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The XXXX Reserve Corps (German: XXXX. Reserve-Korps / XXXX RK) was a corps level command of the German Army in World War I.
Formation
XXXX Reserve Corps was formed in December 1914.[1] It was part of the second wave of new Corps formed in the early stages of World War I consisting of XXXVIII - XXXXI[2] Reserve Corps of 75th - 82nd Reserve Divisions (plus 8th Bavarian Reserve Division). The personnel was predominantly made up of kriegsfreiwillige (wartime volunteers) who did not wait to be called up.[3] It was still in existence at the end of the war[4] in the 6th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.[5]
Structure on formation
On formation in December 1914, XXXX Reserve Corps consisted of two divisions.[6] but was weaker than an Active Corps
- the divisions were organised as triangular rather than square divisions with three infantry regiments rather than four, but had a brigade of two field artillery regiments
- Reserve Infantry Regiments consisted of three battalions but lacked a machine gun company[7]
- Reserve Cavalry Detachments were much smaller than the Reserve Cavalry Regiments formed on mobilisation[8]
- Reserve Field Artillery Regiments consisted of two abteilungen (1 gun and 1 howitzer) of three batteries each, but each battery had just 4 guns (rather than 6 of the Active and the Reserve Regiments formed on mobilisation)[9]
In summary, XXXX Reserve Corps mobilised with 18 infantry battalions, 2 cavalry detachments, 24 field artillery batteries (96 guns), 2 cyclist companies and 2 pioneer companies.
Commanders
XXXX Reserve Corps had the following commanders during its existence:[12][13]
See also
References
- ^ Cron 2002, p. 87
- ^ In German military nomenclature, "40" was rendered as "XXXX" in Roman numerals rather than the more conventional "XL".
- ^ Cron 2002, p. 97
- ^ Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
- ^ Ellis & Cox 1993, pp. 186–187
- ^ AEF GHQ 1920, pp. 538, 542
- ^ Busche 1998, pp. 118–119
- ^ Cron 2002, p. 128 Reserve Cavalry Regiments consisted of three squadrons
- ^ Cron 2002, p. 136
- ^ AEF GHQ 1920, p. 537
- ^ AEF GHQ 1920, p. 541
- ^ "German War History". Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ "Armee-Reserve-Korps". The Prussian Machine. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012. Retrieved 23 December 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.
- Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.
- Busche, Hartwig (1998). Formationsgeschichte der Deutschen Infanterie im Ersten Weltkrieg (1914 bis 1918) (in German). Institut für Preußische Historiographie.
- 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.