Army Group Courland
16th Army 18th Army
The Army Group Courland was a major unit of the Army of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. She was supreme command each changing armies as well as many special forces. Army Group Courland was the new name given by the Army Group North was on 25 January 1945. After advance of the Red Army on the Baltic coast near Memel Army Group North was included from October 20, 1944 in the so called Kurland -Kessel.
From the Army Group own stamps were issued on 20 April 1945, which were used and overprinted held by the army postal service control center at Libau. After the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on 8 May 1945 refused the Army Group Kurland, one of the last intact combat units in Germany, also to surrender. She wanted to stand as a free corps on the type of the corresponding units in 1919, but this was prevented by the Soviet Union.
The last commander Colonel-General Carl Hilpert came into Soviet captivity in Siberia and Moscow, where he died.
Some of the fighting on the German side of Latvian units, such as the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS ( 2nd Latvian ), fought on as Forest Brothers - partisan.
Supreme Commander
- January 29, 1945, Colonel General Heinrich Gottfried von Vietinghoff
- March 10, 1945, Colonel General Lothar Rendulic
- April 6, 1945 Colonel-General Carl Hilpert
Outline of Army Group
- News Regiment 639
Ärmelband Kurland
On 12 March 1945 the Ärmelband Kurland was donated. When awarding rules were:
- Participation in at least three or Kurlandschlachten
- Uninterrupted stay of three months in the area of Army Group Courland or
- Wound