LXXXV Army Corps (Wehrmacht)

(Redirected from Group Knieß)

The LXXXV Army Corps (German: LXXXV. Armeekorps) was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The corps existed between 1944 and 1945 and had been preceded by a formation known as Group Knieß (German: Gruppe Knieß), with its command designated General Command Knieß (German: General-Kommando Knieß) between 1943 and 1944.

History

Group Knieß, also known as General Command Knieß, was formed in October 1943 in southern France. The formations was named after its initial commander, Baptist Knieß. Under the supervision of the 19th Army, Group Knieß remained on defensive duty in France until the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944.

On 10 July 1944, Corps Kniess was upgraded to become the LXXXV Army Corps. The LXXXV Army Corps remained under the supervision of the 19th Army until December 1944, when the corps was transferred to the 7th Army in the Ardennes. After a stay in the Saar Palatinate region between February and March 1945 under the 1st Army, the LXXXV was transferred back to the 7th Army in Hesse and Thuringia in April. At the end of the war, the LXXXV Army Corps was commanded by Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz, who had held that post since 26 March 1945.

Structure

Organizational structure of Group Knieß and the LXXXV (85th) Army Corps
Name	Year	Date	Commander	Subordinate units	Army	Army Group	Operational area
Gruppe Knieß	1943	4 October	Baptist Knieß	FH, 715th Infantry	19th Army	Army Group D	Southern France
		8 November		242nd Infantry, 715th Infantry
		3 December		148th Infantry, 242nd Infantry
	1944	1 January		148th Infantry, 242nd Infantry, 244th Infantry
		12 February
		11 March
		8 April		244th Infantry, 338th Infantry
		17 May				Army Group G
		12 June
LXXXV Army Corps		17 July					Belfort
		31 August		198th Infantry, 338th Infantry
		16 September		11th Panzer
		13 October		159th Infantry, 189th Infantry, Panzerbrigade 106
		5 November		159th Infantry, 189th Infantry, 338th Infantry
		26 November	Friedrich-August Schack	None	7th Army	Army Group B	Ardennes
		31 December	Baptist Knieß	79th Infantry, 352nd Infantry Division	7th Army	Army Group B	Ardennes
	1945	19 February		347th Infantry, 719th Infantry	1st Army	Army Group G	Saarpfalz
		1 March		347th Infantry, 559th Infantry, 719th Infantry	1st Army		Saarpfalz
		12 April	Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz	11th Panzer, Kampfgruppe Schroeder	7th Army		Hesse / Thuringia

Noteworthy individuals

Baptist Knieß, corps commander of Corps Knieß and the LXXXV Army Corps (October 1943 – 10 July 1944, 10 July 1944 – 15 November 1944, 16 December 1944 – 26 March 1945).
Friedrich-August Schack, corps commander of the LXXXV Army Corps (15 November 1944 – 16 December 1944).
Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz, corps commander of the LXXXV Army Corps (26 March 1945 – 8 May 1945).

Notes

Although LXXXV Army Corps was formed on 10 July 1944, the papers of 7th Army still (likely erroneously) contain Group Knieß for their entry on 17 July 1944.

References

^ Tessin, Georg (1977). "Generalkommando LXXXV. Ameekorps (röm. 85. AK)". Die Landstreitkräfte 71-130. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 6. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 80. ISBN 3764810971.
^ MacLean, French L. (2014). Unknown Generals - German Corps Commanders In World War II. Pickle Partners Publishing. pp. 119–120. ISBN 9781782895220.
Tessin, Georg (1977). "19. Armee (AOK 19)". Die Landstreitkräfte 15-30. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 4. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 50–55. ISBN 3764810971.
Tessin, Georg (1977). "7. Armee (AOK 7)". Die Landstreitkräfte 6-14. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 3. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 49–53. ISBN 3764810971.
Tessin, Georg (1977). "1. Armee (AOK 1)". Die Landstreitkräfte 1-5. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 2. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 3–4. ISBN 3764810971.

German Army corps (1934–1945)

Army
Armeekorps

I – IX	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

X – XIX	X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX

XX – XXIX	XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX

XXX – XXXIX	XXX XXXI XXXII XXXIII XXXIV XXXV XXXVIII XXXIX

XXXX – XXXXVIII	XXXX XXXXI XXXXII XXXXIII XXXXIV XXXXVI XXXXVII XXXXVIII

L – LIX	L LI LII LIII LIV LV LVII LIX

LXII – LXIX	LXII LXIII LXIV LXV LXVI LXVII LXVIII LXIX

LXX – LXXVIII	LXX LXXI LXXII LXXIII LXXIV LXXV LXXVI LXXVIII

LXXX – LXXXIX	LXXX LXXXI LXXXII LXXXIII LXXXIV LXXXV LXXXVI LXXXVII LXXXVIII LXXXIX

LXXXX – CI	LXXXX LXXXXI LXXXXVII CI

Panzer
Panzerkorps

I – XXXIX	III IV VII XIV XXIV XXXVIII XXXIX

XXXX – XXXXVIII	XXXX XXXXI XXXXVI XXXXVII XXXXVIII

LVI – LXXVI	LVI LVII LVIII LXXVI

Mountain
Gebirgskorps

Cavalry
Kavalleriekorps

Miscellaneous

Afrika Korps

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