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XV Corps (United States)
Encyclopedia
The XV Corps of the US Army was initially constituted on 1 October 1933 as part of the Organized Reserves, and was activated on 15 February 1943 at Camp Beauregard
, Louisiana
. During the Second World War, XV Corps fought for 307 days in the European Theater of Operations
, fighting from Normandy
through France and southern Germany into Austria. The corps was commanded in combat by Major General
Wade H. Haislip
, initially as a subordinate unit to the Third U.S. Army and later as part of the Seventh U.S. Army.
After the end of the war the corps was inactivated and reactivated several times, finally being inactivated in 1968.
). The corps liberated Le Mans
on 8 August 1944. In a controversial decision by the Twelfth United States Army Group commander, Lieutenant General
Omar Bradley
, the corps was halted at Argentan
on 13 August 1944, before it effected juncture with Canadian troops, allowing Germans trapped in the Falaise Pocket
an escape route to the east. Seizing a bridgehead over the Seine River on 20 August 1944, the corps then mopped up German resistance along the west bank of the river. Subsequently, the corps had no divisions assigned to it and used its corps troops to screen the southern flank of the U.S. XII Corps.
and crossed it at Charmes the following day. On 13 September, the French 2nd Armored Division
, assigned to the corps, destroyed a German Panzer
brigade
in the town of Dompaire. After several days of battle, XV Corps liberated Lunéville
on 22 September 1944. From 28 September until 10 October 1944, the corps cleared the Parroy Forest in Lorraine
against determined German resistance. For another 12 days, XV Corps fought to capture the hill mass east of the Parroy Forest. On 1 November 1944, the corps' French 2nd Armored Division took Baccarat
after a two-day battle. From 13 to 19 November 1944, XV Corps pierced German defenses in the Vosges Mountains
near Sarrebourg
, enabling the French 2nd Armored Division to force the Saverne Gap
and liberate Strasbourg
on 23 November 1944. This breakthrough unbalanced German defenses in the northern Vosges and opened the way for Seventh Army troops to advance into Alsace
and reach the Rhine River.
around Bitche
. The fighting for the old French forts continued until 20 December 1944. Thereafter, the corps assumed a defensive stance. The corps withstood a fierce German counter-offensive (Operation Nordwind
) into Alsace during January, 1945. During this period, XV Corps defended well, restored most of its original position by 7 January 1945, and assumed a defensive stance again until mid-February. From 15 to 23 February 1945, the corps made limited attacks, seizing Forbach
, Gros Recherding, and hills south of Saarbrücken
. Subsequently, the corps rested and prepared for offensive action designed to breach the Siegfried Line
and invade Germany.
launched a major offensive (Operation Undertone
). On 20 March 1945, the corps broke through the Siegfried Line, captured Homburg
and Zweibrücken
and then assaulted across the Rhine River in the region of Worms
and Mannheim
on 26 March 1945. Taking Bamberg
on 13 April 1945, the corps moved south and seized Nuremberg
on 20 April 1945 after five days of house-to-house combat. On 3 May 1945, the corps took Munich
, and by the next day the corps had advanced to Salzburg
, Austria, where combat operations for the corps ceased.
, California.
Camp Beauregard
For the American Civil War site, see Camp Beauregard Memorial in Water Valley.Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is currently operated by the Louisiana National Guard...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. During the Second World War, XV Corps fought for 307 days in the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
, fighting from Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
through France and southern Germany into Austria. The corps was commanded in combat by Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Wade H. Haislip
Wade H. Haislip
Wade Hampton Haislip was a United States Army four star general who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1949 to 1951.-Military career:...
, initially as a subordinate unit to the Third U.S. Army and later as part of the Seventh U.S. Army.
After the end of the war the corps was inactivated and reactivated several times, finally being inactivated in 1968.
Normandy
XV Corps took part in the July, 1944 breakout from Normandy (Operation CobraOperation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II...
). The corps liberated Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
on 8 August 1944. In a controversial decision by the Twelfth United States Army Group commander, Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Omar Bradley
Omar Bradley
Omar Nelson Bradley was a senior U.S. Army field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II, and a General of the Army in the United States Army...
, the corps was halted at Argentan
Argentan
Argentan is a commune, and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in north-western France.Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N of Le Mans....
on 13 August 1944, before it effected juncture with Canadian troops, allowing Germans trapped in the Falaise Pocket
Falaise pocket
The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
an escape route to the east. Seizing a bridgehead over the Seine River on 20 August 1944, the corps then mopped up German resistance along the west bank of the river. Subsequently, the corps had no divisions assigned to it and used its corps troops to screen the southern flank of the U.S. XII Corps.
Lorraine
On 11 September, XV Corps drove toward the Moselle RiverMoselle River
The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining the Rhine at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
and crossed it at Charmes the following day. On 13 September, the French 2nd Armored Division
French 2nd Division (World War II)
The French 2nd Armored Division , commanded by General Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in the Western Front.The division was formed around a core of units that had fought at Koufra in 1941 under Leclerc; later renamed the 2nd Light Division, in August 1943, it was organized...
, assigned to the corps, destroyed a German Panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
in the town of Dompaire. After several days of battle, XV Corps liberated Lunéville
Lunéville
Lunéville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and lies on the Meurthe River.-History:...
on 22 September 1944. From 28 September until 10 October 1944, the corps cleared the Parroy Forest in Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
against determined German resistance. For another 12 days, XV Corps fought to capture the hill mass east of the Parroy Forest. On 1 November 1944, the corps' French 2nd Armored Division took Baccarat
Baccarat, Meurthe-et-Moselle
Baccarat is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.-Crystal:In 1764, King Louis XV granted permission to the Bishop of Metz to establish a glassworks at Baccarat...
after a two-day battle. From 13 to 19 November 1944, XV Corps pierced German defenses in the Vosges Mountains
Vosges mountains
For the department of France of the same name, see Vosges.The Vosges are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. They extend along the west side of the Rhine valley in a northnortheast direction, mainly from Belfort to Saverne...
near Sarrebourg
Sarrebourg
Sarrebourg is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It lies in on the upper course of the river Sarre.It should not be confused with Saarburg in Germany....
, enabling the French 2nd Armored Division to force the Saverne Gap
Col de Saverne
The Col de Saverne is a natural pass in the north of the Vosges mountains, near Saverne, which permits travel between the département of Bas-Rhin, région Alsace and the département of Moselle, région Lorraine.Lines of communication that traverse the Saverne Pass include national highway RN 4 and...
and liberate Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
on 23 November 1944. This breakthrough unbalanced German defenses in the northern Vosges and opened the way for Seventh Army troops to advance into Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and reach the Rhine River.
Alsace
On 5 December 1944, the corps moved north against German defenses in the Maginot LineMaginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
around Bitche
Bitche
Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is known for its large citadel. The surrounding territory is known as le Pays de Bitche in French and Bitscherland in German.-Geography:...
. The fighting for the old French forts continued until 20 December 1944. Thereafter, the corps assumed a defensive stance. The corps withstood a fierce German counter-offensive (Operation Nordwind
Operation Nordwind
Operation North Wind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.-Objectives:...
) into Alsace during January, 1945. During this period, XV Corps defended well, restored most of its original position by 7 January 1945, and assumed a defensive stance again until mid-February. From 15 to 23 February 1945, the corps made limited attacks, seizing Forbach
Forbach
Forbach is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is located near the German border. Population : 22,784....
, Gros Recherding, and hills south of Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
. Subsequently, the corps rested and prepared for offensive action designed to breach the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
and invade Germany.
Germany and Austria
On 15 March 1945, XV Corps (along with the VI Corps and the XXI Corps)XXI Corps (United States)
Initially constituted on 2 December 1943 in the Army of the United States, the XXI Corps was activated on 6 December 1943 at Camp Polk, Louisiana. XXI Corps fought for 116 days in the European Theater of Operations, fighting from Alsace through southern Germany and into Austria. The corps was...
launched a major offensive (Operation Undertone
Operation Undertone
Operation Undertone was a large assault by the U.S. 7th and French 1st Armies as part of the Allied invasion of Germany in March 1945 during World War II. Opposing commanders were U.S. General Jacob L. Devers, commanding U.S. 6th Army Group and German SS General Paul Hausser, commanding German Army...
). On 20 March 1945, the corps broke through the Siegfried Line, captured Homburg
Homburg, Saarland
Homburg is a town in Saarland, Germany, the administrative seat of the Saarpfalz district. With a population of c. 44,000 inhabitants, is the third city in its federal state. The medical department of the University of Saarland is situated here. The city is also home to the Karlsberg beer brewery...
and Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...
and then assaulted across the Rhine River in the region of Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
and Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
on 26 March 1945. Taking Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
on 13 April 1945, the corps moved south and seized Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
on 20 April 1945 after five days of house-to-house combat. On 3 May 1945, the corps took Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and by the next day the corps had advanced to Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria, where combat operations for the corps ceased.
Campaign credits and inactivation
XV Corps is credited with service in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns. XV Corps Headquarters was inactivated in Germany on 31 March 1946. Subsequent to the Second World War, the corps was activated and inactivated several times, with the last inactivation occurring on 31 March 1968 at the Presidio of San FranciscoPresidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
, California.
Subordination
| U.S. Third Army | 6 Jul 1944 – 23 Aug 1944 |
| U.S. First Army | 24 Aug 1944 – 28 Aug 1944 |
| U.S. Third Army | 29 Aug 1944 – 28 Sep 1944 |
| U.S. Seventh Army | 29 Sep 1944 – VE Day |