XVI Corps (German Empire)
The XVI Army Corps / XVI AK (German: XVI. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.
XVI Army Corps XVI. Armee-Korps | |
---|---|
![]() Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918) | |
Active | 1 April 1890 –1919 |
Country | ![]() |
Type | Corps |
Size | Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914) |
Garrison/HQ | Metz |
Engagements | World War I |
Insignia | |
Abbreviation | XVI AK |
It was assigned to the VII Army Inspectorate,[1] which became the 5th Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war[2] in the 3rd Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.[3]
Formation
![](../I/m/Palaisgouvmetz.jpg)
By a law of 27 January 1890, it was decided to separate Alsace-Lorraine provinces in military affairs. It stipulated that from 1 April 1890 the entire power of the Army of the German Empire should be twenty army corps (Guards, I - XVII, I and II Bavarian). The All-highest Cabinet Order (Allerhöchste Kabinettsorder, AKO) of 1 February 1890 authorised the formation of the XVI and XVII Army Corps.
The XVI Army Corps was set up on 1 April 1890 in Metz as the Generalkommando (headquarters) for Lorraine. Its headquarters was in the fortress of Metz. It took command of 33rd Division (formerly 30th Division of XV Corps) and 34th Division formed on the same date. It was assigned to the VII Army Inspectorate[4] but joined the 5th Army at the start of the First World War.
Peacetime organisation
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.[5] 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).[6]
Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more
Corps | Division | Brigade | Units | Garrison |
---|---|---|---|---|
XVI Corps | 33rd Division | 66th Infantry Brigade | 98th (Metz) Infantry | Metz |
130th (1st Lotharingian) Infantry | Metz | |||
67th Infantry Brigade | 135th (3rd Lotharingian) Infantry | Diedenhofen | ||
144th (5th Lotharingian) Infantry | Metz | |||
33rd Field Artillery Brigade | 33rd (1st Lotharingian) Field Artillery | Metz | ||
34th (2nd Lotharingian) Field Artillery | Metz | |||
33rd Cavalry Brigade | 9th (1st Hannover) Dragoons "King Charles I of Rumania" | Metz | ||
13th (Schleswig-Holstein) Dragoons | Metz | |||
34th Division | 68th Infantry Brigade | 67th (4th Magdeburg) Infantry | Metz | |
145th (6th Lotharingian) King’s Infantry | Metz | |||
86th Infantry Brigade | 30th (4th Rhenish) Infantry "Count Werder" | Saarlouis | ||
173rd (9th Lotharingian) Infantry | St. Avold, III Bn at Metz | |||
34th Field Artillery Brigade | 69th (3rd Lotharingian) Field Artillery | St. Avold | ||
70th (4th Lotharingian) Field Artillery | Metz, Saarlouis | |||
34th Cavalry Brigade | 14th (2nd Hannover) Uhlans | St. Avold, Mörchingen | ||
12th Jäger zu Pferde | St. Avold | |||
45th Cavalry Brigade | 13th (1st Kurhessian) Hussars "King Umberto of Italy" | Diedenhofen | ||
13th Jäger zu Pferde | Saarlouis | |||
Corps Troops | 11th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Diedenhofen | ||
12th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Metz | |||
13th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Metz | |||
14th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Metz | |||
15th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Metz | |||
8th (Rhenish) Foot Artillery | Metz | |||
12th (1st Royal Saxon) Foot Artillery | Metz | |||
16th (Lotharingian) Foot Artillery | Metz, Diedenhofen | |||
16th (1st Lotharingian) Pioneer Battalion | Metz | |||
20th (2nd Lotharingian) (Fortress-) Pioneer Battalion | Metz | |||
3rd (Fortress-) Telephone Company | Metz | |||
16th (Lotharingian) Train Battalion | Saarlouis | |||
Metz Defence Command (Landwehr-Inspektion) | Metz |
World War I
Organisation on mobilisation
On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 33rd and 45th Cavalry Brigades were withdrawn to form part of the 6th Cavalry Division[8] and the 34th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XVI Corps mobilised with 24 infantry battalions, 8 machine gun companies (48 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 |
---|---|---|---|
XVI Corps | 33rd Division | 66th Infantry Brigade | 98th Infantry Regiment |
130th Infantry Regiment | |||
67th Infantry Brigade | 135th Infantry Regiment | ||
144th Infantry Regiment | |||
33rd Field Artillery Brigade | 33rd Field Artillery Regiment | ||
34th Field Artillery Regiment | |||
12th Jäger zu Pferde Regiment | |||
1st Company, 16th Pioneer Battalion | |||
33rd Divisional Pontoon Train | |||
1st Medical Company | |||
3rd Medical Company | |||
34th Division | 68th Infantry Brigade | 67th Infantry Regiment | |
145th King's Infantry Regiment | |||
86th Infantry Brigade | 30th Infantry Regiment | ||
173rd Infantry Regiment | |||
34th Field Artillery Brigade | 69th Field Artillery Regiment | ||
70th Field Artillery Regiment | |||
14th Uhlan Regiment | |||
2nd Company, 16th Pioneer Battalion | |||
3rd Company, 16th Pioneer Battalion | |||
34th Divisional Pontoon Train | |||
2nd Medical Company | |||
Corps Troops | I Battalion, 10th Foot Artillery Regiment[10] | ||
2nd Aviation Detachment | |||
16th Corps Pontoon Train | |||
16th Telephone Detachment | |||
16th Pioneer Searchlight Section | |||
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |
Combat chronicle
At the outbreak of World War I, the Corps was assigned to the 5th Army.[11] It fought on the Western Front in Lorraine.[12] It was still in existence at the end of the war[13] in the 3rd Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.[14][15]
Commanders
The XVI Corps had the following commanders during its existence:[16][17][18]
Dates | Rank | Name |
---|---|---|
24 March 1890 to 17 May 1903 | General der Kavallerie | Gottlieb Graf von Haeseler |
18 May 1903 to 23 April 1906 | General der Infanterie | Louis Stoetzer |
24 April 1906 to 28 February 1913 | General der Infanterie | Maximilian von Prittwitz und Gaffron |
1 March 1913 to 28 October 1916 | General der Infanterie | Bruno von Mudra |
29 October 1916 to end of the war | Generalleutnant | Adolf Wild von Hohenborn |
See also
References
- Cron 2002, p. 395
- Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
- Ellis & Cox 1993, pp. 186–187
- Cron 2002, p. 395
- Haythornthwaite 1996, pp. 193–194
- They formed the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army.
- War Office 1918, p. 255
- Cron 2002, p. 301
- Cron 2002, pp. 312–315
- 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers)
- Cron 2002, p. 314
- verwaltungsgeschichte.de page
- Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
- Ellis & Cox 1993, pp. 186–187
- meuse-argonne.com
- German Administrative History Accessed: 12 May 2012
- German War History Accessed: 12 May 2012
- The Prussian Machine Accessed: 12 May 2012
Bibliography
- Cron, Hermann (2002). Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937]. Helion & Co. ISBN 1-874622-70-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-351-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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.