| XIV Panzer Corps | |
|---|---|
| XIV. Panzerkorps | |
| Active | 1 April 1938 – 8 May 1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Panzer corps |
| Role | Armoured warfare |
| Size | Corps |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Hermann Balck Hans-Valentin Hube Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin |
XIV Panzer Corps (also:XIV Army Corps orXIV.Armeekorps) was acorps-level formation of theGerman Army which fought on both theEastern Front and in theItalian Campaign.
The XIV Panzer Corps was originally formed as the XIV Motorised Corps inMagdeburg on 1 April 1938 to take command of units in the process of motorisation, where it was placed under the leadership ofGustav von Wietersheim.[1] The Corps participated in theInvasion of Poland in 1939 where it fought in theBattle of Kock. The Corps later saw action in theBattle of France in 1940, as part ofPanzer Group Kleist, where the2nd Motorised Division,13th Motorised Division and the29th Motorised Division served under it.[2] It was renamed the XIV Panzer Corps on 21 June 1942.[1]
In June 1941, it participated inOperation Barbarossa, where as part ofPanzer Group 1, it served withArmy Group South on the southern sector of the eastern front, advancing viaLviv,Ternopil andZhytomyr toKremenchuk and in theMius sector.[1]
It took part inCase Blue where it commanded the60th Motorised Infantry Division,16th Panzer Division and the3rd Motorised Infantry Division. Elements of the Corps were the first German units to reach Stalingrad. It was surrounded in theStalingrad pocket in November 1942. Hitler ordered its commander,General der PanzertruppeHans-Valentin Hube, to be flown out of the Stalingrad pocket on 15 January 1943.GeneralleutnantHelmuth Schlömer, who succeeded Hube, surrendered the Corps to the Soviets.[1]
Re-formed and reorganized atDnipro andZaporizhzhia in 1943, it was transferred to the West and directed all German forces in theBattle of Sicily under Hube where it commanded the1st Parachute Division,15th Panzergrenadier Division,1st Paratroop Panzer DivisionHermann Göring and elements of the29th Panzergrenadier Division.[3] It was briefly commanded byHermann Balck in September and October 1943, before he was seriously injured in a plane crash.[4]
The Corps also participated in theBattle of Monte Cassino under the command ofGeneral von Senger und Etterlin and included among its formations,[3] the 1st Parachute Division, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division and the 29th Panzergrenadier Division, which had previously fought under it in Sicily. It remained on theItalian front until its surrender at the end of the war.[1]