Army Group A
Encyclopedia
Army Group A was the name of a number of German
Army Groups during World War II
.
and France
Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt
, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes. It was composed of 45½ divisions, including the 7 panzer division of Panzer Group Kleist
.
was in southern Russia on the Eastern Front. For Case Blue (Fall Blau), the summer offensive of the German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht
), Army Group South was split into Army Group A and Army Group B
. Army Group A was ordered south to capture the oil fields in the Caucasus
.
Army Group A included the following armies:
; Army Group Centre
became Army Group North and Army Group A became Army Group Centre.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Army Groups during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Western Front, 1940
During the German invasion of the Low CountriesLow Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes. It was composed of 45½ divisions, including the 7 panzer division of Panzer Group Kleist
German First Panzer Army
The 1st Panzer Army was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation within the Wehrmacht Heer field forces during World War II.-Formation:...
.
Eastern Front, 1942
In 1942, Army Group SouthArmy Group South
Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
was in southern Russia on the Eastern Front. For Case Blue (Fall Blau), the summer offensive of the German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
), Army Group South was split into Army Group A and Army Group B
Army Group B
Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II.-Battle for France:The first was involved in the Western Campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in Rotterdam...
. Army Group A was ordered south to capture the oil fields in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
.
Army Group A included the following armies:
- German 1st Panzer Army
- German 11th Army11th 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...
- German 17th Army17th Army (Germany)The German Seventeenth Army was a World War II field army.-Commanding officers:* General der Infanterie Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel * Generaloberst Hermann Hoth...
- Romanian 4th ArmyFourth Army (Romania)The Fourth Army was a field army of the Romanian Land Forces active from the 19th century to the 1990s.-History:The Fourth Army fought in the Romanian Campaign of World War I, under the command of General Prezan...
Eastern Front, 1945
On the 25 January 1945 Hitler renamed three army groups. Army Group North became Army Group CourlandArmy Group Courland
Army Group Courland was a German Army Group on the Eastern Front which was created from remnants of the Army Group North, isolated in the Courland peninsula by the advancing Soviet Army forces during the 1944 Baltic Offensive of the Second World War. The army group remained isolated until the end...
; Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
became Army Group North and Army Group A became Army Group Centre.