Rank Generaloberst Service/branch German Army | Name Richard Ruoff | |
Battles/wars World War IWorld War II Died March 30, 1967, Tubingen, Germany Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | ||
Richard Ruoff Top #9 Facts
Richard Ruoff (18 August 1883 – 30 March 1967) was an officer in the German Army (Wehrmacht) before and during World War II.
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General of the Infantry (General der Infanterie) Richard Ruoff took command of V Army Corps on 1 May 1939, and led this unit into World War II. He also concurrently commanded V Wehrkreis in Stuttgart. General Ruoff then was given command of the 4th Panzer Army from 8 January 1942 to 31 May 1942. The 4th Panzer Army was part of Army Group A (Heeresgruppe A) which was formed when Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Sud) was split into two formations for the summer offensive of 1942.
Ruoff commanded the 17th Army from 1 June 1942 to 24 June 1943. The 17th Army was also part of Army Group A. Ruoff was the commander of the 17th Army when, on 3 June 1942, the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia, or CSIR) was briefly subordinated to it. From June to July, the German 17th Army, the CSIR, and the Romanian 3rd Army were organized as "Army Group Ruoff" (Heeresgruppe Ruoff).
By July 1942, Ruoff lost the Italian unit. The CSIR was subsumed by the larger Italian Army in Russia (Armata Italiana in Russia, or ARMIR) and transferred to Army Group B (Heeresgruppe B).
During the late summer, as part of Army Group A, Ruoff and the 17th Army attacked towards the Caucasus oilfields. By December, Soviet forces had destroyed the armies defending its flanks (including the ARMIR) and had en-circled the German 6th Army at Stalingrad.
Army Group B was withdrawn from southern Russia but Ruoff and the 17th Army were ordered to hold the "Kuban bridgehead." In June 1943, he was promoted to Colonel-General (Generaloberst), but was also moved to the command reserve, and saw no further action during the war.