5th Army (Wehrmacht)

5th Army
German: 5. Armee
Soldiers of the 5th Army at Siegfried-Line in Oberrehein, 1939
Active	1939
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	German army ( Wehrmacht)
Type	Field army
Engagements	World War II

The 5th Army (German: 5. Armee) was a field army of the Wehrmacht during World War II.

History

The 5th Army was established on 25 August 1939 in Wehrkreis VI with General Curt Liebmann in command. Responsible for the defense of the Siegfried Line in the vicinity of Trier as part of Army Group C from 3 September, the army was assigned the Eifel Border Troops (86th, Trier Border, 26th, and 227th Divisions) and the VI Army Corps (16th, 69th, 211th, and 216th Infantry Divisions). It also included the 58th, 87th, 78th, and 268th Infantry Divisions in army reserve. During this period, known as the Phoney War, no action took place on its sector of the Siegfried Line. On 13 October it was transferred to the east as Border Section Centre High Command (Oberkommando Grenzabschnitt Mitte). The latter served as a security force in occupied Poland. On 4 November 1939 it was renamed the 18th Army.

Commanders

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Liebmann, CurtGeneral der Infanterie Curt Liebmann (1881–1960)	25 August 1939	4 November 1939	71 days

See also

• 5th Army (German Empire) for the equivalent formation in World War I

References

Bibliography

• Tessin, Georg (1965). "Die Landstreitkräfte 1—5". Die Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939—1945 (in German). Frankfurt/Main: E.S. Mittler.