11th SS Panzer Army

__NOTOC__ 11th SS Panzer Army November 1944 – February 1945 Nazi Germany Nazi GermanySchutzstaffel Waffen-SS Panzer Armoured warfare Army World War II Eastern Front Operation Solstice Felix Steiner The 11th SS Panzer Army (SS-Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11) was little more than a paper army formed in February 1945 by Heinrich Himmler while he was commander of Army Group Vistula. (The army was officially listed as the 11th Army but it was also known as SS Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11Tessin p.194 and is often referred to in English sources as the 11th SS Panzer Army.) Military historian Antony Beevor writes that when the 11th SS Panzer Army was created the available units at best could constitute a corps, but 'panzer army', observed Hans-Georg 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 was named its commander.Beevor p.88 thumb|left|Situation 18 April 1945. With the complete destruction of Army Group B in the Ruhr Pocket by that date, 11th Army in the Harz Mountains (center right) became the only large cohesive formation on the western front capable of offering significant resistance. After taking part in Operation Solstice east of the Oder River in February 1945, the army was assigned to OB West and 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. In early April, the 11th Army was assigned to strike west from Kassel to break the ring encircling the Ruhr pocket. After launching a few small hopeless and unsuccessful attacks against the American 3rd Army, the 11th Army retreated to the Harz Mountainshttps://www.axishistory.com/books/148-germany-heer/heer-armeen/2638-11-armee 11. Armee 7 April 2012 Axis History June 13, 2023June 2023 After defending the Weser River and the Harz Mountains, the 11th surrendered to the Western Allies on 21 April. Orders of battle February 1945 By 5 February the 11th SS Panzer Army, subordinated to Army Group Vistula, had the following units assigned to it: Tettau Corps Group: Köslin Bärwalde X SS Corps 22px 5th Jäger-Division Division Nr 402 Munzel Corps Group: 22px Führer Grenadier Division 22px Führer Escort Division III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps: 281st Infantry Division 22px 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland Division Voigt 22px 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland 22px 27th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Langemarck XXXIX Panzer Corps 22px 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division 22px 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg 22px 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien Panzer Division Holstein HQ, Wehrkreis II as corps-level field command (stellv. II): Swinemünde Defensive Region Division Deneke 22px 9th Parachute Division Direct army command 22px 163rd Infantry Division March 1945 By 1 March the 11th SS Panzer Army, subordinated to Army Group Vistula, had no units assigned to it. April 1945 By 12 April the 11th SS Panzer Army was directly subordinated to OB West and had the following units assigned to it. LXVII Army Corps: Kampfgruppe Fellner Division Ettner Division Heidenreich Division Grosskreuz Stellv. IX: 22px 26th Volksgrenadier Division 326th Volksgrenadier Division LXVI Army Corps: 22px 277th Volksgrenadier Division SS Brigade Westfalen 22px 9th Panzer Division 22px 116th Panzer Division See also 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 Steiner fought in the Battle of Berlin, and because Steiner commanded that paper army it can easily be confused with the 11th SS Panzer Army. References Tessin, Georg. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939 - 1945 Volume 3 Beevor, Antony. Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Penguin Books, 2002, 0-670-88695-5 Footnotes June 2017 Category:Military units and formations of the Waffen-SS Category:Field armies of Germany in World War II Category:Military units and formations established in 1944 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945