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Army Group A

Army Group A (German: Heeresgruppe A) was the name of three distinct army groups of the Heer, the ground forces of the Wehrmacht, during World War II.

The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from October 1939 to June 1941 and notably served in the Battle of France as the decisive army group in the implementation of the "Sickle Cut" military plan that inflicted crushing subsequent defeats on the French armed forces at occasions such as the Battle of Sedan, Battle of Boulogne and Battle of Dunkirk and that ultimately led to the Armistice of 22 June 1940. Army Group A was subsequently used in the German occupation of France and temporarily became the first Oberbefehlshaber West in German-occupied France. It was eventually replaced in this function by Army Group D and redeployed to German-occupied Poland in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. At the commencement of that attack, Army Group A was renamed "Army Group South" on 22 June 1941, ending the first deployment.


The second Army Group A was inserted into the German line on 7 July 1942, when Army Group South was split during the German 1942 summer offensive ("Case Blue") into Army Group B in the north (directed towards Stalingrad) and Army Group A in the south (directed towards the Caucasus). It advanced towards the Terek river, but was eventually forced to withdraw by the winter of 1942/43, concurrent with the decisive defeat of Army Group B in the Battle of Stalingrad. Initially confined to the Kuban bridgehead and the Crimean peninsula, Army Group A fought a rearguard action against the Red Army during its westwards withdrawal through Ukraine. On 2 April 1944, it was renamed "Army Group South Ukraine".


The third and final Army Group A came into existence on 23 September 1944, when the previous Army Group North Ukraine was renamed "Army Group A". It existed for about five months that were marked by constant withdrawals from the advancing Red Army and eventually left Army Group A at the Oder river line. On 25 January 1945, Army Group A was one of several army groups to be renamed, receiving the designation "Army Group Center". No subsequent Army Group A was formed.

Third deployment, 1944–45[edit]

Formation[edit]

The final deployment of Army Group A began on 23 September 1944 in the south of German-occupied Poland and in the Carpathian Mountains when Army Group North Ukraine was renamed to become Army Group A. After the Red Army's breakthrough at the Sandomierz bridgehead and the commencement of the Vistula–Oder offensive in early January 1945, Army Group A began a general withdrawal towards the Oder river.[1]: 8 

(15 October 1939 – 1 October 1940)

Gerd von Rundstedt

(10 July – 9 September 1942)

Wilhelm List

(9 September – 21 November 1942)

Adolf Hitler

(22 November 1942 – June 1943)

Ewald von Kleist

(June – July 1943)

Hubert Lanz

Ewald von Kleist (July 1943 – 25 March 1944)

(25 March – 31 March 1944)

Ferdinand Schörner

Army Group A (25 October 1939 – 20 February 1940). [War Diary Army Group A (West)]. German Federal Archive (in German).

"Kriegstagebuch Heeresgruppe A (Westen)"

Army Group A (21 February – 31 May 1940). [War Diary Army Group A (West)]. German Federal Archive (in German).

"Kriegstagebuch Heeresgruppe A (Westen)"

Army Group A (1–24 June 1940). [War Diary Army Group A (West)]. German Federal Archive (in German).

"Kriegstagebuch Heeresgruppe A (Westen)"

Army Group A (25 June – 17 October 1940). [War Diary Army Group A (West)]. German Federal Archive (in German).

"Kriegstagebuch Heeresgruppe A (Westen)"

Army Group A (18 October – 31 December 1940). [War Diary Army Group A (West)]. German Federal Archive (in German).

"Kriegstagebuch Heeresgruppe A (Westen)"

Army Group A (1 January – 14 April 1941). [War Diary Army Group A (West)]. German Federal Archive (in German).

"Kriegstagebuch Heeresgruppe A (Westen)"

(1939–1940). "Heeresgruppe A – Anlagen zum Kriegstagebuch: Kriegsgliederungen der Heeresgruppe A – Änderungen" [Army Group A – Attachments to the War Diary: Orders of Battle of Army Group A – Changes]. German Federal Archive (in German).

Army Group South

Army Group South (2 February – 21 June 1941). [War Diary No. 1 Army Group South (Preparation Barbarossa)]. German Federal Archive (in German).

"Kriegstagebuch Nr. 1 Heeresgruppe Süd (Vorbereitung Barbarossa)"

; Potalin (1944). "Журнал боевых действий войск 3 УкрФ, Период с 01.01.1944 по 31.01.1944 г." [Combat Journal of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, 1–31 January 1944]. Pamyat Naroda (in Russian). Russian Ministry of Defense.

Burenin, Ivan N.

Tarasov; Levshuk (1944a). [Combat Journal of the 4th Ukrainian Front, 1–31 January 1944]. Pamyat Naroda (in Russian). Russian Ministry of Defense.

"Журнал боевых действий войск 4 УкрФ, Период с 01.01.1944 по 31.01.1944 г."

Tarasov; Levshuk (1944b). [Combat Journal of the 4th Ukrainian Front, 1–29 February 1944]. Pamyat Naroda (in Russian). Russian Ministry of Defense.

"Журнал боевых действий войск 4 УкрФ, Период с 01.02.1944 по 29.02.1944 г."