24th Army (Wehrmacht)

The 24th Army (German: 24. Armee) was a field army–level organization of the German Army during World War II. Created in November 1944, it existed for the final seven months of the war in Europe and never reached significant combat strength before surrendering to the Western Allies in May 1945.

24th Army
German: 24. Armee
Active	November 1944 – May 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Heer ( Wehrmacht)
Type	Field army
Engagements	World War II
Commanders
Sole commander	Hans Schmidt

History

The 24th Army was formed in November 1944 from an auxiliary corps command at the Germany–Switzerland border. The army command was assigned to the control of 19th Army, but did not possess combat formations of its own. After March 1945, it appears in German documents as "Fortress Alps" command.^[1]: 207 Still on border duty and under command by Hans Schmidt, the army command (strengthened by Volkssturm and frontier battalions) was overtaken by the French invasion of southwestern Germany and had to flee across Lake Constance by boat to escape envelopment.^[2]: 434 In late April and early May, as the German front was collapsing, the nominal 24th Army was assigned with two understrength divisions, the 405th Division and 465th Division.^[3]: 407

In the final days of the war, the scattered elements of 24th Army were attacked by the 1st Army Corps of 1st French Army (Jean de Lattre de Tassigny) in North Tyrol and Vorarlberg. On 30 April 1945, the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division and 5th French Armored Division seized Bregenz.^[4]: 232 On 4 May, Hans Schmidt made contact with French forces to negotiate a surrender with de Lattre de Tassigny, while negotiations were also going on between Franco–American forces with the 19th Army. De Lattre de Tassigny hoped to secure 24th Army's surrender in an exclusive fashion (as only French forces opposed the 24th Army), but Schmidt settled in the interim to fall in with the greater policy of Army Group G to surrender to the 6th US Army Group (Jacob L. Devers). The surrender by Army Group G, as well as by broader German forces in southern Germany (under overall command by Albert Kesselring), had gone into effect at noon on 6 May, but De Lattre de Tassigny, insulted at the American commanders' non-concern with French opinions, did not recognize 24th Army as a subordinate of 19th Army, choosing instead to view it as a continually active force. Intermittent fighting thus continued late on 6 May 1945, but the French demands for Hans Schmidt's surrender to France were ignrored. The issue eventually died down along with the fighting as the German forces disintegrated in the aftermath of surrender.^{[2]: 472–474}

Commanders

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Schmidt, HansGeneral der Infanterie Hans Schmidt (1877–1948)	November 1944	6 May 1945	6 months

References

1. Tessin, Georg (1970). Die Landstreitkräfte 015–030. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945. Vol. 4. Verlag E. S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN 3764810831.
2. MacDonald, Charles B. (1973). The Last Offensive. Center of Military History. ISBN 9781782894193.
3. McCroden, William T.; Nutter, Thomas E. (2019). German Ground Forces of World War II Complete Orders of Battle for Army Groups, Armies, Army Corps, and Other Commands of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945. Savas Beatie. ISBN 9781611211092.
4. Matanle, Ivor (1994). History of World War II, 1939–1945: From the build-up to War to Victory over Japan. Tiger Books International. ISBN 1855016036.