Army Group Vistula
Encyclopedia
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
(shattered in the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive
), Army Group Centre
(similarly largely destroyed in the East Prussian Offensive
), and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations. It was formed to protect Berlin
from the Soviet
armies advancing from the Vistula River.
had originally urged the creation of a new army group as an essentially defensive measure to fill the gap opening in German defences between the lower Vistula
and the lower Oder
.
The new Army Group Vistula was duly formed from an assortment of rebuilt, new and existing units. Guderian intended to propose Field-Marshal Maximilian von Weichs
as commander. However, in a reflection of Hitler
's desire to transfer control of the conflict from the Wehrmacht to the SS, Heinrich Himmler
was appointed. Himmler, who lacked any real military knowledge, proved inadequate to the task; General Gotthard Heinrici
replaced Himmler as commander of Army Group Vistula on 20 March, subsequent to its participation in the German offensive codenamed Operation Solstice
and the following defence against the Soviet East Pomeranian Offensive
.
Other than Operation Solstice, the Army Group's only offensive action was a disastrous attempt to relieve the fortress of Kustrin
late in March 1945, during which the subordinate XXXIX Panzer Corps took heavy casualties.
Under the command of Heinrici, parts of the army group fought through the Battle of Berlin
and Battle of Halbe
, with some of its elements not surrendering until the end of the war in Europe
on 8 May 1945. Army Group Vistula's strength was in the region of 500,000 troops; in general, the army group was poorly equipped, many of its units being little more than the 'paper' formations typical of the German military at the end of World War II. Indeed, when first set up it was found that the army group lacked many essential facilities, such as proper maps or a headquarters signals detachment - the sole means of communication being Himmler's private telephone.
During the East Pomeranian Offensive
, the Second Army was finally cut off from the remainder of the army group and withdrew into Danzig, where it was eventually destroyed. The rest of Army Group Vistula was forced west of the Oder
, though the Third Panzer Army retained a small bridgehead at Altdamm until the middle of March.
Towards the end of April, the Twenty-First Army
(itself formed around the remnants of the Fourth Army, which had been destroyed in the Heiligenbeil Cauldron) was added to Army Group Vistula.
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:...
, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A
Army Group A
Army Group A was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.-Western Front, 1940:During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes...
(shattered in the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive
Vistula-Oder Offensive
The Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...
), 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...
(similarly largely destroyed in the East Prussian Offensive
East Prussian Offensive
The East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
), and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations. It was formed to protect Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
from the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
armies advancing from the Vistula River.
Establishment and history
Heinz GuderianHeinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
had originally urged the creation of a new army group as an essentially defensive measure to fill the gap opening in German defences between the lower Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
and the lower Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
.
The new Army Group Vistula was duly formed from an assortment of rebuilt, new and existing units. Guderian intended to propose Field-Marshal Maximilian von Weichs
Maximilian von Weichs
Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von Weichs zu Glon was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
as commander. However, in a reflection of Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's desire to transfer control of the conflict from the Wehrmacht to the SS, 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...
was appointed. Himmler, who lacked any real military knowledge, proved inadequate to the task; General Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Heinrici was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Heinrici's was born in Gumbinnen , East Prussia, on Christmas Day, 1886, to Paul Heinrici, a local Lutheran minister of the Prussian Church, and his wife Gisela, née von Rauchhaupt, who was of recent Jewish descent...
replaced Himmler as commander of Army Group Vistula on 20 March, subsequent to its participation in the German offensive codenamed 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....
and the following defence against the Soviet East Pomeranian Offensive
East Pomeranian Offensive
The East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive operation was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front...
.
Other than Operation Solstice, the Army Group's only offensive action was a disastrous attempt to relieve the fortress of Kustrin
Küstrin
Before 1945 Küstrin was a town in the former Prussian province of Brandenburg in Germany, situated on both sides of the Oder river...
late in March 1945, during which the subordinate XXXIX Panzer Corps took heavy casualties.
Under the command of Heinrici, parts of the army group fought through the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The 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 Battle of Halbe
Battle of Halbe
The Battle of Halbe lasted from April 24 - May 1, 1945 was a battle in which the German Ninth Army, under the command of Colonel General Theodor Busse was destroyed as a fighting force by the Red Army during the Battle for Berlin....
, with some of its elements not surrendering until the end of the war in Europe
End of World War II in Europe
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
on 8 May 1945. Army Group Vistula's strength was in the region of 500,000 troops; in general, the army group was poorly equipped, many of its units being little more than the 'paper' formations typical of the German military at the end of World War II. Indeed, when first set up it was found that the army group lacked many essential facilities, such as proper maps or a headquarters signals detachment - the sole means of communication being Himmler's private telephone.
Organisation
The Army Group was originally formed from:- The Ninth Army of General Theodor BusseTheodor BusseErnst Hermann August Theodor Busse was a German officer during World War I and World War II.- Career :...
, which had previously been part of Army Group AArmy Group AArmy Group A was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.-Western Front, 1940:During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes...
and had been shattered around WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
during the Vistula-Oder OffensiveVistula-Oder OffensiveThe Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...
. This now held lines on the OderOderThe Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
and was progressively rebuilt. - The Second Army of Colonel-General Walter Weiss, which as part of Army Group CentreArmy Group CentreArmy 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...
had been defending the line of the NarewNarewThe Narew River , in western Belarus and north-eastern Poland, is a left tributary of the Vistula river...
river on the borders of East PrussiaEast PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. The East Prussian OffensiveEast Prussian OffensiveThe East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
had cut it off from the remnants of its parent formation, and by late January it defended a long sector from ElbingElbingElbing is the German name of Elbląg, a city in northern Poland which until 1945 was a German city in the province of East Prussia.Elbing may also refer to:- Ships :* SMS Elbing, light cruiser of the Imperial Germany Navy...
in the east running westwards through PomeraniaPomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
. It therefore formed the new army group's northern and eastern flank. - The Eleventh SS Panzer Army was a 'new' formation which had been assembled in western Pomerania. Soon after its formation it received the staff of the Third Panzer Army, which had been largely destroyed in East Prussia, and was redesignated as Third Panzer Army.
During the East Pomeranian Offensive
East Pomeranian Offensive
The East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive operation was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front...
, the Second Army was finally cut off from the remainder of the army group and withdrew into Danzig, where it was eventually destroyed. The rest of Army Group Vistula was forced west of the Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
, though the Third Panzer Army retained a small bridgehead at Altdamm until the middle of March.
Towards the end of April, the Twenty-First Army
21st Army (Germany)
The 21st Army was also known as the Armee Norwegen .The 21st Army was formed on 19 December 1940. The units of the army were absorbed by the 20th Mountain Army on 18 December 1944....
(itself formed around the remnants of the Fourth Army, which had been destroyed in the Heiligenbeil Cauldron) was added to Army Group Vistula.
Order of Battle during Soviet Berlin Offensive
- German Third Panzer ArmyGerman Third Panzer ArmyThe 3rd Panzer Army was a German army that saw action during World War II. It was formed from Panzergruppe 3, which had been formed on November 16, 1940....
(Hasso-Eccard von Manteuffel from 9 March 1945 to 8 May 1945)- III (Germanic) SS Panzer CorpsIII (Germanic) SS Panzer CorpsThe III SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (III. (germanische) SS-Panzerkorps) was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The...
(Felix SteinerFelix SteinerFelix 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...
) (later transferred to Twenty-First Army, below) - CI Corps (later transferred to Twenty-First Army, see below)
- XXVII CorpsXXVII Corps (Germany)The XXVII Corps was an infantry corps in the German Army. It fought in several notable actions during World War II.The corps was originally raised in August 1939 in Wehrkreis VII.-1939:...
(later transferred to Twenty-First Army, see below) - XXXII Corps
- XXXXVI Panzer Corps
- Verteidigungsbereich Swinemunde
- III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
- German Twenty-First Army (Kurt von TippelskirchKurt von TippelskirchKurt Oskar Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm von Tippelskirch was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Kurt von Tippelskirch was born on 9 October 1891 in Berlin...
)- III (Germanic) SS Panzer CorpsIII (Germanic) SS Panzer CorpsThe III SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (III. (germanische) SS-Panzerkorps) was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The...
- CI Corps
- XXVII CorpsXXVII Corps (Germany)The XXVII Corps was an infantry corps in the German Army. It fought in several notable actions during World War II.The corps was originally raised in August 1939 in Wehrkreis VII.-1939:...
- III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
- German Ninth ArmyGerman Ninth ArmyThe 9th Army was a World War II field army.The 9th Army was activated on May 15, 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command.-1940:The 9th Army first saw service along the Siegfried Line when it was involved in the invasion of France...
(Theodor BusseTheodor BusseErnst Hermann August Theodor Busse was a German officer during World War I and World War II.- Career :...
from 20 January 1945 to 2 May 1945)- CI Corps (to mid-April)
- LVI Panzer CorpsLVI Panzer CorpsLVI Panzer Corps was a tank corps in the German Army during World War II.This corps was activated in February 1941 for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which commenced on June 22, 1941...
(Helmuth WeidlingHelmuth WeidlingHelmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling was an officer in the German Army before and during World War II...
from 12 April 1945 to 23 April 1945) - XI SS Panzer Corps
- V SS Mountain CorpsV SS Mountain CorpsV SS Mountain Corps was a Waffen SS, formation at the end of World War II.The Corps fought on the Oder line as part of the 9th Army, in the Frankfurt am Oder area and in the Battle of Berlin that followed...
Commanders
- Reichsführer-SSReichsführer-SSwas 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 HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich 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...
- 28 January 1945 to 20 March - Colonel General (Generaloberst) Gotthard HeinriciGotthard HeinriciGotthard Heinrici was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Heinrici's was born in Gumbinnen , East Prussia, on Christmas Day, 1886, to Paul Heinrici, a local Lutheran minister of the Prussian Church, and his wife Gisela, née von Rauchhaupt, who was of recent Jewish descent...
- 20 March to 28 April - Infantry General (General der Infanterie) Kurt von TippelskirchKurt von TippelskirchKurt Oskar Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm von Tippelskirch was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Kurt von Tippelskirch was born on 9 October 1891 in Berlin...
- 28 April to 29 April - Colonel General (Generaloberst) Kurt StudentKurt StudentKurt Student was a German Luftwaffe general who fought as a fighter pilot during the First World War and as the commander of German Fallschirmjäger during the Second World War.-Biography:...
- 29 April to 8 May 1945, (von Tippelskirch was the acting commander).