XIV. Panzerkorps | |
---|---|
Active | 1 April 1938 - 8 May 1945 |
Country | Nazi Germany |
Branch | Army |
Type | Panzer corps |
Role | Armoured warfare |
Size | Corps |
Engagements | World War II |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
Hermann Balck Hans-Valentin Hube Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin |
XIV Panzer Corps (also: XIV Army Corps or XIV. Armeekorps) was a corps-level formation of the German Army which saw extensive action on both the Eastern Front and Italian Campaign.
The XIV Panzer Corps was originally formed as the XIV Motorised Corps in Magdeburg on 1 April 1938 to take command of units in the process of motorization, where it was placed under the leadership of Gustav von Wietersheim. The corps participated in the Polish Campaign in 1939 where it fought in the Battle of Kock. The Corps later saw action in the Battle of France in 1940, as part of armoured group Kleist, where the 2nd Motorised Division, 13th Motorised Division and the 29th Motorised Division served under it. It was renamed the XIV Panzer Corps on 21 June 1941.
In June 1941, it participated in Operation Barbarossa, where as part of the First Panzer Group, it served with Army Group South on the southern sector of the eastern front, advancing via Lvov, Tarnopol and Zhitomir to Kremenchug and in the Mius sector. It took part in Fall Blau where it commanded the 60th Motorized Infantry Division, 16th Panzer Division and the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division. Elements of the Corps were the first German units to reach Stalingrad. It was surrounded in the Stalingrad Pocket in November 1942 and was subsequently destroyed in January 1943.