XIX Army Corps

The XIX Army Corps (German: XIX. Armeekorps) was an armored corps of the German Wehrmacht between 1 July 1939 and 16 November 1940, when the unit was renamed Panzer Group 2 (German: Panzergruppe 2) and later 2nd Panzer Army (German: 2. Panzerarmee). It took part in the Invasion of Poland and the Battle of France.

It was formed in Vienna on 1 July 1939, the same day as the 2nd Panzer Division, but was not assigned to any single military district. Commanded by General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian, it was stationed in Pomerania prior to taking part in the invasion of Poland. It was officially tasked with constructing fortifications in preparation for an attack from Polish forces, though in fact German preparations for the invasion were already well advanced. Subordinated within Army Group North (responsible for Poland's north-western Danzig Corridor region) and supplemented by the 3rd Panzer, 2nd Infantry, and 20th Infantry Divisions, XIX Army Corps was tasked to strike southwards towards the Vistula river and thereby prevent any eastwards retreat of Polish troops to its west. Operations began on 1 September 1939, beginning World War II in Europe. During the initial days of the Polish campaign, the XIX Army Corps captured the city of Pruszcz and a bridgehead east of the Brda river, inflicted massive casualties on the Polish Pomorska Cavalry Brigade (described by William L. Shirer as "sickening evidence of the carnage" and "symbolic of the brief Polish campaign"), prevented attempts by the Polish 9th Infantry Division and the Czersk Operational Group to recapture the Brda's east bank, was visited at the front by Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Erwin Rommel, and suffered casualties of 150 fatalities and 700 wounded. Moved to operating east of the Vistula in support of the 3rd Army's left flank after the Battle of Różan, they were positioned to join in attacking Warsaw from the north but were hampered by the slow progress of Army Group South. Von Bock instructed Guderian to set his sights onto Brest-Litovsk, deep in the Polish rear. Miscommunications with the infantry-based XXI Army Corps caused casualties and risked them being encircled by Polish forces. The Battle of Brest-Litovsk followed soon after, with XIX Army Corps troops slowed but emerging victorious. After the Soviet invasion of Poland, XIX Army Corps yielded control of the city to the Red Army, in line with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which they had unknowingly violated. XIX Army Corps then represented Germany in the subsequent German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk. The unit received several commendations after the Polish campaign ended on 6 October, with Guderian himself awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 October.

The XIX Army Corps was reorganized into the Western Campaign in May 1940, containing three Panzer Divisions. The 1st Panzer Division under Friedrich Kirchner, the 2nd Panzer Division under Rudolf Veiel, the 10th Panzer Division under Ferdinand Schaal, and the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland joined the XIX Army Corps, now under the command of Panzer Group Kleist. The XIX Army Corps became part of the German effort to trap the Allied troops with an attack through the Ardennes forest, devised by Erich von Manstein known as the sickle cut. The XIX Army Corps crossed into Luxembourg on 10 May, and progressed through southern Belgium supported by the German Third Air Fleet. Then Battle of Sedan was won by 15 May 1940 by the Germans, despite heavy losses to the French Char B1 bis tanks. The XIX Army Corps established a bridgehead on the Meuse, which allowed them to attack northward to the English Channel, and later southward to encircle Allied armies deployed in Belgium and the French forces along the Maginot Line. On 20 May, Amiens had been captured by 1st Panzer Division, to complete the XIX Army Corps' march to the English Channel. Germany won the Battle of Arras on the next day, which led the Allies to evacuate towards Calais and Dunkirk. XIX Army Corps continued northwards on 22 May then were reinforced by the XIV Army Corps, and began the Siege of Calais on 24 May. A victory on 26 May saw XIX Army Corps take 20,000 Allied soldiers as prisoners of war, and the onset of the Battle of Dunkirk. Two days later soldiers of Leibstandarte killed 80 men of British 144th Infantry Brigade in the Wormhout massacre. The ensuing victory at Dunkirk ended the northward campaign of the XIX Army Corps on 29 May. On 1 June, Guderian was assigned to command Panzergruppe Guderian, taking most of the XIX Army Corps staff with him, and were joined by the XLI Corps and the XXXIX Corps, and became part of the 12th Army. Panzergruppe Guderian were redeployed southwards, commencing battle on 10 June. German tanks advanced quickly southward, and only met French resistance in forests and villages. Philippe Pétain became leader of France on 16 June, began negotiating for a ceasefire with the Germans. A day later, the 29th Infantry Division reached the border of Switzerland, effectively encircling Allied soldiers on the Maginot Line. The XIX Army Corps campaign ended on 22 June, with the establishment of Vichy France. During its campaigns, the XIX Army Corps and Panzergruppe Guderian captured 250,000 prisoners.

The XIX Army Corps was formed on 1 July 1939 in Vienna to group together the 2nd Panzer Division and the 4th Light Division, the latter of which became 9th Panzer Division on 3 January 1940. At its inception, the unit was not part of any particular Wehrkreis. The initial commander of XIX Army Corps was General der Panzertruppe (then equivalent to the rank of lieutenant general in the English-speaking world) Heinz Guderian. Guderian had previously made a name for himself as a supporter of a motorized style of warfare using armored vehicles and air support, a style that is often dubbed Blitzkrieg ('lightning warfare') in the English-speaking world, although German military officers like Guderian did not themselves use that term. He also had previous experience as a panzer leader in the context of bloodless invasion, as he was involved in guiding German panzer forces, specifically 2nd Panzer Division, through the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938. This was in spite of the fact that he had already officially been replaced as commander of that unit by Rudolf Veiel and was only ordered back to that post by Ludwig Beck for the purpose of the Anschluss. During that action, Guderian reported that more than 30% (70% according to Alfred Jodl) of German panzer forces malfunctioned.

For the overall makeup of German forces in preparation for the Invasion of Poland, see also German order of battle for the invasion of Poland.

Guderian was informed of Hitler's decision to invade Poland through his superior, Günther von Kluge, commander of 4th Army, on 22 August 1939. He was ordered to Pomerania, where 4th Army and with it XIX Army Corps were stationed, to join the Befestigungsstab Pommern ('fortification staff Pomerania') and to officially construct military fortifications against a supposed Polish attack. Walther Nehring was assigned to be XIX Army Corps' chief of staff.

Germany's immediate preparations for the attack against its eastern neighbor had been ongoing since the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht issued the Directive for the Uniform Preparations of the Armed Forces for the War for 1939-40 between 3 April and 10 May 1939. The political background for the conflict goes quite a bit further. The signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union on 23 August 1939 created the immediate political prerequisites for Germany to launch its invasion.

See also Causes of World War II and Events preceding World War II in Europe.