When
Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, commenced on 22 June 1941, XVII Corps, supplemented by the 56th and 62nd Divisions, was positioned on the Northern wing of the
6th Army. After advancing into Russian territory they were also allocated the 44th Division for the attack on
Kiev. In collaboration with
XXIX Corps Kiev was captured by 20 September 1941. In the summer of 1942 the Corps participated in "
Fall Blau" campaign as the left wing of the
6th Army. This was a campaign to strike south and capture
Stalingrad and the oilfields of
Baku. In late 1943 and early in 1944 the corps was forced to retreat through
Bessarabia in northern
Romania and were then transferred to the Bukovina region as part of the
8th Army. Subsequently, XVII Corps, bolstered by the 8th Jäger Division and the 3rd Mountain Division, was positioned to defend passes through the
Carpathian Mountains. In late 1944, after the destruction of the 6th Army in the Jassy region, XVII corps had to undertake a fighting retreat to take up a defensive position in Hungary. In 1944 General Tiemann took command and the corps was made part of the Hungarian 1st Army. Sent to take up a defensive position in
Silesia they were eventually overrun by the Soviet forces and made prisoners-of-war. ==Commanders==