1942–1943 The II SS Panzer Corps was formed to take command of
SS Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler",
SS Division "Das Reich", and
SS Division "Totenkopf" in July 1942 as the SS Panzer Corps. In August, it was sent to northern France before taking part in
Case Anton, the occupation of
Vichy France in November, during which it captured
Toulon. In early February 1943, the corps, under the command of SS-
Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser, was attached to
Army Group South in Ukraine and participated in the
Third Battle of Kharkov. The corps was renamed II SS Panzer Corps in June 1943, after the
I SS Panzer Corps was created during that same month. In July 1943, the corps took part in the failed
Operation Citadel, spearheading the
4th Panzer Army's attack in the southern sector. The corps' three SS divisions were involved in the
Battle of Prokhorovka at the edge of the German penetration into the salient. After the operation was cancelled in light of its failure, the corps was ordered to the
Italian front in August. Only one division, the
Leibstandarte ended up being transferred along with the corps personnel, taking part in operations to disarm Italian troops. The remaining combat divisions remained on the Eastern Front to deal with the developing threats from the Soviet
Belgorod–Kharkov offensive operation. Between 20 September and 20 of November 1943 the corps conducted operations against
Yugoslav Partisans in order to establish a connection with
Army Group F in the
Balkans and to secure communications east and northwards from
Trieste and
Rijeka. In these operations, according to the corps headquarters' medical department, the corps suffered total losses of 936 men. According to Croat authors, in the first phase against partisans on the
Istrian peninsula (
Unternehmen Istrien), some 2000 partisans and 2000 civilians were killed by German forces, and additional 1200 were arrested, with some 400 transported to concentration camps. In November 1943,
Leibstandarte returned to the Soviet Union, with the corps remaining in
Slovenia, Istria, and Northern Italy.
1944–1945 In January 1944, the corps was ordered to the
Alençon area of France to refit. In March 1944, during the Soviet
Dnieper–Carpathian offensive in Ukraine, the entire
1st Panzer Army, numbering over 200,000 personnel, was encircled by the Red Army in the
Kamenets–Podolsky pocket. This encirclement was the largest catastrophe facing the
Wehrmacht since the
Battle of Stalingrad, which would precipitate the collapse of the entire southern sector of the Eastern Front. Faced with a prospect of a new Stalingrad before the Allied invasion of France would even begin,
Adolf Hitler was forced to yield to
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein's demands for powerful reinforcements that would de-blockade the 1st Panzer Army. As reinforcements, he provided the entire II SS Panzer Corps (with the
9th and
10th SS Panzer Divisions) from France in April 1944, as well as divisions from the
Balkan Theatre of Operations. Called the "Hausser Attack Group", they were commanded by Hausser himself. This was the first major transfer of forces from France to the East since the creation of the
Führer Directive 51, which no longer allowed any transfers from the West to the East. It played the main role in de-blockading the encircled 1st Panzer Army in the Kamenets–Podolsky pocket. After rescuing the better part of the 1st Panzer Army, the corps then participated in the attempts to de-blockade the trapped German garrison of the 4th Panzer Army in the town of
Tarnopol, which was declared to be a fortress (
Festung) by Hitler. However, the
Red Army had prepared defences there and the relief operation ultimately failed. After this, the corps was moved into the reserve of the newly created
Army Group North Ukraine. In mid-June 1944, the corps was ordered back west to take part in the
Battle of Normandy, arriving to the invasion front in late June 1944. The corps was involved in heavy fighting against the British
21st Army Group in the
Battle for Caen. During this period, SS-
Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich was placed in command of the corps. In August 1944, the corps participated in the battles in and around the
Falaise pocket. The corps then retreated across France. On 17 September 1944, the
Allies launched
Operation Market Garden, an airborne offensive aimed at capturing the Rhine bridge at
Arnhem. The corps was involved in fighting against the British
1st Airborne Division in the
Battle of Arnhem and also against the U.S.
82nd Airborne Division and the British
XXX Corps in
Nijmegen. The corps suffered heavy losses in the
ensuing counteroffensive in early October against the Allied salient on the island. In preparation for the
Ardennes Offensive, the corps was placed in reserve of the
6th Panzer Army and committed on 21 December 1944 near
St. Vith. After the northern assault stalled, the corps was transferred south to take part in the attack on
Bastogne. The corps' divisions suffered heavy losses in the battles against the U.S. 82nd and
101st Airborne Divisions. After the operation's failure, the corps returned to the defensive, seeing action against U.S. forces in the
Eifel region. In February 1945, the corps was ordered to
Hungary to take part in an offensive to recapture
Budapest and the Hungarian oilfields. The corps took part in
Operation Spring Awakening, launched near
Lake Balaton on 6 March 1945. After the failure of the offensive, the corps retreated, alongside the I SS and
IV SS Panzer Corps, towards
Vienna. After Soviet forces captured the city, individual units attempted to break out to the west. The elements of the corps surrendered to the
U.S. Army on 8 May 1945. ==Commanders==