The
5th Panzer Army, also known as
Panzer Group West and
Panzer Group Eberbach (German:
5.Panzer-Armee,
Panzergruppe West,
Panzergruppe Eberbach) was a
panzerA Panzer is a German tank. Attributively, the term also refers to armoured military forces, as in panzer divisions or panzer battles.- Etymology :Panzer is a loanword from the German , meaning "armour"...
armyAn army An army An army (from Latin armata "armed (things)" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based Military of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
which saw action in the
Western frontThe Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and west Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
and
North AfricaThe African, Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre of World War II encompasses the naval, land, and air campaigns fought between the Allied and Axis forces in the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and Africa...
. The remnants of the army surrendered in the
Ruhr pocketThe Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. It was, for all intents and purposes, the final dagger in Nazi Germany's war effort, as more than 300,000 troops were taken prisoner.In March...
in 1945.
The
5th Panzer Army was created on 8 December 1942 as a command formation for armoured units forming to defend
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. Tunisia is located southwest of the island of Sicily and south of Sardinia. Its size is almost 165,000 km² with an estimated population of just...
against Allied attacks which threatened after the success of the Allied
Operation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started 8 November 1942....
landings in
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area.It is bordered by Tunisia in...
and
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
.
The
5th Panzer Army, also known as
Panzer Group West and
Panzer Group Eberbach (German:
5.Panzer-Armee,
Panzergruppe West,
Panzergruppe Eberbach) was a
panzerA Panzer is a German tank. Attributively, the term also refers to armoured military forces, as in panzer divisions or panzer battles.- Etymology :Panzer is a loanword from the German , meaning "armour"...
armyAn army An army An army (from Latin armata "armed (things)" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based Military of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
which saw action in the
Western frontThe Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and west Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
and
North AfricaThe African, Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre of World War II encompasses the naval, land, and air campaigns fought between the Allied and Axis forces in the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and Africa...
. The remnants of the army surrendered in the
Ruhr pocketThe Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. It was, for all intents and purposes, the final dagger in Nazi Germany's war effort, as more than 300,000 troops were taken prisoner.In March...
in 1945.
North Africa
The
5th Panzer Army was created on 8 December 1942 as a command formation for armoured units forming to defend
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. Tunisia is located southwest of the island of Sicily and south of Sardinia. Its size is almost 165,000 km² with an estimated population of just...
against Allied attacks which threatened after the success of the Allied
Operation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started 8 November 1942....
landings in
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area.It is bordered by Tunisia in...
and
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
. The army fought alongside the
Italian First ArmyThe Italian First Army was an Italian army formation, in World War I, facing Austro-Hungarian and German forces, and in World War II, fighting on the North African front.-World War I:...
as a part of Army Group Afrika. The army capitulated on 13 May 1943, along with its commander
Hans-Jürgen von ArnimHans-Jürgen von Arnim was a German colonel-general of cavalry who served during World War II.-Life:...
. The army was officially disbanded on 30 June 1943.
Normandy
The army was reformed on 24 January 1944 as
Panzer Group West, the armoured reserve for
OB WestThe German Army Command in the West The German Army Command in the West The German Army Command in the West (Oberbefehlshaber West (German: initials OB West) was the overall command of the Westheer, the German Armed Forces on the Western Front during World War II. It was directly subordinate to...
. The new army was placed under the command of
Leo Geyr von SchweppenburgLeo Dietrich Franz Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg was a German cavalry officer in World War I and a general during World War II. He was particularly noted for his expertise in armoured warfare and his command of Panzer Group West during the Invasion of Normandy.Geyr was born in Potsdam and joined...
. The method of employment of Panzer Group West in the event of an allied invasion was the subject of much controversy, with OB West commander
Gerd von RundstedtKarl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war...
and
Army Group BArmy Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II.-Battle for France:The first was involved in the Western Campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in Rotterdam...
commander
Erwin RommelErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , was perhaps the most famous German Field Marshal of World War II....
favouring different methods. Rundstedt believed that the panzer group should be held in reserve some distance from the front, to counterattack Allied penetrations. However, Rommel was convinced that Allied airpower and artillery would not allow the Germans the freedom to move large formations, and so insisted that the panzers should be deployed much closer to the frontline. In the event,
HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
refused to allow his commanders to commit the panzer group without his explicit authorisation, and so when the Allied Invasion began on 6 June 1944, Panzer Group West remained immobile. Two days after the invasion, Schweppenburg was wounded in
an air raid on his field headquartersThe Attack on Panzer Group West's headquarters at La Caine in Normandy was a successful airstrike by the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force against the headquarters of Panzer Group West. The raid took place on 10 June 1944 and knocked out German control of its armour...
and was replaced by
Heinrich EberbachHeinrich Eberbach was a German General der Panzertruppen in the German Army of World War II.- World War I :During late 1914 Eberbach fought in France as a corporal, by February 1915 he was promoted to Lieutenant...
.
The panzer group fought against the Allied forces in
NormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the English Channel coast of Northern France between Brittany and Picardy and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands.Normandy is divided between French and British...
, suffering heavy losses and eventually finding many of its divisions trapped in the
Falaise PocketThe battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12–21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
. After the shattered remnants of the panzer group escaped from
FalaiseFalaise is the name of several communes in France:* Falaise, Ardennes,* Falaise, Calvados** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War.* La Falaise, in the Yvelines département* An escarpment in Quebec City...
, it began a retreat towards the German border.
Retreat - Ardennes
In August, the remaining elements of Panzer Group West were reorganized as
Fifth Panzer Army, with a combat formation remaining in action under the title
Panzer Group Eberbach. After a brief period under
Sepp DietrichJosef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German Waffen-SS general, an SS-Oberstgruppenführer, and one of the men closest to Adolf Hitler...
, command of the army passed to
Hasso von ManteuffelHasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II, he was a distinguished general...
. The army saw heavy combat on the German border against Allied forces, the panzer divisions suffering heavily from Allied
ground attack aircraftGround-attack aircraft are military aircraft designed to attack targets on the ground and are often deployed as close air support for, and in proximity to, their own ground forces. The proximity to friendly forces require precision strikes from these aircraft that are not possible with typical...
.
In November, the 5th Panzer Army began forming up in the Ardennes, alongside the newly-formed 6th SS Panzer Army under Dietrich. Both formations took part in the
Battle of the BulgeThe Ardennes Offensive was a major German offensive , launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes Mountains region of Belgium , France and Luxembourg on the Western Front...
, the Fifth Panzer Army suffering heavy losses in battles around
BastogneBastogne is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
and in the armour battles around
CellesCelles is the name of several places*In Belgium:**Celles, Hainaut is a municipality located in the province of Hainaut.**Celles, Houyet is a village in the municipality of Houyet, province of Namur...
and
Dinant||-||-||}Dinant is a Walloon city and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur, Belgium. The Dinant municipality includes the old communes of Anseremme, Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, Dréhance, Falmagne, Falmignoul, Foy-Notre-Dame, Furfooz, Lisogne, Sorinnes, and...
. After the offensive was cancelled, it continued its fighting withdrawal to the German border. In March, it was involved in efforts to eliminate the American bridgehead over the
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
at
RemagenRemagen is a town in Germany in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one hour's drive from Cologne , just south of Bonn, the former West-German capital. It is situated on the River Rhine. There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer...
.
The 5th Panzer Army was encircled and trapped in the
Ruhr PocketThe Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. It was, for all intents and purposes, the final dagger in Nazi Germany's war effort, as more than 300,000 troops were taken prisoner.In March...
, and surrendered on 17 April 1945.
Fifth Panzer Army (North Africa)
- General of Artillery (General der Artillerie) Heinz Ziegler (3 Dec 1942 - 20 Feb 1943)
- Colonel-General (Generaloberst) Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim was a German colonel-general of cavalry who served during World War II.-Life:...
(20 Feb 1943 - 28 Feb 1943)
- General of Panzer Troops (General der Panzertruppen) Gustav von Värst
Gustav Fritz Julius von Vaerst was a German General der Panzertruppe during World War II.Vaerst was born in Meiningen. He married Astor Freiin von Swaine on 30 August 1925 in Theres...
(28 Feb 1943 - 9 May 1943)
Panzer Group West
- General of Panzer Troops Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg
Leo Dietrich Franz Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg was a German cavalry officer in World War I and a general during World War II. He was particularly noted for his expertise in armoured warfare and his command of Panzer Group West during the Invasion of Normandy.Geyr was born in Potsdam and joined...
(? Feb 1944 - 8 June 1944)
- General of Panzer Troops Heinrich Eberbach
Heinrich Eberbach was a German General der Panzertruppen in the German Army of World War II.- World War I :During late 1914 Eberbach fought in France as a corporal, by February 1915 he was promoted to Lieutenant...
(8 June 1944 - 9 Aug 1944)
Fifth Panzer Army (France)
- Heinrich Eberbach (2 July 1944 - 9 Aug 1944)
- SS-Oberstgruppenführer
Oberstgruppenführer was the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler...
Sepp DietrichJosef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German Waffen-SS general, an SS-Oberstgruppenführer, and one of the men closest to Adolf Hitler...
(9 Aug 1944 - 9 Sept 1944)
- General of Panzer Troops Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II, he was a distinguished general...
(9 Sept 1944 - 8 Mar 1945)
- Colonel-General Josef Harpe
Josef Harpe was a German Generaloberst who served during World War I and World War II.Harpe was born in Buer which is near Recklinghausen, Province of Westphalia, and died in Nuremberg, Bavaria.- Military career :...
(8 Mar 1945 - 17 Apr 1945)