12th Army (Germany)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007) |
|
|
This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
The 12th Army (German: 12. Armee) was a World War II field army.
[edit] History
The 12th Army was activated on August 13, 1940 with General Wilhelm List in command. First seeing defensive action along the Siegfried Line, the army was involved in the invasion and occupation of France, before being relocated to Romania as part of the Axis offensive in the Balkans.
In February 1941, an agreement between Field Marshal List and the Bulgarian General Staff allowed passage of German troops. On the night February 28th German Army units crossed the Danube from Rummania and took up strategic positions in Bulgaria. After six months of humiliating the Italians, the Greeks could not stand up to the 12th Army's fifteen divisions, four of which were armored. The British subsequently sent four divisions from Libya but they, like the Greeks, were overwhelmed by the German panzers and by Luftwaffe strikes. The northern Greek armies surrendered to the Germans on April 23rd. Four days later Nazi tanks entered Athens and hoisted the swastika over Acropolis.[1]
The army was involved in the defence of the Aegean before being recalled in 1945 for the final defensive operations along the Elbe River against approaching Russian forces. Under General Walther Wenck the 12th Army fought the last Wehrmacht attempt to relieve Berlin. Although successfully reaching Potsdam in good morale, they were stopped by superior forces and forced to abandon the relief effort. The 12th Army now performed the task of linking with remnants of the 9th Army and, in the confusion of the Soviet breakthroughs, providing a corridor to the West for soldiers and refugees alike.
[edit] Commanders
- General Wilhelm List (October 13, 1939 - January 25, 1943)
- General Walther Wenck (April 10, 1945 - May 7, 1945)
[edit] References
- ^ Shirer, William L. (1950,1962), The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany, pages 1079-1083, 34th Printing, published by Ballentine Books ISBN 0-449-21977-1
