6th Panzer Army

Unit history

• 1st SS Panzer Division • 12th SS Panzer Division • 3rd Parachute Division • 12th Infantry Division • 277th Infantry Division II SS Panzer Corps • 2nd SS Panzer Division • 9th SS Panzer Division LXVII Corps • 272nd Infantry Division • 326th Infantry Division 388th, 402nd, and 405th Artillery Corps 4th, 9th, and 17th Rocket Brigades 150th Panzer Brigade 394th and 667th Assault Gun Brigades 301st and 506th Heavy Tank Battalions 519th and 683rd Antitank Battalions 217th Assault Panzer Battalion}} • 1st SS Panzer Division • 3rd SS Panzer Division • 12th SS Panzer Division • 232nd Panzer Division • Hungarian 2nd Armored Division (-) II SS Panzer Corps • 2nd SS Panzer Division • 6th Panzer Division • Hungarian 1st Mountain Brigade • Hungarian 1st Cavalry Division (-)}} The 6th Panzer Army is best noted for its leading role in the Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944 – January 25, 1945).

Although it never received an SS designation, calling it the 6th SS Panzer Army came into general use in military history literature after the Second World War, most likely due to being led by a SS General and commanding many SS units or to separate it from the Wehrmacht's 6th Army.

The attack of the 6th Panzer Army into the Ardennes in December 1944 failed to swiftly break the American defensive line and lost valuable time because of U.S. defensive efforts at locations like Monschau on the German border. Despite the allocation of SS panzer divisions, the 6th Panzer Army only managed a minor penetration into the northern defensive sector of the U.S. VIII Corps and its advance was thereafter checked by U.S. reinforcements arriving on the northern flank of the offensive. After the Ardennes Offensive, the 6th Panzer Army was transferred to Hungary, where it fought against the advancing Soviet Army.

In March 1945, after the fall of Budapest, the 6th Panzer Army launched one of the final German offensives of the war, Operation Frühlingserwachen around Lake Balaton. This was an attempt to protect the last sources of petroleum controlled by the Germans. The offensive lacked operational surprise, but Soviet Front commander Fyodor Tolbukhin's awareness of the presence of elite SS units, under direct orders from STAVKA Tolbukhin was ordered to use minimal forces against the SS until a counteroffensive could be made in strength north of Lake Balaton. On March 16 the 3rd Ukrainian Front launched its major counteroffensive and Joseph Goebbels admitted in his diary that failure was likely. Three days later, the Germans were thrown back at their original starting positions. The 1st, 2nd, 9th, and 12th SS Panzer Divisions were reduced to 31 operational armored fighting vehicles by March 15, 1945, while Army Group South as a whole retained 772 operational tanks and assault guns as of March 16, 1945.

However, the German forces broke under the Soviet Red Army counteroffensive and retreated towards Austria to defend Vienna. In April 1945, the 6th Panzer Army defended Vienna against the advancing Soviets, but was unable to prevent a Soviet conquest of the city. When the war ended on May 8, 1945, the 6th Panzer Army was in Austria between Vienna and Linz, in which area it subsequently surrendered to forces of the Soviet and U.S. Armies.

• Direct command of 6th Panzer Army
  • Panzer Brigade 150 - SS-Ostubaf. Otto Skorzeny
  • Volks-Artillerie-Korps 388, 402, and 405
  • Volks-Werfer-Brigade 4, 9, and 17
  • 2nd Flak Division – Colonel Fritz Laicher
  • 246th Volksgrenadier Division (Army reserve, December 19, 1944) Generalmajor Peter Körte
  • I SS Panzer Corps (SS-Gruf. Hermann Priess)
  • II SS Panzer Corps (SS-Ogruf. Wilhelm Bittrich)
  • LXVII Armee Korps (Infantry General Otto Hitzfeld)
    • 272nd Volksgrenadier Division – Generalleutnant Eugen König
    • 326th Volksgrenadier Division – Generalmajor Dr.Erwin Kaschner
    • 2nd Flak-Sturm-Regiment
  • LXVI Armee Korps (Artillery General Walter Lucht)
    • 12th Volksgrenadier Division – Generalleutnant Gerhard Engel
    • 62nd Volksgrenadier Division – Generalmajor Fritz Warnecke (subordinated to Korps Felber in January 1945)
    • 560th Volksgrenadier Division – Generalmajor Rudolf Bader
  • Korps Felber (Infantry General Hans Felber)
    • 18 Volks-Grenadier Division (1.1.45 attached) – Generalmajor Günther Hoffmann-Schönborn
    • 62nd Volksgrenadier Division (1.1.45 attached)- Generalmajor Fritz Warnecke

Order of battle (Mar 31, 1945)

• Kampfgruppe of the 356th Infantry Division
• I SS Panzer Corps
  • 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
  • 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf + Kampfgruppe of the Hungarian 2nd Armored Division
  • 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
  • 232nd Panzer Division
• II SS Panzer Corps
  • 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich
  • Hungarian 1st Mountain Brigade
  • 6th Panzer Division + remnants of the Hungarian 1st Cavalry Division --

References

References

1. Mitcham, Samuel W.. (2006). "Panzers in Winter: Hitler's Army and the Battle of the Bulge".
2. Quarrie, Bruce. (1999). "The Ardennes Offensive Panzer Armee". Osprey.
3. Cole, Hugh M.. (1965). "The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge". Washington: GPO.
4. Glantz, David. (1995). "When Titans Clashed". United States: University Press of Kansas.
5. Jentz, Thomas. (1996). "Panzer Truppen". [[Schiffer Publishing]].
6. Ungváry, Krisztián. (2007). "Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg". München: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.
7. "Axis History Factbook: 6. SS-Panzer-Armee".