German Sixth Army
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The 6. Armee was a German field army which saw action in World War I and World War II.
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World War I
Command of the Sixth Army was given to Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern. During the execution of Plan 17, it was stationed in the Central sector, covering Lorraine.
In August 1914, in the Battle of Lorraine, Rupprecht's Sixth Army managed to hold against the French offensive, using a feigned withdrawal to lure the advancing armies onto prepared defensive positions.
After the Western Front turned to stalemate and the opposing forces formed lines of trenches, the Sixth Army was based near Loos in Belgium. On 24 September, 1915, the Sixth Army was the target for the British Army's first chlorine gas attack of the war. Despite the horrific casualties inflicted, the British offensive bogged down after several days.
In March 1917, the Sixth Army was the target for the assault of the British and Canadian forces at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The Sixth Army, under the command of General Ludwig von Falkenhausen, suffered over 20,000 casualties in the ensuing fighting and were pushed back from the ridge by the Canadian Corps.
Commanders
- Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern
- General Ludwig von Falkenhausen
Order of Battle - August 1914, Lorraine
- Armee-Oberkommando 6
- Königlich Bayerisches Fußartillerie Brigade-Oberkommando 1
- Pionier-General 5
- Königlich Bayerische 5 Gemischte Landwehrbrigade
- XXI.Armeekorps
- I. Königlich Bayerisches Armeekorps
- II.Königlich Bayerisches Armeekorps
- III.Königlich Bayerisches Armeekorps
- I.Königlich Bayerisches Reservekorps
World War II
Western campaigns
The Sixth Army was formed on October 10, 1939 with Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau in command. Its primary mission was to guard the western defences of Germany against British and French attacks during the Polish campaign. During the invasion of the Low Countries the Sixth Army saw active service linking up with paratroopers and destroying fortifications at Eben Emael, Lüttich, and Namur. The Sixth Army was then involved in the breakthrough of the Paris defences on June 12, 1940, before acting as a northern flank for German forces along the Normandy coast.
Eastern campaign - Stalingrad
Sixth Army began its performance in Russian Campaign as spearhead of Army Group South. General von Reichenau died in an aircraft accident and was succeeded by General Friedrich Paulus. Paulus led the Sixth Army to a major victory in Kharkov during the spring of 1942. This victory sealed the Sixth Army's destiny because the OKW designated it for the attack to Stalingrad. The Sixth Army failed to obtain a quick victory; winter came and with it Operation Uranus -- the massive attack of Soviet forces on the flanks of the German corridor between the Don and Volga rivers. The Sixth Army was isolated and a major relief operation, (Operation Wintergewitter), which eventually failed, was undertaken by General Erich von Manstein. Paulus was promoted by Hitler to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall on January 31 1943 ostensibly in part because until that day no German Field Marshall had ever surrendered. Paulus eventually surrendered to the Soviet Forces, contrary to orders by Adolf Hitler.
Reformation - Battles in the East
Hitler later ordered a new Sixth Army (A.O.K. 6) to be constituted on March 5 1943, commanded by General Karl Adolf Hollidt. It fought in the Ukraine and Romania as part of Army Group South.
In October 1944, under the command of Artillery General Maximilian Fretter-Pico, the Sixth Army annihilated three Soviet tank corps at the Battle of Debrecen. During summer 1944, the Sixth Army had the Hungarian Second Army placed under its command. During this period of time, the formation was known as Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico..
Command passed to Tank General Hermann Balck in December 1944. In January 1945, one of the Sixth Army's subordinate units, the IX. SS-Gebirgskorps, was encircled in Budapest. SS-Gruppenführer Herbert-Otto Gille's IV. SS-Panzerkorps was transferred to the Sixth Army's command and a relief attempt, codenamed Operation Konrad, was launched.
After the failure of Konrad III, the Sixth Army (now known as Armeegruppe Balck) fell back to the area near Lake Balaton, and several units, including the III.Panzerkorps, were involved in Operation Frühlingserwachen, while the rest of the Sixth Army provided defence for the left flank of the offensive, in the region near Stuhlweissenburg. After the failure of the offensive, the Sixth Army held the line until a major Soviet offensive, the Vienna Operation on 15 March, 1945. This offensive tore a gap in the Sixth Army between the IV. SS-Panzerkorps and the 3. Hungarian Army (subordinated to Balck's command), shattering the formation.
By the end of March, 1945, the Sixth Army was involved in a retreat towards Vienna. The shattered remnants of Sixth Army surrendered to the Americans on 9 May, 1945.
Commanders
- Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau (October 10 1939 - December 29 1941)
- Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus (December 30 1941 - February 3 1943)
- General Karl Adolf Hollidt (March 5 1943 - April 7 1944)
- General Maximilian de Angelis (April 8 1944 - July 16 1944)
- General Maximilian Fretter-Pico (July 17 1944 - December 22 1944)
- General Hermann Balck (December 23 1944 - May 8 1945)de:Deutsche 6. Armee