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{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Army Group North
|image=File:Insigne Heeresgruppe Nord.jpg
| native_name = {{langx|de|Heeresgruppe Nord}}
| dates = 2 September 1939 – 10 October 1939 20 June 1941 – 25 January 1945 25 January – May 1945
| country = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| branch = [[File:Heer - decal for helmet 1942.svg|16px]] [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Heer]] ([[File:Balkenkreuz.svg|16px]] [[Wehrmacht]])
| size = 10 September 1943: 919,520 in total<ref>Obkdo. d. H. Gr. Nord IVa, Az. 62 g. Kdos. Nr. 2095/43 g. Kdos. Verpflegungsstärke nach dem Stand vom 10.9.43. Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv (BA-MA) RH 19 III/648, fol. 105.</ref>
| notable_commanders = {{plainlist|
* [[Fedor von Bock]]
* [[Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb]]
* [[Georg von Küchler]]
* [[Walter Model]]
* [[Georg Lindemann]]
* [[Johannes Frießner]]
* [[Ferdinand Schörner]]
* [[Lothar Rendulic]]
* [[Walter Weiß]]}}
}} {{confuse|Army Group North Ukraine}}


'''Army Group North''' ({{langx|de|Heeresgruppe Nord}}) was the name of three separate army groups of the [[Wehrmacht]] during [[World War II]]. Its rear area operations were organized by the [[Army Group North Rear Area]].

The first Army Group North was deployed during the [[invasion of Poland]] and subsequently renamed [[Army Group B]]. The second Army Group North was created on 22 June 1941 from the former [[Army Group C]] and used in the northern sector of the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] from 1941 to January 1945. By then, this second Army Group North had gotten trapped in the [[Courland Pocket]] and was accordingly redesignated [[Army Group Courland]]. On the same day, the former [[Army Group Centre|Army Group Center]], which was now defending the northernmost sector of the contiguous Eastern Front, was renamed Army Group North, assuming the status of the third and final iteration of the army group.
{{TOC limit}}

== First deployment of Army Group North: September – October 1939 ==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1977-120-11, Fedor von Bock.jpg|thumb|[[Fedor von Bock]], commander of Army Group North in September 1939]]
The staff of Army Group North was formally assembled on 2 September 1939 from the headquarters of [[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|2nd Army]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Tessin |first=Georg |title=Die Landstreitkräfte: Namensverbände – Die Luftstreitkräfte (Fliegende Verbände) – Flakeinsatz im Reich 1943–1945 |publisher=Verlag E. S. Mittler |year=1980 |isbn=3764811110 |series=Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 |volume=14 |location=Osnabrück |pages=166 |language=de |chapter=Heeresgruppe Nord (1939)}}</ref> which in turn had been activated just a few days prior, on 26 August.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tessin |first=Georg |title=Die Landstreitkräfte 001–005 |publisher=Verlag E. S. Mittler |year=1966 |isbn=3764808713 |series=Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 |volume=2 |location=Frankfurt/Main |pages=83 |language=de |chapter=2. Armee (AOK 2)}}</ref> [[Fedor von Bock]], commanding general of 2nd Army, became the first commanding general of Army Group North.<ref name=":0" />

During the [[Invasion of Poland]], Army Group North had two armies placed under its supervision: [[3rd Army (Wehrmacht)|3rd Army]] ([[Georg von Küchler]]) and [[4th Army (Wehrmacht)|4th Army]] ([[Günther von Kluge]]). Additionally, it held four divisions as part of its army group reserves: [[10th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|10th Panzer Division]], [[73rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|73rd Infantry Division]], [[206th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|206th Infantry Division]] and [[208th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|208th Infantry Division]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Zaloga |first=Steven J. |title=Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2002 |isbn=1841764086 |pages=35 |chapter=German Army Order of Battle, 1 September 1939}}</ref>

On the morning of 1 September 1939, 3rd Army began its advance from [[East Prussia]] southwards towards central Poland, whereas 4th Army attacked from [[Pomerania]] into the [[Polish Corridor|Danzig Corridor]].

Important battles by the 3rd Army during the Polish campaign included the [[Battle of Grudziądz]], the [[Battle of Mława]], the [[Battle of Różan]], the [[Battle of Łomża (1939)|Battle of Łomża]], the [[Battle of Wizna]] and the [[Battle of Brześć Litewski]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Tessin |first=Georg |title=Die Landstreitkräfte 001–005 |publisher=Verlag E. S. Mittler |year=1966 |isbn=3764808713 |series=Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 |volume=2 |location=Frankfurt/Main |pages=153f |language=de |chapter=3. Armee (AOK 3)}}</ref> Important battles of the 4th Army included the [[Battle of Tuchola Forest]], the [[Battle of Westerplatte]], the [[Battle of Hel]] and the [[Battle of Gdynia]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Tessin |first=Georg |title=Die Landstreitkräfte 001–005 |publisher=Verlag E. S. Mittler |year=1966 |isbn=3764808713 |series=Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 |volume=2 |location=Frankfurt/Main |pages=219–225 |language=de |chapter=4. Armee (AOK 4)}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Order of battle, 1 September 1939<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
!Army Group
!Army
!Corps
!Division
|-
| rowspan="27" |'''Army Group North''' (Fedor von Bock)
| rowspan="11" |[[3rd Army (Wehrmacht)|3rd Army]] ([[Georg von Küchler]])
| rowspan="2" |[[XXI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XXI Army Corps]] ([[Nikolaus von Falkenhorst]])
|[[228th Infantry Division]] ([[Hans Suttner]])
|-
|[[21st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|21st Infantry Division]] ([[Kuno-Hans von Both]])
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[I Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|I Army Corps]] ([[Walter Petzel]])
|[[11th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|11th Infantry Division]] ([[Max Bock (general)|Max Bock]])
|-
|[[61st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|61st Infantry Division]] ([[Siegfried Haenicke]])
|-
|[[Panzer Division Kempf]] ([[Werner Kempf]])
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[XXVI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|Corps Wodrig]] ([[Albert Wodrig]])
|[[1st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|1st Infantry Division]] ([[Joachim von Kortzfleisch]])
|-
|[[12th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|12th Infantry Division]] ([[Ludwig von der Leyen]])
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Corps Brand|Group Brand]] ([[Fritz Brand (general)|Fritz Brand]])
|[[Lötzen Infantry Brigade (Wehrmacht)|Lötzen Infantry Brigade]] ([[Otto-Ernst Ottenbacher]])
|-
|[[Goldap Infantry Brigade (Wehrmacht)|Goldap Infantry Brigade]] (Notle)
|-
| rowspan="2" |''Army reserves''
|[[217th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|217th Infantry Division]] ([[Richard Baltzer]])
|-
|Grenzschutz-Abschnittskommando 15
|-
| rowspan="12" |[[4th Army (Wehrmacht)|4th Army]] ([[Günther von Kluge]])
| rowspan="3" |[[XIX Army Corps]] ([[Heinz Guderian]])
|[[2nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|2nd Infantry Division]] ([[Paul Bader]])
|-
|[[20th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|20th Infantry Division]] ([[Mauritz von Wiktorin]])
|-
|[[3rd Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|3rd Panzer Division]] ([[Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg]])
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[II Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|II Army Corps]] ([[Adolf Strauss (general)|Adolf Strauß]])
|[[3rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|3rd Infantry Division]] ([[Walter Lichel]])
|-
|[[32nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|32nd Infantry Division]] ([[Franz Böhme]])
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[III Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|III Army Corps]] ([[Curt Haase]])
|[[50th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|50th Infantry Division]] ([[Konrad Sorsche]])
|-
|[[Brigade Netze]]
|-
| rowspan="3" |''Associated border guards''
|Grenzschutz-Abschnittskommando 1
|-
|Grenzschutz-Abschnittskommando 2
|-
|Grenzschutz-Abschnittskommando 12
|-
| rowspan="2" |''Army reserves''
|[[23rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|23rd Infantry Division]] ([[Walter von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt|Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt]])
|-
|[[218th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|218th Infantry Division]] ([[Woldemar Freiherr von Grote]])
|-
| colspan="2" rowspan="4" |''Army Group reserves''
|[[10th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|10th Panzer Division]] ([[Ferdinand Schaal]])
|-
|[[73rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|73rd Infantry Division]] ([[Friedrich von Rabenau]])
|-
|[[206th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|206th Infantry Division]] ([[Hugo Höfl]])
|-
|[[208th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|208th Infantry Division]] ([[Moritz Andreas]])
|}

== Second deployment of Army Group North: June 1941 – January 1945 ==

=== Invasion of the Soviet Union ===

In preparation for [[Operation Barbarossa]], Army Group North was reformed from Army Group C on 22 June 1941. Army Group North was commanded by Field Marshal [[Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Kirchubel|first=Robert|title=Operation Barbarossa 1941 (2): Army Group North|year=2012|publisher=Osprey|page=18|isbn=9781782004264|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BFICi1RBEWMC&q=german+%22army+group+north%22&pg=PA18}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and staged in [[East Prussia]]. Its strategic goal was [[Leningrad]], with operational objectives being the territories of the [[Baltic republics]] and securing the northern [[Flanking maneuver|flank]] of [[Army Group Centre]] in [[Northern Russia]] between [[Western Dvina River]] and [[Daugavpils]]-[[Kholm, Russia|Kholm]] Army Group boundary. On commencement of the Wehrmacht's [[Baltic offensive operation (Wehrmacht)|Baltic offensive operation]] the army group deployed into Lithuania and northern Belorussia. It served mainly in Baltic territories and north Russia until 1944. Commander in Chief 22 June 1941: [[Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb]].

Its subordinate armies were deployed with the following immediate objectives:
* [[18th Army (Wehrmacht)|18th Army]] - from Koenigsberg to Ventspils - Jelgava
* [[4th Panzer Group]] - Pskov
* [[16th Army (Wehrmacht)|16th Army]] - Kaunas, Daugavpils
* Army Group troops
** Army-Group signals regiment 537
** Army-Group signals regiment 639 (2nd echelon)

==== The Baltic offensive operation ====
All operational objectives such as [[Evacuation of Tallinn (1941)|Tallinn]] were achieved despite stubborn Red Army resistance and several unsuccessful [[counter-offensive]]s such as the [[Battle of Raseiniai]], and the army group approached Leningrad, commencing the [[Siege of Leningrad]]. However, while the Baltic states were overrun, the [[Siege of Leningrad]] continued until 1944, when it was lifted as a result of the Red Army [[Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive operation]].

In September 1941, the Spanish [[Blue Division]] was assigned to Army Group North.

==== Northern Russia offensive operation ====
Composition: 
October 1941
* 16th Army
* 18th Army

[[Nevsky Pyatachok]] 
[[Operation Nordlicht (1942)|Operation Nordlicht]]

=== Northern Russia defensive campaign ===
Commander in Chief 17 January 1942: GFM [[Georg von Küchler]]

Composition: 
September 1942
* 11th Army
* 16th Army
* 18th Army

December 1942
* 16th Army
* 18th Army

[[Demyansk Pocket]] 
[[Kholm Pocket]] 
Soviet [[Toropets-Kholm Operation]] 
[[Battle of Velikiye Luki]] 
[[Battle of Krasny Bor]]

=== Baltic defensive campaign ===
Commander in Chief 9 January 1944: Field marshal [[Walter Model]] 
Commander in Chief 31 March 1944: Generaloberst [[Georg Lindemann]] 
Commander in Chief 4 July 1944: Generaloberst [[Johannes Frießner]] 
Commander in Chief 23 July 1944: GFM [[Ferdinand Schörner]]

March 1944
* [[Battle of Narva (1944)#Formation of Army Detachment "Narwa"|Army detachment "Narwa"]]
* 16th Army
* 18th Army
[[Battle of Narva (1944)|Battle of Narva]], consisting of:
# [[Battle for Narva Bridgehead]] and
# [[Battle of Tannenberg Line]]
[[Combat in South Estonia, 1944]] 
Soviet [[Baltic Offensive]] 
[[Battle of Porkuni]] 
[[Battle of Vilnius (1944)]] 
[[Battle of Memel]]

After becoming trapped in the [[Courland Pocket|Courland Cauldron]] after 25 January 1945, the Army Group was renamed [[Army Group Courland]]. On the same day, in East Prussia, a new Army Group North was created by renaming Army Group Center. On the 2 April 1945, the army group was dissolved, and the staff formed the [[12th Army (Wehrmacht)|12th Army]] headquarters.

=== Campaign in East Prussia ===
Army Group North (old Army Group Centre), was driven into an ever [[Battle of Königsberg|smaller pocket around Königsberg]] in [[East Prussia]]. On April 9, 1945 Königsberg finally fell to the Red Army, although remnants of Army Group units continued to resist on the [[Mamonovo|Heiligenbeil]] & [[Gdańsk|Danzig]] beachheads until the end of the war in Europe.

October 1944
* 16th Army
* [[Armee-Abteilung Grasser]]
* 18th Army

November 1944
* 16th Army
* [[Armee-Abteilung Kleffel]]
* 18 Armee

December 1944
* 16th Army
* 18th Army

Soviet [[East Prussian Offensive]] 
[[Battle of Königsberg]] 
[[Heiligenbeil pocket]]

=== Campaign in West Prussia ===
Commander in Chief 27 January 1945: Generaloberst [[Lothar Rendulic|Dr. Lothar Rendulic]] 
Commander in Chief 12 March 1945: [[Walter Weiß]] 
Composition: 
February 1945
* [[Armee-Abteilung Samland]]
* [[4th Army (Wehrmacht)|4th Army]]

Soviet [[East Pomeranian Offensive]] 
[[Battle of Kolberg (1945)|Battle of Kolberg]] 
[[Courland Pocket]] On the 25 January 1945 Hitler renamed three army groups. Army Group North became [[Army Group Courland]], more appropriate as it had been isolated from Army Group Centre and was trapped in Courland, Latvia; [[Army Group Centre]] became Army Group North and [[Army Group A]] became Army Group Centre.

Between January and February 1945, Army Group North sustained 213,000 casualties, including 30,000 dead, 126,000 wounded, and 57,000 missing.<ref name="Lakowski 20082">{{Cite book |last=Lakowski, Richard |title=Die Militärische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht |publisher=Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt |year=2008 |isbn=9783421062376 |editor-last=Müller, Rolf-Dieter |series=Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg |volume=10/1 |location=München |pages=491–681 |language=de |chapter=Der Zusammenbruch der deutschen Verteidigung zwischen Ostsee und Karpaten}}</ref>{{Rp|page=559}}

==Commanders==
{{Officeholder table start
| showorder = y
| showimage = y
| officeholder_title = Commander
| showtermlenght = y
| showparty = n
| showdefencebranch = n
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 1
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1977-120-11, Fedor von Bock.jpg
| military_rank = ''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]''
| officeholder = [[Fedor von Bock]]
| officeholder_sort = Bock, Fedor
| born_year = 1880
| died_year = 1945
| term_start = 27 August 1939
| term_end = 20 June 1941
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1939|08|27|1941|06|20}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 2
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L08126, Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb.jpg
| military_rank = ''Generalfeldmarschall''
| officeholder = [[Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb]]
| officeholder_sort = Leeb, Wilhelm
| born_year = 1876
| died_year = 1956
| term_start = 20 June 1941
| term_end = 17 January 1942
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1941|06|20|1942|01|17}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 3
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R63872, Georg von Küchler.jpg
| military_rank = ''Generalfeldmarschall''
| officeholder = [[Georg von Küchler]]
| officeholder_sort = Küchler, Georg
| born_year = 1881
| died_year = 1968
| term_start = 17 January 1942
| term_end = 9 January 1944
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1942|01|17|1944|01|09}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 4
| image = Walther Model on the front.jpg
| military_rank = ''Generalfeldmarschall''
| officeholder = [[Walter Model]]
| officeholder_sort = Model, Walter
| born_year = 1891
| died_year = 1945
| term_start = 9 January 1944
| term_end = 31 March 1944
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1944|01|09|1944|03|31}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 5
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L08017, Georg Lindemann.jpg
| military_rank = ''[[Generaloberst]]''
| officeholder = [[Georg Lindemann]]
| officeholder_sort = Lindemann, Georg
| born_year = 1884
| died_year = 1963
| term_start = 31 March 1944
| term_end = 4 July 1944
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1944|03|31|1944|07|04}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 6
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1984-018-27A, Johannes Friessner.jpg
| military_rank = ''Generaloberst''
| officeholder = [[Johannes Frießner]]
| officeholder_sort = Frießner, Johannes
| born_year = 1892
| died_year = 1971
| term_start = 4 July 1944
| term_end = 23 July 1944
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1944|07|04|1944|07|23}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 7
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L29176, Ferdinand Schörner.jpg
| military_rank = ''Generalfeldmarschall''
| officeholder = [[Ferdinand Schörner]]
| officeholder_sort = Schörner, Ferdinand
| born_year = 1892
| died_year = 1973
| term_start = 23 July 1944
| term_end = 27 January 1945
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1944|07|23|1945|01|27}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 8
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1995-027-32A, Lothar Rendulic.jpg
| military_rank = ''Generaloberst''
| officeholder = [[Lothar Rendulic]]
| officeholder_sort = Rendulic, Lothar
| born_year = 1887
| died_year = 1971
| term_start = 27 January 1945
| term_end = 12 March 1945
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1945|01|27|1945|03|12}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 9
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-088-3724-06A, Russland, Generale vor Holzhaus (cropped).jpg
| military_rank = ''Generaloberst''
| officeholder = [[Walter Weiß]]
| officeholder_sort = Weiß, Walter
| born_year = 1890
| died_year = 1967
| term_start = 12 March 1945
| term_end = 2 April 1945
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1945|03|12|1945|04|02}}
}}
{{Officeholder table end}}

== See also ==
* [[Army Group South]]
* [[Army Group Centre]]
* [[German order of battle for Operation Fall Weiss]]
* [[Police Regiment North]]

== Notes and references ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book
| last1 = Frieser
| first1 = Karl-Heinz
| author-link1 = Karl-Heinz Frieser
| first2 =Klaus
| last2 = Schmider
| first3 =Klaus
| last3 = Schönherr
| first4 = Gerhard
| last4 = Schreiber
| first5 = Kristián
| last5 = Ungváry
| author-link5 = Krisztián Ungváry
| first6 =Bernd
| last6=Wegner
| authorlink6 = Bernd Wegner
| volume = VIII
| title = Die Ostfront 1943/44 – Der Krieg im Osten und an den Nebenfronten
| trans-title = The Eastern Front 1943–1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts
| publisher = Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt
| location = München
| year = 2007
| isbn = 978-3-421-06235-2
| language = German
}}
*{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/OspreyCampaign148OperationBarbarossa19412ospreyCa/osprey%20-%20campaign%20148%20operation_barbarossa_1941__2%5Bosprey%20ca/|title=Operation Barbarossa 1941 (2)|publisher=Osprey Publishing|first=Robert|last=Kirchubel|year=2005}}

{{Army Groups Germany}}
{{Army Group Rear Area (Wehrmacht)}}

[[Category:Army groups of the German Army in World War II|North]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1939]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945]]

Army Group North - Revision history

imported>Rakoon: /* Bibliography */