensive by the People's Liberation Army, which began on 12 April 1945, drove the German troops together in the Slovenian-Austrian border area. A few units escaped and eventually surrendered to British forces that had occupied Styria and Carinthia. Alexander Löhr reached a partial agreement with the British Commander-in-Chief to accept the German units.
On 30 April 1945, Army Group E contained the
On the day of the surrender, 8 May 1945, the mass of the Army group was still three day marches away from the Austrian border. Until 15 May, numerous units managed to escape to Austria. 150,000 German soldiers of the Army group were captured by Tito's forces. At that time, Army Group E consisted of seven German divisions, two Cossack divisions of the
A member of Army Group E who later rose to prominence was Austrian president and United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, who served in the military administration of Thessaloniki.
Commanders
| No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Generaloberst Alexander Löhr (1885–1947) | 31 December 1942 | 8 May 1945 | 2 years, 127 days | [4] |
References
- ^ Tessin 1980, pp. 62–64.
- ^ p.24, Thomas
- ISBN 3828905250.
- ^ D 3, Hogg
Sources
- Hogg, Ian V., German Order of Battle 1944: The regiments, formations and units of the German ground forces, Arms and Armour Press, London, 1975
- Tessin, Georg (1980). Die Landstreitkräfte: Namensverbände / Die Luftstreitkräfte (Fliegende Verbände) / Flakeinsatz im Reich 1943–1945 [Ground forces: Named units and formations / Air forces (Flying units and formations) / Anti–aircraft service in the Reich 1943–1945]. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen–SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 (in German). Vol. 14. Osnabrück: Biblio. ISBN 3-7648-1111-0.
- Thomas, Nigel, (Author), Andrew, Stephen, (Illustrator), The German Army 1939-45 (2) : North Africa & Balkans (Men-At-Arms Series, 316), Osprey Publishing, 1998 ISBN 978-1-85532-640-8
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