| XXVI. Armeekorps | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | August 1939–early 1945 |
| Country |  Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Size | Corps |
| Nickname(s) | Corps Wodrig |
| Engagements | Battle of MlawaOperation Bagration |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Albert Wodrig |
TheXXVI Army Corps (German:XXVI. Armeekorps) was aWehrmachtarmy corps duringWorld War II. It existed from 1939 to 1945. It was also known asCorps Wodrig (German:Korps Wodrig) during the Invasion of Poland.
The XXVI Army Corps was formed under the nameFührungsstab z. b. V. under the supervision of AOK 1 inKönigsberg on 22 August 1939. Its initial commander wasAlbert Wodrig, earning it the nicknameKorps Wodrig before the official designation as an army corps on 1 October.[1] Wodrig remained in command until 1 October 1942.[2]
During theInvasion of Poland, Corps Wodrig oversaw the1st and12th Infantry Divisions, as well as the1st Cavalry Brigade.[3] Corps Wodrig was stationed in southernEast Prussia as part of3rd Army, commanded byGeorg von Küchler.[4] The 3rd Army was in turn under the supervision ofArmy Group North, commanded byFedor von Bock.[3] In the opening days of the invasion, Corps Wodrig struck straight south into the units of the PolishModlin Army in theMława area.[4] The resultingBattle of Mława ended in German victory. Corps Wodrig advanced further towardsWarsaw, assisting the German pincer movement against the Polish capital.
On 1 October 1939, Corps Wodrig was officially redesignatedXXVI. Armeekorps, formally upgrading it from az. b. V. special deployment staff to a full army corps in its own right. In December 1939, XXVI Army Corps was attached to the6th Army and redeployed to theLower Rhine area.[1]
In early 1940, the army corps was reshuffled and moved through several armies in quick succession, including the4th Army,18th Army and2nd Army. Under 18th Army, XXVI Army Corps participated on the northern flank of the German invasion force during theBattle of France. The corps fought in theNetherlands and inFlanders.[1] Its initial makeup on 10 May 1940 were the207th,254th and256th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 4th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment.[5] After a brief stay in theReims area after the German victory over France, the corps was transferred back to its home region, East Prussia.[1] There, its subordinate units remained consistent from 21 July 1940 to 12 March 1941 and were made up by the161st,217th and291st Infantry Divisions.[5]
ForOperation Barbarossa, XXVI Army Corps operated under Army Group North and supervised the61st, 217th and 291st Infantry Divisions.[5] It advanced through theBaltic region into theLeningrad area.[1] In the German advance towards the city of Leningrad, which wassubsequently unsuccessfully besieged until the year 1944, the XXVI Corps advanced on the far left front of the army group, crossing theLuga river fromNarva around 24 August 1941 and advancing along the shoreline of theGulf of Finland, where it eventually stood opposite theSoviet 8th Army, which had been trapped in theOranienbaum Bridgehead by the advance ofGerman XXXVIII Corps toPetergof andUritsk.[6]
The XXVI Corps remained in the vicinity of Leningrad throughout the entire duration of the Siege of Leningrad, which was broken by theRed Army on 27 January 1944.[1] Corps commanders switched frequently after Albert Wodrig left his post on 1 October 1942; subsequent corps commanders includedErnst von Leyser,Gustav Fehn, Ernst von Leyser,Carl Hilpert,Martin Grase,Anton Grasser,Gerhard Matzky,Kurt Chill and Gerhard Matzky.[2]
Between July and August 1943, the XXVI Army Corps was the defending unit of the primary urban target of the SovietMga offensive. Ultimately, the Soviet attack was repelled.
On 3 March 1944, the XXVI Army Corps joined the newly formedArmeeabteilung Narwa, the army-level promotion of the formerLIV Army Corps that was designed to defend theNarva region.[1][7]
On 15 July 1944, XXVI Army Corps joined the3rd Panzer Army, making it part ofArmy Group Centre at the time ofOperation Bagration, the Soviet offensive that started on 23 June 1944 and that brought about the total collapse of Army Group Centre. The XXVI Army Corps was pushed back by the Red Army along with the rest of the German armed forces. At the time ofGerman surrender on 8 May 1945, the remnants of XXVI Army Corps which had been fighting in the corps' home in East Prussia were no longer able to mount an organized resistance against the Red Army.[1]
| Year | Date | Units attached to XXVI Army Corps[8][9][10][5][11][7][12] | Army | Army Group | Operational Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | 1 September | 1st Infantry,12th Infantry | 3rd Army | Army Group North | East Prussia andPoland |
| 4 December | 7th Infantry,14th Infantry,253rd Infantry | 6th Army | Army Group B | Lower Rhine | |
| 1940 | 15 January | None | 4th Army | Eifel | |
| 10 May | 207th Infantry,254th Infantry,256th Infantry, 4th SS Pz.Gren. Regiment | 18th Army | Netherlands andFlanders | ||
| 9 June | 34th Infantry,45th Infantry | 2nd Army | Army Group A | Reims | |
| 21 July | 161st Infantry,217th Infantry,291st Infantry | 18th Army | UnderOKH | East Prussia | |
| 1 August | |||||
| 13 September | Army Group B | ||||
| 7 October | |||||
| 7 November | |||||
| 12 December | |||||
| 1941 | 15 January | ||||
| 10 February | |||||
| 12 March | |||||
| 5 April | 61st Infantry, 161st Infantry, 217th Infantry, 291st Infantry | ||||
| 1 May | 61st Infantry,269th Infantry,290th Infantry, 291st Infantry | Army Group C | |||
| 5 June | 61st Infantry, 217th Infantry, 291st Infantry | Army Group North | Riga andLeningrad | ||
| 1 July | 1st Infantry, 61st Infantry, 217th Infantry | ||||
| 7 August | 93rd Infantry, 254th Infantry, 291st Infantry | ||||
| 3 September | 93rd Infantry, 291st Infantry | ||||
| 2 October | 93rd Infantry, 217th Infantry | ||||
| 4 November | |||||
| 4 December | 93rd Infantry,212th Infantry, 217th Infantry | ||||
| 1942 | 2 January | Leningrad | |||
| 6 February | |||||
| 10 March | |||||
| 5 April | 93rd Infantry, 217th Infantry | ||||
| 11 May | 7th Infantry,223rd Infantry,227th Infantry | ||||
| 8 June | 223rd Infantry, 227th Infantry | ||||
| 4 July | |||||
| 5 August | |||||
| 2 September | 28th Infantry, 170th Infantry, 223rd Infantry, 227th Infantry | ||||
| 8 October | 28th Infantry,131st Infantry, 170th Infantry, 227th Infantry,5th Mountain | 11th Army | Under OKH | ||
| 5 November | 24th Infantry, 223rd Infantry, 227th Infantry | 18th Army | Army Group North | ||
| 1 December | 24th Infantry,96th Infantry, 223rd Infantry, 227th Infantry | ||||
| 1943 | 1 January | 1st Infantry, 96th Infantry, 170th Infantry,221st Infantry, 223rd Infantry | |||
| 3 February | 11th Infantry,21st Infantry, 28th Infantry, 61st Infantry, 96th Infantry, 170th Infantry | ||||
| 4 March | 11th Infantry, 21st Infantry, 28th Infantry, 212th Infantry | ||||
| 9 April | 1st Infantry, 11th Infantry, 28th Infantry,69th Infantry, 212th Infantry, 223rd Infantry, 5th Mountain | ||||
| 1 May | |||||
| 1 June | |||||
| 7 July | 1st Infantry, 11th Infantry, 28th Infantry, 69th Infantry, 212th Infantry,290th Infantry, 5th Mountain | ||||
| 5 August | 1st Infantry, 11th Infantry, 28th Infantry,58th Infantry, 69th Infantry,126th Infantry, 212th Infantry, 290th Infantry, 5th Mountain | ||||
| 5 September | 21st Infantry, 58th Infantry, 61st Infantry, 69th Infantry, 212th Infantry,215th Infantry,225th Infantry,254th Infantry, 290th Infantry, 5th Mountain | ||||
| 4 October | 61st Infantry, 69th Infantry, 212th Infantry, 215th Infantry, 227th Infantry, 254th Infantry, 290th Infantry, 5th Mountain | ||||
| 8 November | 61st Infantry, 212th Infantry, 227th Infantry, 254th Infantry, 5th Mountain | ||||
| 3 December | 61st Infantry, 212th Infantry, 227th Infantry, 254th Infantry | ||||
| 1944 | 1 January | ||||
| 1 February | None | ||||
| 3 March | 11th Infantry, 225th Infantry | Armeeabteilung Narwa (formed fromLIV Corps) | Narva | ||
| 15 April | 11th Infantry, 58th Infantry, 225th Infantry | ||||
| 15 May | |||||
| 15 June | 170th Infantry, 225th Infantry, 227th Infantry | ||||
| 15 July | 69th Infantry,201st Infantry,Generalkommando Rothkirch,6th Panzer | 3rd Panzer Army | Army Group Centre | Lithuania | |
| 31 August | 1st Infantry,52nd Infantry,549th Grenadier,561st Infantry,Werthern,Schirmer,D | ||||
| 16 September | 1st Infantry, 549th Grenadier,D,Schirmer,Werthern | 4th Army | East Prussia | ||
| 13 October | 1st Infantry,56th Infantry, 349th Infantry | ||||
| 5 November | 1st Infantry, 56th Infantry, 61st Infantry,349th Infantry,549th Volksgrenadier | 3rd Panzer Army | |||
| 26 November | 1st Infantry, 61st Infantry, 69th Infantry, 349th Infantry, 549th Volksgrenadier | ||||
| 31 December | 1st Infantry, 69th Infantry, 349th Infantry, 549th Volksgrenadier | ||||
| 1945 | 19 February | 14th Infantry, 28th Infantry, 349th Infantry, 549th Volksgrenadier,Einem | |||
| 1 March | 28th Infantry,299th Infantry, 349th Infantry,24th Panzer | 4th Army | Army Group North | ||
| 12 April | Unclear | AOK Ostpreußen | Under OKH |