Flak Corps

Flak corps did not exist before World War II. Until the end of war Germany eventually organized a total of six flak corps, being numbered one through six in Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, VI), plus one short-lived special flak corps. ImageSize = width:580 height:220 PlotArea = width:465 height:160 left:35 bottom:20 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy # European date format Period = from:01/01/1939 till:08/05/1945 # TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1939 ScaleMinor = grid:blue unit:month increment:3 start:01/09/1939 PlotData= color:red width:15 bar:1FC from:03/10/1939 till:01/03/1941 text:I Flak Corps bar:1FC from:01/04/1941 till:08/05/1945 text:I Flak Corps color:orange width:15 bar:2FC from:03/10/1939 till:01/04/1942 text:II Flak Corps bar:2FC from:01/10/1943 till:08/05/1945 text:II Flak Corps color:yellow width:15 bar:3FC from:22/02/1944 till:20/04/1945 text:III Flak Corps color:green width:15 bar:4FC from:01/06/1944 till:10/06/1944 bar:4FC from:01/09/1944 till:08/05/1945 text:IV Flak Corps color:blue width:15 bar:5FC from:15/11/1944 till:07/05/1945 text:V Flak Corps color:purple width:15 bar:6FC from:10/02/1945 till:04/05/1945 text:VI Flak Corps color:pink width:15 bar:ZBV from:02/04/1945 till:08/05/1945 text:Flak Corps z.b.V. I Flak Corps I Flak Corps was formed twice, once in 1939 and once in 1941. The initial formation was assembled in October 1939 in Berlin from the staff of Luftgaukommando III. It was used in the Battle of France in support of Army Group A. On 16 August 1940, it consisted of the Flak Regiments 101, 102, and 104, as well as a heavy detachment, an air signals regiment and a resupply staff. On 1 June 1940, I Flak Corps was split into two brigades of two regiments each (after the addition of Flak Regiment 103), with 1st Flak Brigade receiving the Flak Regiments 102 and 103, and 2nd Flak Brigade receiving the Flak Regiments 101 and 104. In March 1941, I Flak Corps was used to form the staff "Luftwaffenbefehlshaber Mitte". I Flak Corps was quickly reformed on 1 April 1941 in Berlin, using the staff of 1st Flak Brigade. By 6 June, it was in Warsaw. In Operation Barbarossa, it was used in Army Group Center with Panzer Group 2 and provided fire support using its Flak Regiments 101 and 104. In October 1944, I Flak Corps was positioned at Kraków with Army Group A. At the end of the war, it was in Schweidnitz under Army Group Center. In April 1942, the corps staff was dissolved and used for the formation of 18th Flak Division. Flak Corps z.b.V. The Flak Corps z.b.V. was formed on 2 April 1945 from the Luftgau-Kommando VI staff, initially formed on 12 October 1937. Luftgau VI was dissolved in early April 1945 after it had passed the 4th Flak Division to VI Flak Corps and 7th Flak Division to III Flak Corps. Its staff was used to form a reserve staff for a flak corps. == Organization ==

Flak corps were large organizations of pre-existing AA units (regiments, brigades, and divisions) rather than being formed as new units from scratch. In 1943 Allied intelligence noted: The Flak Corps is a wartime organization, and constitutes an operational reserve of the commander in chief of the German Air Force. It combines great mobility with heavy fire power. It can be employed in conjunction with spearheads composed of armored and motorized forces, and with nonmotorized troops in forcing river crossings and attacking fortified positions. It can also be deployed as highly mobile artillery to support tank attacks. Flak corps did not include the majority of the Germany's flak force. Even considering only the ''Luftwaffe's flak units dedicated to direct support of Wehrmacht'' ground troops, most of them were not subordinated to flak corps. Flak corps were either partially motorized or fully motorized, depending on the degree of motorization of their subordinate units. ==Assessment==

Although the AA guns of all nations in World War II could be used against ground targets, Germany in particular used AA guns in multiple roles. The need for command and control of these assets led to the organization of larger units, culminating with the organization of flak corps. Although the Soviets also organized large air defense units, they were typically not used against ground targets. The flak corps above all provided additional antitank support for the German ground forces. In some cases, such as at Cagny in Normandy, these units achieved significant success against attacking Allied armored vehicles. The use of flak corps as ground warfare assets was complicated because they were part of the air force (Luftwaffe) chain of command even when supporting ground forces (either Heer or Waffen SS). Given the expense of producing AA guns – in relation to the cost of antitank guns of the same capabilities – it is questionable if their use as antitank weapons was economical. As an organizational form, massed AA-gun formations represented a dead-end as large-caliber AA guns were phased out of military service in the 1950s and replaced by surface to air missiles. == See also ==