1st Army (Wehrmacht)

October 2023 1st Army de 1. Armee 26 August 1939 – 6 May 1945 Nazi Germany 16px German army (16px Wehrmacht) Field army (Wehrmacht) World War II Erwin von WitzlebenJohannes BlaskowitzJoachim LemelsenKurt von der ChevallerieOtto von KnobelsdorffKurt von TippelskirchHans von ObstfelderHermann FoertschRudolf Koch-Erpach The 1st Army (de 1. Armee) was a World War II field army.1939–1945 German field army Operational history 1939 1st Army September 1939 Army Group C IX CorpsXII CorpsXXIV CorpsThe 1st Army was activated on 26 August 1939, in Wehrkreis XII with General Erwin von Witzleben in command. Its primary mission was to take defensive positions and guard the western defences (West Wall) of Germany against Allied forces along the Maginot Line during the attack on Poland,Tessin Georg Die Landstreitkräfte 1-5 Biblio Verlag 1977 3764810971 Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 2 Osnabrück 1-4 German 1. Armee (AOK 1) making it the principal German combatant during the short-lived French Saar Offensive. 1940 1st Army May 1940 Army Group C XII CorpsXXIV CorpsXXX CorpsXXXVII Higher CommandDuring the Western campaign it belonged to the Army Group C and initially remained passive towards the Maginot Line. the 1st Army continued its defensive assignment on the French border until June 1940, when the Battle of France had turned decisively to Germany's favor. Starting on 14 June 1940, the 1st Army began the penetration of the Maginot Line, breaking through French defenses, it began concentrating its forces in the frontier sector south of Saarbrücken. Another penetration was conducted north of Wörth am Main on 19 June. Beginning on 21 June and until 24 June, the 1st Army participated in the annihilation of the remnants of the French forces in the Moselle and Vosges regions. After the end of the western campaign, the army remained in France. It secured the demarcation line and then the Atlantic coast (Atlantic Wall) in southwest France until May 1942, when they were moved to Normandy. 1944 After the French capitulation, the 1st Army spent until mid-1944 protecting the Atlantic coast of France from a possible seaborne incursion. At the time of the first Allied Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, the 1st Army, then under Kurt von der Chevallerie was headquartered at Bordeaux and attached to Johannes Blaskowitz's Army Group G at Toulouse, along with 19th Army (Georg von Sodenstern) at Avignon.Pöhlmann Markus Der Panzer und die Mechanisierung des Krieges: Eine deutsche Geschichte, 1890 bis 1945 Ferdinand Schöningh 2016 9783506783554 de442 was pushed back to the western border of the German Reich. and reorganized in Lorraine after a hasty retreat with the rest of the German forces across France, in August 1944, During the battles along the German frontier, the First Army attempted to prevent the Third United States Army from crossing the Moselle River and capturing Metz while also attempting to hold the northern Vosges Mountains against the Seventh United States Army. In November 1944, both defensive lines were broken and the First Army retreated to the German border and defended the Saarland of Germany, an important industrial region. 1945 With the Third U.S. Army engaged to the north against the German Ardennes Offensive, the 1st Army attacked the Seventh U.S. Army on New Year's Day 1945 in Operation Nordwind, causing the Americans to give ground and inflicting significant casualties where Seventh U.S. Army defensive lines were stretched taut by the length of frontage they had to cover. With the failure of Nordwind in late January, the 1st Army was first pushed back to the Siegfried Line and then forced to retreat across the Rhine River. From March 15 to March 24, 1945 during Operation Undertone, the 7th US Army on a broad front surrounded to the 1st Army near Kaiserslautern. However, when the Allies pierced the German fortifications, they were forced to retreat. Thereafter, the First Army made an ordered withdrawal to the Danube River, and later to Munich. On May 6, 1945, near the Alps, the 1st army surrendered to allied forces. Noteworthy individuals Commanders y y Commander y n n 1 Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1978-043-13, Erwin v. Witzleben.jpg Generaloberst Erwin von Witzleben Witzleben, Erwin 1881 1944 26 August 1939 23 October 1940 1939 08 26 1940 10 23 2 Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2004-004-05, Johannes Blaskowitz.jpg Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz Blaskowitz, Johannes 1883 1948 24 October 1940 2 May 1944 1940 10 24 1944 05 02 3 Joachim Lemelsen (1888-1954).jpg General der Panzertruppe Joachim Lemelsen Lemelsen, Joachim 1888 1954 3 May 1944 3 June 1944 1944 05 03 1944 06 03 4 General der Infanterie Kurt von der Chevallerie Chevallerie, Kurt 1891 1945 4 June 1944 5 September 1944 1944 06 04 1944 09 05 5 General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff Knobelsdorff, Otto 1886 1966 6 September 1944 29 November 1944 1944 09 06 1944 11 29 6 General der Infanterie Kurt von Tippelskirchduring the illness of von Knobelsdorff Knobelsdorff, Otto 1891 1957 30 October 1944 11 November 1944 1944 10 30 1944 11 11 7 Hans von Obstfelder.jpg General der Infanterie Hans von Obstfelder Obstfelder, Hans 1886 1976 30 November 1944 2 February 1945 1944 11 30 1945 02 02 8 Hermann_Foertsch_Nuremberg_Trial_defendant.jpg General der Infanterie Hermann Foertsch Foertsch, Hermann 1895 1961 28 February 1945 4 May 1945 1945 02 28 1945 05 04 9 Rittmeister Rudolf Koch 1922 (cropped).jpg General der Kavallerie Rudolf Koch-Erpach Koch, Rudolf 1886 1971 6 May 1945 8 May 1945 1945 05 06 1945 05 08 Chiefs of Staff Generalmajor Friedrich Mieth (26 May 1939 – 5 Feb 1940) Generalmajor Carl Hilpert (5 Feb 1940 – 25 Oct 1940) Oberst Edgar Röhricht (25 Oct 1940 – 16 June 1942; promoted to Generalmajor 1 Feb 1942) Generalmajor Anton-Reichard von Mauchenheim genannt Bechtolsheim (16 June 1942 – 1 Aug 1943) Oberst Gerhard Feyerabend (1 Aug 1943 – 10 Sep 1944; promoted to Generalmajor 1 Feb 1944) Oberst Willi Mantey (10 Sep 1944 – 7 Dec 1944) Oberst Walter Reinhard (7 Dec 1944 – 20 Feb 1945) Generalmajor Wolf Rüdiger Hauser (20 Feb 1945 – 8 May 1945) See also 1st Army (German Empire) for the equivalent formation in World War I. References 01 Category:Military units and formations established in 1939 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945