7th Army (Germany)
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The 7th Army (German: 7. Armee Oberkommando) was a World War II field army.
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[edit] Origins
The 7th Army was activated on August 25, 1939 with General Friedrich Dollmann in command. The Army was part of Army Group B during the Battle of Normandy. It was commanded by SS Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser, former commander of II SS Panzer Corps.
[edit] Normandy
The 7th Army did most of the fighting during Normandy and its only help was the new 5th Panzer Army (Germany). The 15th Army was stationed at the Pas de Calais for an invasion.
The 7th Army was nearly wiped out in the Falaise Pocket. During Operation Market-Garden, the 7th Army was in the Ardennes on the Belgian-Luxembourg border for Hitler's offensive on the Western Front.
[edit] Battle of the Bulge
During the Battle of the Bulge it consisted of three infantry divisions and one parachute division. Its role was to protect the southern flank of 5th Panzer Army (Germany), but it was decimated again. After Remagen, when the Allies surrounded the Ruhr pocket, the 7th Army surrendered to the US First Army.
[edit] Commanders
- General Friedrich Dollmann (August 25, 1939 - June 28, 1944)
- Waffen SS General Paul Hausser (June 29, 1944 - August 20, 1944)
- General Heinrich Eberbach (August 21, 1944 - September 2, 1944)
- General Erich Brandenberger (September 3, 1944 - February 21, 1945)
- General Hans Felber (February 22, 1945 - March 25, 1945)
- General Hans von Obstfelder (March 26, 1945 - May 4, 1945)
