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| 7th Army | |
|---|---|
| German:7. Armee | |
 Insignia | |
| Active | 1939–45 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  German Army |
| Type | Field army |
| Engagements | Battle of France Battle of Normandy Battle of the Bulge Battle of Frankfurt Battle of the Falaise Pocket |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Friedrich Dollmann Paul Hausser Heinrich Eberbach Erich Brandenberger Hans Felber Hans von Obstfelder |
The7th Army (German:7. Armee) was aWorld War IIfield army of theGerman land forces.
The 7th Army was activated inStuttgart on August 25, 1939 with GeneralFriedrich Dollmann in command. At the outbreak of the war, the 7th Army defended the French border and manned theWestwall in theUpper Rhine region. At the start of theCampaign in the West in 1940, the 7th Army was part of GeneralWilhelm Ritter von Leeb's Army Group C. On 14 June 1940, Army Group C attacked theMaginot Line after it had been cut off by armored units of the XXXXI Panzer Corps. Lead elements of the 7th Army reached the area in front ofColmar and later pursued parts of the French 2nd Army Group intoLorraine. At the conclusion of the campaign, the 7th Army was in eastern France. From July 1940 until April 1941, the 7th Army guarded a region of the coast in southwestern France. From 18 April 1941, the 7th Army was responsible for coastal defense inBrittany andNormandy. By mid-1944, the 7th Army was part ofErwin Rommel's Army Group B.
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At the time of the first Western AlliedNormandy Landings on 6 June 1944 ("D-Day"), the 7th Army was headquartered atLe Mans.[1]: 442
Because of uncertainty in the German high command regardingAllied intentions after the D-Day landings, the 7th Army did most of the initial fighting in Normandy although it was later reinforced by thePanzer Group West. The15th Army was kept at thePas de Calais, expecting another landing by the Allies. By 18 June, the 7th Army had lost 97,000 men, including five generals. On 28 June, the army's commander, General Dollmann, died of a heart attack.
Under unrelenting Allied pressure, the 7th Army was slowly forced back through thehedgerow country in Normandy. Finally, inOperation Cobra in late July 1944, the 7th Army's weakened left wing was flattened by a massive Allied aerial bombardment and then assaulted and broken by theUS 1st Army. Armored exploitation of this rent in the front lines by US units forced a German retreat and then anunsuccessful counter-attack which culminated in the 7th Army being nearly wiped out in theFalaise Pocket.
Abandoning what remained of their heavy equipment, shattered remnants of the 7th Army escaped from the Falaise Pocket and retreated eastward to the German border. Many of the surviving members of the 7th Army were captured in early September during theBattle of the Mons Pocket. During the autumn of 1944, the 7th Army adopted a defensive posture in theEifel region on the Belgian and Luxembourgish border whileHitler husbanded forces for a winter offensive on theWestern Front.
During theBattle of the Bulge it consisted of six Infantry (9th,79th,212th,276th,340th, and352ndVolksgrenadier) Divisions, onePanzergrenadier (15th) Division, oneParachute (5th) Division, and onePanzer/Panzergrenadier (Führer Grenadier) Brigade.[2]: 44
Its role was to protect the southern flank of theFifth Panzer Army and the entire Ardennes Offensive. Like the other two German armies in the offensive, the 7th Army took substantial losses. The 7th Army defended against the northward attack of theUS 3rd Army, but ultimately failed to halt GeneralGeorge S. Patton's drive toBastogne andHouffalize. The 7th Army, however, managed to avoid encirclement and retreated again to theWestwall.
In January 1945, the U.S. 3rd Army attacked to the east, forcing the 7th Army to retreat from the area ofTrier to the region ofKoblenz. Under further U.S. pressure, the 7th Army was forced to retreat through the areas aroundMainz andMannheim. Unable to stop the U.S. advances in central Germany during March and April 1945, the 7th Army continued its retreat through the valleys of the Main and Lahn Rivers, through theSpessart hills,Fulda,Gotha, and then through theThuringian Forest to the region betweenLeipzig andHof.
The 7th Army surrendered to U.S. 3rd Army in the area of theBavarian Forest and westernBohemia on 8 May 1945.
| No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Dollmann, FriedrichGeneraloberst Friedrich Dollmann (1882–1944) | 25 August 1939 | 28 June 1944 † | 4 years, 332 days |
| 2 |  | Hausser, PaulSS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser (1880–1972) | 29 June 1944 | 20 August 1944 | 52 days |
| 3 |  | Eberbach, HeinrichGeneral der Panzertruppe Heinrich Eberbach (1895–1992) | 21 August 1944 | 30 August 1944 | 9 days |
| 4 | .jpg) | Brandenberger, ErichGeneral der Panzertruppe Erich Brandenberger (1892–1955) | 3 September 1944 | 21 February 1945 | 171 days |
| 5 | .jpg) | Felber, HansGeneral der Infanterie Hans Felber (1889–1962) | 22 February 1945 | 25 March 1945 | 43 days |
| 6 |  | Obstfelder, HansGeneral der Infanterie Hans von Obstfelder (1886–1976) | 26 March 1945 | 8 May 1945 | 43 days |
| International | |
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| National | |
