III Corps was a corps level formation of the German Army during World War II.
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The III Corps was formed in October 1934 as III. Armeekorps. The corps took part in Fall Weiss, the 1939 invasion of Poland as a part of Heeresgruppe Nord. It then took part in Fall Gelb as a part of Heeresgruppe A, participating in the assault through the Ardennes. In March 1941, the corps was upgraded to a motorised corps status and redesignated III Armeekorps (mot).
Operation Barbarossa saw III Armeekorps (mot) attached to Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Süd. The corps fought during the campaigns throughout the Ukraine and took part in the battles of Kiev, Rostov, Kharkov and the Uman Salient. In June 1942, the corps was again upgraded and redesignated.
III Panzerkorps was formed in June 1942 from III. Armeekorps. The Panzerkorps was now attached to Heeresgruppe A, the formation tasked with capturing the Caucasus as a part of Fall Blau. After the disaster at Stalingrad, III Panzerkorps took part in the battles around Kharkov as part of Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein's Heeresgruppe Don.
The Corps was attached to Generaloberst Hermann Hoth's 4.Panzerarmee in Operation Citadel, and was heavily involved in the fighting withdrawal from Belgorod to the Dniepr. At the beginning of 1944, the corps was involved in the relief of the forces trapped in the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. In March, the corps, along with the rest of Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube's 1.Panzerarmee was trapped in the Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket, and was heavily involved in the breakout and escape.
Due to heavy losses, from November 1944 to January 1945, the corps was redesignated as Gruppe Breith (after its commander, General der Panzertruppen Hermann Breith).
The end of the year found III Panzerkorps involved in Operation Konrad, the failed attempts to lift the siege of Budapest. The corps then took part in Operation Spring Awakening in Hungary. After the failure of the operation, the corps again effected a fighting withdrawal through Austria, surrendering to the Americans on 8 May 1945.
"III. Armeekorps". Lexikon der Wehrmacht. http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Korps/IIIKorps-R.htm. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
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