Army Group E
The Army Group E was a major unit of the Army of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War.
History
Army Group E was prepared from the Army High Command 12 on 1 January 1943 her commander served until August 1943 at the same time as " supreme commander Southeast". The Army Group E was distributed in its statement of the Mediterranean and the Balkans and had units in Crete, Serbia and the Independent State of Croatia. They fought in both Greece and Yugoslavia against partisans.
After the formation of the Army Group F in August 1943, the Army Group E was assumed this. In September 1943 ( see case axis) took over Army Group, consisting of three corps, the fort of Crete, and the Storm Division Rhodos, after the surrender of the Italian occupying the sole responsibility for the security of the occupied Greece. In late summer 1944, she was with about 300,000 men in Greece, in the Ionian and Aegean islands, and Crete. You stood the Communist People's Liberation Army, ELAS opposite with about 20,000 partisans also still about 8,000 national- royalist insurgents.
When the fighting in Romania developed for Germany's defeat in the summer of 1944, the Army Group E, the withdrawal of the Greek islands and the mainland began. The withdrawal from the southern Balkans was successful. By the end of 1944 he succeeded the Army Group to repel the attacks of Soviet and Bulgarian forces and the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army. At the Bosnian Macedonian border she was able to build a stable defensive position. In the fall of 1944, the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Front captured along with the Yugoslav People's Army in the Belgrade Operation of Central Serbia. The Soviet troops were then withdrawn to the Hungarian theater of war. That saved Army Group E and the 2nd Panzer Army, which could now deposed about southwest Serbia, northern Montenegro and finally Southeast Bosnia to Croatia.
In the following months, the commander of Army Group, Colonel General Alexander Löhr, the end of March 1945 tried again the position of Commander in Chief Southeast took over to keep the Independent State of Croatia against the People's Liberation Army. Once started on 12 April 1945 major offensive of the People's Liberation Army drove the German troops along the Slovenian- Austrian border. Few associations escaped and eventually capitulated against British forces who had occupied Styria and Carinthia. Alexander Löhr reached a partial agreement with the British commander to hold the German forces. The bulk of the army group was located but away from the Austrian border on the date of surrender, 8 May 1945, three days' march. By May 15, numerous associations still managed to escape to Austria. 150,000 German soldiers of Army Group were captured by Tito's associations.
At this time there was the Army Group E of seven German divisions, two Cossack divisions of the XV. Cossack Cavalry Corps and nine Croatian divisions. 220,000 members of the Army Group E had fled to Austria Croatian forces were delivered after its surrender by the British on the Tito partisans.
Organization
- Army Group news Regiment 521