This is a list of German army groups during World War II. Some German formations during World War II were designated Heeresgruppe and others Armeegruppe. Both terms are usually translated into English as "army group" but refer to different concepts.

Differences between Heeresgruppe and Armeegruppe

Some German formations, such as Army Group A, were known as Heeresgruppe, whereas others, such as Army Group Liguria, were known as Armeegruppe. Both of these terms have, for a lack of alternatives, been translated into English as "army group". Generally, the major army groups were Heeresgruppen, whereas the term Armeegruppe was used for formations that contained between two and three armies, initially reserved for those formations that included non-German armies. For instance, Army Group Balck contained the 6th German Army and the 3rd Hungarian Army.

Heeresgruppen

The Heeresgruppen-type army groups of the Wehrmacht were:

Continuities of the Heeresgruppen

There were numerous redesignations applied to the Heeresgruppen-type army groups, which often overlapped with each other. For instance, "Army Group South" of the Invasion of Poland became "Army Group A" of the Western Campaign, which became "Army Group Center" during Operation Barbarossa. "Army Group North" during the Invasion of Poland became "Army Group B" in the west and then "Army Group South" in the east. "Army Group C" during the Polish and French campaigns became "Army Group North" during the Soviet campaign. The following diagram attempts to show what Heeresgruppe was renamed how and when. The colors stand for the theaters of war: Invasion of Poland in pink, Battle of France in blue, Balkans campaign in purple, North Africa in orange, Eastern Front in red, Italian front in green, Western Front in yellow.

Armeegruppen

Armeegruppen-type "army groups" were frequently named after their commanding officer. The Armeegruppen of the Wehrmacht were:

Brief history of German army groups (Heeresgruppen) during World War II

The development of German army groups can be briefly summarized as follows: