11th SS Panzer Army
Encyclopedia
The 11th SS Panzer Army was not much more than a paper army formed between November 1944 and February 1945 by Reichsführer-SS
Heinrich Himmler
while he was commander of Army Group Vistula
.
The military historian Antony Beevor
wrote that when the 11th SS Panzer Army was created the available units at best could constitute a corps, "'But panzer army' observed Eismann 'has a better ring to it'". It also allowed Himmler to promote SS officers to senior staff and field commands within the formation. Obergruppenführer
Felix Steiner
, probably the best SS officer available, was named its commander. The Army was officially listed as the 11th Army
but it was also known as SS Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11. and is often referred to in English as the 11th SS Panzer Army.
After taking part in Operation Solstice
(a counter-attack) east of the Oder River during February 1945 the 11th was assigned to OB West
, reorganized in March 1945. Many of the units formerly subordinated to the 11th SS Panzer Army were transferred to the 3rd Panzer Army and other units were assigned to the 11th Army for operations against the Western Allies. After defending the Weser River and the Harz Mountains, the 11th surrendered to the Western Allies on 21 April.
Reichsführer-SS
was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
while he was commander of Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
.
The military historian Antony Beevor
Antony Beevor
Antony James Beevor, FRSL is a British historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. He studied under the famous military historian John Keegan. Beevor is a former officer with the 11th Hussars who served in England and Germany for five years before resigning his commission...
wrote that when the 11th SS Panzer Army was created the available units at best could constitute a corps, "'But panzer army' observed Eismann 'has a better ring to it'". It also allowed Himmler to promote SS officers to senior staff and field commands within the formation. Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
Felix Steiner
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German Reichswehr and Waffen-SS officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
, probably the best SS officer available, was named its commander. The Army was officially listed as the 11th Army
11th Army (Germany)
The 11th Army was a World War I and a World War II field army.-World War I:The 11th Army was formed in early 1915. It briefly fought on the Western Front during the Battle of Ypres, holding the line against the allied attack...
but it was also known as SS Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11. and is often referred to in English as the 11th SS Panzer Army.
After taking part in Operation Solstice
Operation Solstice
Operation Solstice , also known as Unternehmen Husarenritt or the "Stargard tank battle", was one of the last German armoured offensive operations on the Eastern Front in World War II....
(a counter-attack) east of the Oder River during February 1945 the 11th was assigned to OB West
OB West
The German Army Command in the West The German Army Command in the West The German Army Command in the West (Oberbefehlshaber West (German: initials OB West) was the overall command of the Westheer, the German Armed Forces on the Western Front during World War II. It was directly subordinate to...
, reorganized in March 1945. Many of the units formerly subordinated to the 11th SS Panzer Army were transferred to the 3rd Panzer Army and other units were assigned to the 11th Army for operations against the Western Allies. After defending the Weser River and the Harz Mountains, the 11th surrendered to the Western Allies on 21 April.
February 1945
By 5 February the 11th, subordinated to Army Group Vistula, had the following units assigned to it- Tettau Corps group:
- Köslin,
- Bärwalde.
- X SS Army CorpsX SS Corps (Germany)The X SS Corps was a short-lived SS corps-level headquarters employed on the Eastern Front in 1945 during World War II....
:- 5th Jäger-Division,
- Division Nr 402.
- Munzel Corps group:
- Führer-Grenadier-DivisionFührer Grenadier BrigadeThe Führer Grenadier Brigade was an élite German Heer combat unit which saw action during World War II. The Führer Grenadier Brigade is sometimes mistakenly perceived as being a part of the Waffen-SS, whereas it was actually a Heer unit and technically assigned to the Großdeutschland Division...
, - Führer-Begleit-DivisionFührer Begleit BrigadeThe Führerbegleitbrigade was a German armoured brigade and later armoured division , in World War II...
.
- Führer-Grenadier-Division
- III SS Panzer Corps:
- 281st Infanterie-Division281st Infantry Division (Germany)The German 281st Infantry Division, was formed in January 1945 in Courland by conversion of the 281st Security Division The German 281st Infantry Division, (281. Infanterie-Division) was formed in January 1945 in Courland by conversion of the 281st Security Division The German 281st Infantry...
, - 23rd SS-Panzergrenadier-Division4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade NetherlandsThe 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland. was a German Waffen SS volunteer division comprising volunteers of Dutch background...
, - Division Voigt,
- 11th SS-Panzergrenadier-Division11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division NordlandThe 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, also known as Kampfverband Waräger, Germanische-Freiwilligen-Division, SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 11 or 11. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland, was a Waffen SS, Panzergrenadier division recruited from foreign volunteers...
, - 27th SS-Grenadier-Division6th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade LangemarckThe 27th SS Volunteer Division Langemarck was a German Waffen-SS volunteer division comprising volunteers of Flemish background. It saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II....
.
- 281st Infanterie-Division
- XXXIX Panzer Corps
- 4th SS-Panzergrenadier-Division4th SS Polizei DivisionThe SS Polizei Division was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II.The division was formed in 1939 as part of the Ordnungspolizei...
, - 10th SS-Panzer-Division10th SS Panzer Division FrundsbergThe 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg or 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg was a German Waffen SS panzer division. The division was formed at the beginning of 1943 as a reserve for the expected Allied invasion of France. However, their first campaign was in the Ukraine in April 1944...
, - 28th SS-Grenadier-Division5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade WallonienThe 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien was formed from the 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien which was a Belgian Waffen SS volunteer brigade comprising volunteers of Walloon background...
, - Panzer-Division Holstein.
- 4th SS-Panzergrenadier-Division
- HQ, Wehrkreis II as corps-level field command (stellv. II):
- Swinemünde Defensive RegionGerman Fortress Division SwinemündeFortress Division Swinemünde was an ad-hoc formation under the command of Baron Hermmann Von Pfel, and organized by Seekommandant Pommern in the port of Swinemünde. The division was created in 1945 primarily from German Navy personnel, although some Luftwaffe personnel were used as well...
, - Division Deneke,
- 9th Fallschirm-Jäger-Division.
- Swinemünde Defensive Region
- Direct army command
- 163rd Infanterie-Division.
March, 1945
By 1 March the Eleventh, subordinated to Army Group Vistula had no units assigned to it.April 1945
By 12 April the Eleventh was directly subordinated to OB West and had the following units assigned to it.- LXVII Army Corps:
- KG Fellner,
- Division Ettner,
- Division Heidenreich,
- Division Grosskreuz.
- Stellv. IX:
- 26th Volksgrenadier-Division26th Infantry Division (Germany)The 26th Infantry Division was a pre-Second World war German Infantry Division of the 1st mobilisation wave . It was mobilised for World War II on September 26, 1939, disbanded September 10, 1944 near Radom, reformed as the 26th Volksgrenadier Division The 26th Infantry Division (26....
, - 326th Volksgrenadier-Division326th Infantry Division (Germany)The 326th Infantry Division was formed on November 9, 1942 to serve as an occupation force in France. On May 5, 1943 the division was transformed into a static division. The 326th Infantry Division was destroyed during the Battle of Normandy. A new 326th Volksgrenadier Division The 326th Infantry...
.
- 26th Volksgrenadier-Division
- LXVI Army Corps:
- 277th Volksgrenadier-Division277th Infantry Division (Germany)A first 277th Infantry Division was ordered to form on May 22, 1940 as part of the 10th mobilisation wave , but this order was rescinded after the French Surrender. A new 277th Infantry Division was formed in Croatia on November 17, 1943 as part of the 22nd mobilisation wave A first 277th Infantry...
, - Panzer (Brigade) Westfalen,
- 9th Panzer-Division,
- 116th Panzer-Division.
- 277th Volksgrenadier-Division
See also
- German 11th Army the official German Army name for the army. The 11th Army also existed before this last reincarnation as an army that fought on the Eastern Front earlier in the war.
- Army Detachment SteinerArmy Detachment SteinerArmy Detachment Steiner , was a temporary military unit, something more than a corps but less than an army, created on paper by German dictator Adolf Hitler on 21 April 1945 during the Battle of Berlin, and placed under the command of SS Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner...
fought in the Battle of BerlinBattle of BerlinThe Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
, and because Steiner commanded that paper army it can easily be confused with the 11th SS Panzer Army.