6th Army (Wehrmacht)
German field army (1939–1945) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 6th Army (German: 6. Armee) was a field army of the German Army during World War II. It was the most highly decorated German Army unit until its surrender to the Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad on 2 February 1943. It committed war crimes at Babi Yar while under the command of Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau during Operation Barbarossa.
6th Army | |
---|---|
German: 6. Armee | |
Active | 10 October 1939 – 2 February 1943 5 March 1943 – 9 May 1945 |
Country | Germany |
Branch | German Army (Heer) |
Type | Field army |
Size | Battle of Stalingrad 1942/43: 360,000[1] –124,000 (18 December 1942–February 1943 March 11,000 soldiers )[2] 9 October 1943 (Battle of the Dnieper): 217,857[3] 1 February 1944 (Nikopol-Krivoy Rog offensive) 260,000[4] 1 March 1944 (Dnieper-Carpathian offensive): 286,297[5] 1 April 1944 (Odessa Offensive): 188,551[6] |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Walther von Reichenau Friedrich Paulus Maximilian Fretter-Pico |
The 6th Army was reformed in March 1943, and participated in fighting in Ukraine and later Romania, before being almost completely destroyed in the Second Jassy-Kishinev Offensive in August 1944. Following this it would fight in Hungary, attempting to relieve Budapest, and subsequently retreating into Austria in the Spring of 1945. 6th Army surrendered to US Army forces on 9 May 1945.