The III Armeekorps was formed from the staff of the 3. Division of the Reichswehr. It took part in the invasions of Poland, Belgium and France. It was upgraded to a motorized corps, III Armeekorps (Mot.), in March 1941 and was redesignated III Panzerkorps 21 June 1942.

Commanders

General der Infanterie Erwin von Witzleben (01 Oct 1935 - 09 Nov 1938)
Generaloberst Curt Haase (10 Nov 1938 - 13 Nov 1940)
General der Infanterie Kurt von Greiff (13 Nov 1940 - 15 Jan 1941) m.d.F.b.
General der Kavallerie Eberhard von Mackensen (15 Jan 1941 - 20 Jun 1942)

Area of operations

Poland (Sep 1939 - May 1940)
France (May 1940 - June 1941)
Eastern front, southern sector (June 1941 - June 1942)

Adolf Hitler, General der Infanterie Erwin von Witzleben and SS-Obergruppenführer Joseph Dietrich during the Olympic Games in Berlin 1936

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Sources used

Microfilm Publication A-3356, German Officer Personnel files, NARA
Dermot Bradley, Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp - Die Generale des Heeres 1921-1945
François de Lannoy & Josef Charita - Panzertruppen: German armored troops 1935-1945
Wolf Keilig - Die Generale des Heeres
Andris Kursietis - Die Wehrmacht at War 1939-1945
French MacLean - The Unknown Generals, German Corps Commanders of WWII
Kurt Mehner - Die Deutsche Wehrmacht 1939-1945: Führung und Truppe
Friedrich Wilhelm Von Mellenthin - German Generals of WWII
Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr - The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945
Günter Wegmann & Christian Zweng - Formationsgeschichte u. Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Streitkräfte, 1815 - 1990, Teile IV, Abt. 1:  Die Dienststellen, Kommandobehörden u. Truppenteile des Heeres, Oct.35 - May.45

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -