Army Group North

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Army Group North (Heeresgruppe Nord in German) was a high level command grouping of military units operating for Germany during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached army corps, reserve formations, and direct-reporting units.

[edit] History

The first employment of Army Group Nord was in the Invasion of Poland of 1939, where it controlled the Third Army, Fourth Army, and a reserve of four infantry divisions (the 10th, 73rd, 206th, and 208th). The army group was commanded by Fedor von Bock for the operation.

Germany used three army groups to invade the Soviet Union in 1941 (World War II, Operation Barbarossa): Army Group North, commanded by Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Army Group Center, under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, and Army Group South, under Field Marshal Karl von Rundstedt.

The aims of Army Group North in 1941 were to conquer the Baltic states and Leningrad. It achieved the first aim but failed to take the second. However, the German forces succeeded in besieging Leningrad until 1944, when the city was liberated by Soviet forces.

On the 25 January 1945 Hitler renamed three army groups. Army Group North became Army Group Courland, more appropriate as it had been cut off from the other German armies and was trapped in Courland, Latvia; Army Group Centre became Army Group North and Army Group A became Army Group Centre.