Army Group F

Army Group F (Template:Langx) was a strategic command formation of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. The commander of Army Group F served also as the Oberbefehlshaber Südost (Commander-in-Chief in the Southeast).

Created 12 August 1943, at Bayreuth (WK XIII), it was primarily stationed in the Balkans. Its commander from August 1943 was Generalfeldmarschall Maximilian von Weichs with Lieutenant General Hermann Foertsch serving as the Chief of Staff. Its primary participation in combat was in defending against possible Allied invasion in what was seen as Germany's "weak underbelly", and fighting off local partisan groups that were gaining strength. In late 1944, it oversaw the German retreat from Greece and most of Yugoslavia in the wake of the Budapest Offensive.

The Army Group included for much of the war the 2nd Panzer Army in Yugoslavia and Albania, and the Army Group E in Greece.

Order of Battle November 1943

• 2nd Panzer Army
  • Army Staff units
  • III SS Panzer Corps, SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner
  • XV Mountain Corps, General of Infantry Ernst von Leyser
  • XXI Mountain Corps, General of Panzer troops Gustav Fehn
  • LXIX Corps, z.b.V. General of Infantry Helge Auleb
  • V SS Mountain Corps, General Lieutenant Artur Phleps
• Army Group E
  • Army Group Staff units
  • XXII Mountain Corps, General of Mountain troops Hubert Lanz
  • LXVIII Army Corps, General of Aviation Hellmuth Felmy
  • Troops of the commander of the fortress Crete
  • Bulgarian II (Aegean) Corps
• Troops of the Militärbefehlshaber Südost General of Infantry Hans Felber

Order of Battle July 1944

The subordinate units of the Army Group were predominantly the less capable "fortress" and reserve divisions, collaborationist foreign volunteer units such as the "Cossacks" and 392nd (Croatian) Infantry Division.

• 2nd Panzer Army
  • Army Staff units
  • XV Mountain Corps, General of Infantry Ernst von Leyser
  • XXI Mountain Corps, General of Panzer troops Gustav Fehn
  • LXIX Corps z.b.V., General of Infantry Helge Auleb
  • V SS Mountain Corps, Lieutenant General Arthur Phleps
  • XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps (from September 1944), Lieutenant General and SS-Gruppenführer Helmuth von Pannwitz
• Army Group E
  • Army Group Staff units
  • XXII Mountain Corps, General of Mountain troops Hubert Lanz
  • LXVIII Army Corps, General of Aviation Hellmuth Felmy
  • Troops of the commander of the fortress Crete
  • Bulgarian II (Aegean) Corps
• Troops of the Militärbefehlshaber Südost, General of Infantry Hans Felber

For the defence of Serbia, the Commander of Army Group F assembled Army Group Serbia on 26 September 1944. Army Detachment Serbia (Template:Langx) commanded by General Hans Felber. Army Group Serbia was disbanded on 27 October 1944.

Army Group F was disbanded 25 March 1945.

See also

• World War II in Yugoslavia

Sources

• Hogg, Ian V., German Order of Battle 1944: The regiments, formations and units of the German ground forces, Arms and Armour Press, London, 1975
• Thomas, Nigel, (Author), Andrew, Stephen, (Illustrator), The German Army 1939-45 (4): Eastern Front 1943-45 (Men-at-Arms 330), Osprey Publishing, 1998 Template:ISBN
• Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr., German Defeat in the East, 1944-45 (Stackpole Military History), 2007 Template:ISBN
• Heeresgruppe F - Lexikon des Wehrmacht Template:In lang
• National archive Washington documents:
  • T311, Roll 187 - Heeresgruppe F 1943/1944.
  • T311, Roll 188 - Heeresgruppe F 1944.
  • T311, Roll 189 - Heeresgruppe F 1944/1945.
  • T311, Roll 190 - Heeresgruppe F 1944/1945.
  • T311, Roll 194 - Heeresgruppe F 1944.
  • T311, Roll 195 - Heeresgruppe F 1944.
  • T311, Roll 196 - Heeresgruppe F 1944/1945.
  • T311, Roll 285 - Heeresgruppe F 1943/1944.
  • T311, Roll 286 - Heeresgruppe F 1944.