18th Army (Wehrmacht)

Eighteenth Army (18. Armee)
Georg Lindemann visiting the trenches at Leningrad
Active	4 November 1939 – 8 May 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Army
Type	Field Army
Engagements	World War II

The 18th Army (German: 18. Armee) was a World War II field army in the German Wehrmacht.

Formed in November 1939 in Military Region (Wehrkreis) VI, the 18th Army was part of the offensive into the Netherlands (Battle of the Netherlands) and Belgium (Battle of Belgium) during Fall Gelb and later moved into France in 1940. The 18th Army was then moved East and participated in Operation Barbarossa in 1941.

The Army was a part of the Army Group North until early 1945, when it was subordinated to Army Group Kurland. In October 1944, the army was encircled by the Red Army offensives and spent the remainder of the war in the Courland Pocket.

Commanders

• 5 November 1939 – 16 January 1942 Generalfeldmarschall Georg von Küchler
• 16 January 1942 – 29 March 1944 Generaloberst Georg Lindemann
• 29 March 1944 – 2 September 1944 General der Artillerie Herbert Loch
• 5 September 1944 – 8 May 1945 General der Infanterie Ehrenfried-Oskar Boege

Chiefs of the Generalstab

• 5 November 1939 – 10 December 1940 Generalmajor Erich Marcks
• 10 December 1940 – 19 January 1941 Generalmajor Wilhelm Hasse
• 19 January 1941 – 17 November 1942 Generalmajor Dr. Ing. h.c. Kurt Waeger
• 24 November 1942 – 1 December 1943 Generalmajor Hans Speth
• 1 December 1943 – 25 January 1945 Generalmajor Friedrich Foertsch
• 25 January 1945 – 5 March 1945 Oberst i.G. Wilhelm Hetzel
• 5 March 1945 – 10(!) May 1945 Generalmajor Ernst Merk

Orders of Battle

References

• Tessin, Georg (1970). Die Landstreitkräfte 15—30. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939—1945. 4. Frankfurt/Main: E.S. Mittler. pp. 80–85.