The Armeeabteilung Lanz was formed on 1 February 1943 from the staff of the German General Staff of the Italian 8a Armata or Armata Italiana in Russia (A.R.M.I.R.) and scattered units on the southern half of the Heeresgruppe B front. The unit was tasked with protecting Kharkov and the northern flank of Heeresgruppe Don. Ordered by Hitler to stem the Soviet advance, General der Gebirgstruppe Lanz counterattacked on 11 February 1943 with the SS-Panzerkorps. Forced back to Kharkov, SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser disregarded Lanz’s orders to hold fast and evacuated his SS-Panzerkorps from the city. Enraged by the loss of Kharkov, Hitler relieved Lanz on 20 February 1943 and replaced him with General der Panzertruppe Werner Kempf. The unit was redesignated Armeeabteilung Kempf on 21 February 1943.

Commanders

General der Gebirgstruppe Hubert Lanz (1 Feb 1943 - 20 Feb 1943)

Chiefs of Staff

Generalmajor Dr. phil. Hans Speidel (5 Feb 1943 - 20 Feb 1943)

Area of operations

Eastern front, southern sector (Feb 1943)

Sources used

Research by Shawn Bohannon
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945
Earl F. Ziemke - Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -