Its first action was taking part in Operation Renntier ("reindeer"), the occupation of Finnish Petsamo to protect the nickel mines there from USSR.

In June 1941 the corps attacked from Petsamo to Murmansk in Operation Platinum Fox (German: Unternehmen Platinfuchs).

Over a period of three weeks, the Soviet 14th Army attacked, trying to defeat the Corps.

[1][page needed] In November 1942 the corps was renamed the XIX.

In 1944 the corps finally had to retreat back to Norway, where it surrendered in May 1945.