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15th Army (Wehrmacht)

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15th Army
German: 15. Armee
15th Army Fallschirmjäger in Normandy in June 1944
Active15 January 1941 – 17 April 1945
Country Nazi Germany
Branch German army ( Wehrmacht)
SizeField army
Commanders
Notable
commanders

The 15th Army (German: 15. Armee) was a field army of the German army in World War II.

History

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The 15th Army was activated in occupied France on 15 January 1941 with General Curt Haase in command. It was tasked with occupation and defensive duties in the Pas de Calais area.

The Allies landed further west, in Operation Overlord, during June 1944. Afterwards, the 15th Army was withdrawn to the Netherlands, where it fought the Allies during Operation Market Garden in September 1944.

It suffered defeat against the First Canadian Army in the Battle of the Scheldt during which the Army Headquarters at Dordrecht was subject to a mass attack by Hawker Typhoons of the Second Tactical Air Force on 24 October 1944. Two generals and 70 other staff officers were killed in the attack.[1]

During October 1944 the 15th Army continued to resist against the Canadian First Army and British Second Army as they pushed west from the Nijmegen/Eindhoven salient in Operation Pheasant.

The British Second Army cleared the 15th Army from the Roer Triangle during Operation Blackcock, pushing it back over the Rur and Wurm rivers. It was involved in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest before finally surrendering along the Ruhr river in 1945.

Today, the former HQ of the 15th Army, in Tourcoing, which is just north of Lille in France, is a museum: Musée du 5 juin 1944 [fr].

Sept. 1944 Order of Battle

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Commanders

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No. Portrait Commander Took office Left office Time in office
1
Curt Haase
Haase, CurtGeneraloberst
Curt Haase
(1881–1943)
15 January 194130 November 19421 year, 319 days
2
Heinrich von Vietinghoff
Vietinghoff, HeinrichGeneraloberst
Heinrich von Vietinghoff
(1887–1952)
1 December 19427 August 1943249 days
3
Hans von Salmuth
Salmuth, HansGeneraloberst
Hans von Salmuth
(1888–1962)
8 August 194324 August 19441 year, 16 days
4
Gustav-Adolf von Zangen
Zangen, GustavGeneral der Infanterie
Gustav-Adolf von Zangen
(1892–1964)
25 August 194417 April 1945235 days

References

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  1. ^ "Hawker Typhoon, Tempest, & Sea Fury". www.airvectors.net. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  2. ^ "US troops in Holland in WWII".

References

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  • Tessin, Georg (1970). "Die Landstreifkräfte 15–30" [Ground forces 15 to 30]. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 4. Osnabrück: Biblio.