The detachment was formed on 1 February 1943 as
Armee-Abteilung Lanz, led by
Hubert Lanz. On 21 February 1943 Lanz was replaced by
Werner Kempf and the detachment was renamed to reflect this change. In February–March that year, The detachment fought in the
Third Battle of Kharkov. The detachment took part in the
Battle of Kursk. Beginning on the night of 4/5 July 1943, the
III Panzer Corps, the detachment's primary attack formation, spearheaded the thrust east of Belgorod. After the failure of the operation, Army Detachment Kempf retreated with the rest of
Army Group South. Kempf was relieved of command on 17 August 1943. He was replaced by
Otto Wöhler on August 16 and the detachment was designated as the
8th Army. The order of battle for Operation Citadel was: • III Panzer Corps:
6th,
7th, &
19th Panzer Divisions,
168th Infantry Division • XI Army Corps:
106th,
198th,
320th Infantry Divisions • XLII Army Corps:
39th,
161st,
282nd Infantry Divisions ==Commander==