III Corps (Bundeswehr)
Encyclopedia
III Corps was a corps
of the German Army
(Bundeswehr Heer) active from 1957 to 1994.
The preparation of the staff of the corps took place from 16 March 1957 at Gneisenau-Kaserne, Koblenz
; the corps was officially formed on 6th April 1957. Initially, the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division and 5th Armoured Division from the 1957 II Corps to III Corps changed. The corps was integrated into defence planning from mid-1957, as part of NATO's Central Army Group, commanded by the commander of the U.S. Seventh Army. The area of operations was the FRG-DDR and German-Czechoslovak border in Hesse and Franconia. On 1 December 1958 the 7th Armoured Division (Germany) was transferred from the III. Corps to the I Corps. Among the first corps troops were Ordnance regiment 504 (formed May 16, 1957 in Diez, transferred January 1958 in Koblenz), and Corps Artillery Command 403 (based until 1 July 1957 at Munsterlager, from August 1957 in Koblenz). Under corps command were a rocket artillery battalion, a supply battalion, and a geophysical measurement train.
Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz
was the first commander of the corps, as a Lieutenant General
.
In 1994 the corps headquarters was disbanded by being redesignated the headquarters of the German Army Forces Command
.
Initially from 1959 the corps' troops under Heeresstruktur II consisted of :
class="wikitable"
Nr.
Name
Beginn der Berufung
Ende der Berufung
13
Generalleutnant Klaus Reinhardt
1. Juli 1993
31. März 1994
12
Generalleutnant Peter Heinrich Carstens
1. Oktober 1991
30. Juni 1993
11
Generalmajor Anton Steer
1. Oktober 1990
30. September 1991
10
Generalleutnant Helge Hansen
1. Oktober 1987
30. September 1990
9
Generalleutnant Karl Erich Diedrichs
1. April 1984
30. September 1987
8
Generalleutnant Hans-Joachim Mack
1. April 1983
31. März 1984
7
Generalleutnant Wolfgang Altenburg
1. Oktober 1980
31. März 1983
6
Generalleutnant Paul-Georg Kleffel
1. April 1978
30. September 1980
5
Generalleutnant Franz Pöschl
1. Oktober 1972
31. März 1978
4
Generalleutnant Gerd Niepold
1. Oktober 1968
30. September 1972
3
Generalleutnant Albert Schnez
1. April 1965
30. September 1968
2
Generalleutnant Heinz Gaedcke
1. Januar 1961
31. März 1965
1
Generalleutnant Smilo von Lüttwitz
1. Juni 1957
31. Dezember 1960
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
(Bundeswehr Heer) active from 1957 to 1994.
The preparation of the staff of the corps took place from 16 March 1957 at Gneisenau-Kaserne, Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
; the corps was officially formed on 6th April 1957. Initially, the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division and 5th Armoured Division from the 1957 II Corps to III Corps changed. The corps was integrated into defence planning from mid-1957, as part of NATO's Central Army Group, commanded by the commander of the U.S. Seventh Army. The area of operations was the FRG-DDR and German-Czechoslovak border in Hesse and Franconia. On 1 December 1958 the 7th Armoured Division (Germany) was transferred from the III. Corps to the I Corps. Among the first corps troops were Ordnance regiment 504 (formed May 16, 1957 in Diez, transferred January 1958 in Koblenz), and Corps Artillery Command 403 (based until 1 July 1957 at Munsterlager, from August 1957 in Koblenz). Under corps command were a rocket artillery battalion, a supply battalion, and a geophysical measurement train.
Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz
Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz
Smilo Walther Hinko Oskar Constantin Wilhelm Freiherr von Lüttwitz was a German general of the Panzer troops, serving during World War II and son of Walther von Lüttwitz...
was the first commander of the corps, as a Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
.
In 1994 the corps headquarters was disbanded by being redesignated the headquarters of the German Army Forces Command
German Army Forces Command
Army Command in Falckenstein Barracks in Koblenz is one of the two leadership pillars of the German Army, together with the German Army Office....
.
Initially from 1959 the corps' troops under Heeresstruktur II consisted of :
- 2nd Panzergrenadier Division (MarburgMarburgMarburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
)- Panzergrenadierbrigade 4 (GöttingenGöttingenGöttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
) - Panzergrenadierbrigade 5 (KasselKasselKassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
) - Panzerbrigade 6 (Marburg)
- Panzergrenadierbrigade 4 (Göttingen
- 5. Panzerdivision5th Armoured Division (Germany)The 5th Armoured Division was a West German armored formation. It was part of the III Corps of the Bundeswehr, which also incorporated in 1985 the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division and 12th Panzer Division. III Corps was part of NATO's Central Army Group , along with the Bundeswehr's II Corps and the...
(Koblenz)- Panzergrenadierbrigade 13 (WetzlarWetzlarWetzlar is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. Located at 8° 30′ E, 50° 34′ N, Wetzlar straddles the river Lahn and is on the German Timber-Framework Road which passes mile upon mile of half-timbered houses. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis on the north edge of...
) - Panzerbrigade 14 (Koblenz)
- Panzerbrigade 15 (Koblenz)
- Panzergrenadierbrigade 13 (Wetzlar
- 7. Panzergrenadierdivision7th Armoured Division (Bundeswehr)The 7th Armoured Division or Westphalian Armoured Division was a major formation in the German Army within the German Armed Forces or Bundeswehr whose headquarters was for many years in Lippstadt und Unna and, finally in Düsseldorf. Until its dissolution in 2006 it was seen as the "backbone of...
(UnnaUnnaUnna is a town of around 67,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district.-Geography:Unna is situated on an ancient salt-trading route, the Hellweg road. Trade on this route and during the period of the Hansa Trade Route came from as far as London...
)- Panzergrenadierbrigade 19 (AhlenAhlenAhlen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the District of Warendorf and is economically the most important town in that district. Ahlen is part of the larger Münster region, and of the historic Münsterland area....
) - Panzerbrigade 21 (AugustdorfAugustdorfAugustdorf is a municipality in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has an area of 42.21 km² and c. 10,000 inhabitants.-External links:*...
)
- Panzergrenadierbrigade 19 (Ahlen
- Corps Troops
Commanding Generals
{Klaus Reinhardt
Klaus Reinhardt is a former German Army General.He used to be commander of the German Army Forces Command, of the NATO Joint Headquarters Center , and of KFOR in Kosovo.- Military career :In 1960 entered the German Army as a officer candidate with the mountain infantry forces...
Helge Hansen
Helge Hansen was a Norwegian resistance member during the German occupation of Norway, and later a politician, chemist and factory manager.-Personal life:...
Wolfgang Altenburg
Wolfgang Altenburg is a retired German general. He served as Chief of Staff of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, from 1996 to 1999, and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1986 to 1989.-Biography:...
Further reading
- Soldat im III. Korps. Bilddokumente eines Großverbandes des Heeres. Herausgeber III. Korps, Redaktion Peter Bolte. - Koblenz: Rhenania Fachverlag 1982.
- 175 Jahre Korpskommando Koblenz. Herausgegeben vom Korpskommando III. Korps, verantwortlich: Oberstleutnant Armin Meyer-Detring. - Koblenz [1990].