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| LVI. Armeekorps LVI. Panzerkorps | |
|---|---|
| Active | February 1941 - May 1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Panzer corps |
| Role | Armoured warfare |
| Size | Corps |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Erich von Manstein Helmuth Weidling |
LVI Panzer Corps was apanzer corps in theGerman Army duringWorld War II.
This corps was activated in February 1941 as theLVI Army Corps (mot.), for theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union, which commenced on 22 June 1941.Erich von Manstein led the corps in its advance fromEast Prussia toDemyansk, where, in September 1941, he was informed of his appointment as commander of the GermanEleventh Army.[1]
On 1 March 1942, the Corps was renamedLVI Panzer Corps. In 1942, as part ofArmy Group Center's3rd Panzer Army, the LVI Panzer Corps was used to fightSoviet partisans on theEastern Front. The corps was active in theSpas-Demensk andKirov area before withdrawing toKrichev and across theDnieper.
In the spring of 1944, the LVI Panzer Corps fought atZhlobin andKalinkovichi inBelarus. In May 1944, the LVI Panzer Corps was transferred toArmy Group North Ukraine.[2] From 22 June to 19 August, duringOperation Bagration, the Soviets destroyedArmy Group Center and swept the Germans from Belarus. The corps withdrew through thePripet Marshes towardsBrest-Litovsk. From 13 July to 29 July, as part of the4th Panzer Army, the LVI Panzer Corps was involved in the unsuccessful German defense against the SovietLvov-Sandomierz Offensive. The corps continued to withdraw throughPoland and intoGermany as the Soviet advance continued.
In 1945, the LVI Panzer Corps became part ofArmy Group Vistula's9th Army. From 16 April to 19 April, at theBattle of Seelow Heights, the corps suffered heavy losses along with the rest of the9th Army. The remnants of the LVI Panzer Corps ended the war defending the south-eastern sector of theNazi capital in theBattle of Berlin.