VI Corps (German Empire)
| VI Army Corps VI. Armee-Korps | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918) | |
| Active | 1815–1919 |
| Country |  Prussia /  German Empire |
| Type | Corps |
| Size | Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914) |
| Garrison/HQ | Breslau/Schweidnitzer Straße 24 |
| Shoulder strap piping | Yellow |
| Engagements | Austro-Prussian War |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | VI AK |
The VI Army Corps / VI AK (German: VI. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th Century to World War I.
VI AK originated in 1815 as the General Command for the Province of Silesia, with headquarters in Breslau.[1]
The Corps served in the Austro-Prussian War. During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 3rd Army.
In peacetime the Corps was assigned to the VIII Army Inspectorate but joined the 4th Army at the start of the First World War.[2] It was still in existence at the end of the war.[3] The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.
Austro-Prussian War
[edit]VI Corps fought in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, seeing action in the Battle of Königgrätz.
Franco-Prussian War
[edit]During the Franco-Prussian War, the Corps was initially held back in Silesia against the possibility of intervention by Austria-Hungary. It only moved up to join the 3rd Army in August 1870. It then participated in the Siege of Paris and the Battle of Chevilly.
Peacetime organisation
[edit]The 25 peacetime Corps of the German Army (Guards, I - XXI, I - III Bavarian) had a reasonably standardised organisation. Each consisted of two divisions with usually two infantry brigades, one field artillery brigade and a cavalry brigade each.[4] Each brigade normally consisted of two regiments of the appropriate type, so each Corps normally commanded 8 infantry, 4 field artillery and 4 cavalry regiments. There were exceptions to this rule:
- V, VI, VII, IX and XIV Corps each had a 5th infantry brigade (so 10 infantry regiments)
- II, XIII, XVIII and XXI Corps had a 9th infantry regiment
- I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3rd cavalry brigade (so 6 cavalry regiments)
- the Guards Corps had 11 infantry regiments (in 5 brigades) and 8 cavalry regiments (in 4 brigades).[5]
Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more
World War I
[edit]Organisation on mobilisation
[edit]On mobilization, on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. The 11th and 12th Cavalry Brigades were withdrawn to form part of the 5th Cavalry Division[7] and the 44th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The 23rd Infantry Brigade was assigned to the 11th Reserve Division with VI Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, VI Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies (54 machine guns), 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
| Corps | Division | Brigade | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 21st Infantry Brigade | 10th Grenadier Regiment |
| 38th Fusilier Regiment | |||
| 22nd Infantry Brigade | 11th Infantry Regiment | ||
| 51st Infantry Regiment | |||
| 6th Jäger Battalion[9] | |||
| 11th Field Artillery Brigade | 6th Field Artillery Regiment | ||
| 42nd Field Artillery Regiment | |||
| 11th Jäger zu Pferde | |||
| 1st Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion | |||
| 11th Divisional Pontoon Train | |||
| 1st Medical Company | |||
| 3rd Medical Company | |||
| 12th Division | 24th Infantry Brigade | 23rd Infantry Regiment | |
| 62nd Infantry Regiment | |||
| 78th Infantry Brigade | 63rd Infantry Regiment | ||
| 157th Infantry Regiment | |||
| 12th Field Artillery Brigade | 21st Field Artillery Regiment | ||
| 57th Field Artillery Regiment | |||
| 2nd Uhlan Regiment | |||
| 2nd Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion | |||
| 3rd Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion | |||
| 12th Divisional Pontoon Train | |||
| 2nd Medical Company | |||
| Corps Troops | II Battalion, 6th Foot Artillery Regiment[10]a | ||
| 13th Aviation Detachment | |||
| 6th Corps Pontoon Train | |||
| 6th Telephone Detachment | |||
| 6th Pioneer Searchlight Section | |||
| Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |
Combat chronicle
[edit]On mobilisation, VI Corps was assigned to the 4th Army forming part of centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front.
It was still in existence at the end of the war.[11]
Commanders
[edit]The VI Corps had the following commanders during its existence:[12][13][14]
| From | Rank | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 15 April 1815 | Friedrich Heinrich von Hünerbein | |
| 11 February 1819 | Wieprecht Graf von Zieten | |
| 29 November 1839 | Generalleutnant | Friedrich Wilhelm, Count Brandenburg |
| 10 September 1849 | Karl Friedrich von Lindheim | |
| 10 May 1862 | General der Kavallerie | Louis Wilhelm Franz von Mutius |
| 30 October 1866 | General der Kavallerie | Wilhelm von Tümpling |
| 27 November 1883 | Generalleutnant | Karl Otto von Wichmann |
| 23 November 1886 | Generalleutnant | Oktavio von Boehn |
| 12 January 1889 | General der Artillerie | Eduard von Lewinski |
| 21 February 1895 | General der Infanterie | Erbprinz Bernhard von Sachsen-Meiningen |
| 29 May 1903 | Generalleutnant | Remus von Woyrsch |
| 2 February 1911 | General der Infanterie | Kurt von Pritzelwitz |
| 7 November 1915 | General der Kavallerie | Georg von der Marwitz |
| 17 December 1916 | General der Infanterie | Julius Riemann |
| 23 November 1917 | Generalleutnant | Konstanz von Heineccius |
| 15 December 1918 | General der Infanterie | Kurt von dem Borne |
| 25 June 1919 | Generalleutnant | Friedrich von Friedeburg |
See also
[edit]
- Franco-Prussian War order of battle
- German Army order of battle (1914)
- List of Imperial German infantry regiments
- List of Imperial German artillery regiments
- List of Imperial German cavalry regiments
Footnotes
[edit]- a.^ This might be a typographical error in the source, as II Btn is also listed (alongside I Btn) as 5th Army Artillery
References
[edit]- ^ German Administrative History Accessed: 31 May 2012
- ^ Cron 2002, p. 393
- ^ Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
- ^ Haythornthwaite 1996, pp. 193–194
- ^ They formed the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army.
- ^ War Office 1918, p. 245
- ^ Cron 2002, p. 299
- ^ Cron 2002, pp. 311–312
- ^ With a machine gun company.
- ^ 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers)
- ^ Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
- ^ German Administrative History Accessed: 31 May 2012
- ^ German War History Accessed: 31 May 2012
- ^ The Prussian Machine Accessed: 31 May 2012
Bibliography
[edit]- Cron, Hermann (2002). Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937]. Helion & Co. ISBN 1-874622-70-1.
- Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.
- Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-351-7.
- Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914–1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919. The London Stamp Exchange Ltd (1989). 1920. ISBN 0-948130-87-3.
- The German Forces in the Field; 7th Revision, 11th November 1918; Compiled by the General Staff, War Office. Imperial War Museum, London and The Battery Press, Inc (1995). 1918. ISBN 1-870423-95-X.