Army Group C

Army Group C (German: Heeresgruppe C) was an army group of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. In its first deployment between 1939 and 1941, its main assignment was the defense of the Franco-German border during the Phony War and the Western Campaign, after which it was moved to East Prussia to become Army Group North. When Army Group C was recreated from 1943 to 1945, it was used to coordinate German forces on the Italian front.

History

1939–1941

Army Group C was first formed in Frankfurt on 26 August 1939, from Army Group Command 2 (itself formed on 1 October 1919 as Reichswehrgruppenkommando) in Frankfurt/Main. The only commander of the army group throughout its first tenure of service was Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb,¹ who had been reactivated from retirement upon the outbreak of the war.²

Between September 1939 and June 1940, Army Group C was deployed to the country's western frontier (mainly to the Franco-German border) to guard the German rear during the Invasion of Poland and Unternehmen Weserübung by other parts of the German armed forces. In preparation of the Battle of France, Army Group A and Army Group B were deployed along the north and center of Germany's western border, leaving Army Group C in control of the Upper Rhine and Palatinate regions. Its principal formation during the Phony War (September 1939 – May 1940) were the 1st Army and 7th Army.¹ Both French and German forces remained largely dormant during the period of September 1939 to May 1940; a small-scale French offensive () was answered by the Germans with a disciplined withdrawal into their border fortifications () and resulted in the French occupation of around 20 German villages without major combat casualties on either sides. The French side, once faced with the more formidable German static defenses along the Siegfried Line, failed to follow up on their offensive in any meaningful way, causing a prolonged lull in combat along the frontline.