The Guards Corps/GK (german: Gardekorps) was a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

level command of the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th century to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The Corps was headquartered in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, with its units garrisoned in the city and nearby towns (

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Slavic settlement of ' ...

, Döberitz). Unlike all other Corps of the Imperial German Army, the Guards Corps did not recruit from a specific area, but from throughout

and the "Imperial Lands" of Alsace-Lorraine. The Corps served in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

. During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 2nd Army. In peacetime the Corps was assigned to the II Army Inspectorate but joined the 2nd Army at the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 4th Army, ''

Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht This is a list of German army groups during World War II. Some German formations during World War II were designated ''Heeresgruppe'' and others ''Armeegruppe''. Both terms are usually translated into English as "army group", but refer to differe ...

'', on the Western Front. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after

Austro-Prussian War

The Guards Corps fought in the

against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1866, including the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrä ...

Franco-Prussian War

The Corps served in the Franco-Prussian War against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1870–1871 as part of 2nd Army. It saw action in the

Battle of Gravelotte The Battle of Gravelotte (or Battle of Gravelotte–St. Privat) on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle of the Franco-Prussian War. Named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine, it was fought about west of Metz, where on the previous day, ha ...

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...

and the Siege of Paris (including the

Battle of Le Bourget The Battle of Le Bourget was part of the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, fought between 27 and 30 October 1870. Background General Carey de Bellemare commanded the northern section of the Paris defenses, which, being in the vi ...

), among other actions.

Peacetime organisation

The 25 peacetime

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

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. Each brigade normally consisted of two regiments of the appropriate type, so each Corps normally commanded eight infantry, four field artillery and four cavalry regiments. There were exceptions to this rule: : V, VI,

VII VII or vii may refer to: the Roman numeral 7 Art and entertainment * The Vii, a video game console * vii, leading-tone triad, see diminished triad * ''VII'' (Blitzen Trapper album) * ''VII'' (Just-Ice album) * ''VII'' (Teyana Taylor album) * ...

, IX and

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

each had a fifth infantry brigade (so 10 infantry regiments) : II,

XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a 2003 video game based on the comic b ...

, XVIII and XXI Corps had a ninth infantry regiment : I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3rd cavalry brigade (so six cavalry regiments) Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more : Foot Artillery Regiment : Jäger Battalion :

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

Battalion :

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

Battalion The Guards Corps was considerably above this norm, with 11 infantry regiments (in five brigades) and 8 cavalry regiments (in four brigades). In addition to the normal two infantry divisions ( 1st Guards Infantry and 2nd Guards Infantry Divisions), the Guards Corps also commanded the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army. It also incorporated an exceptional number of "Corps Troops" units, in particular school and demonstration (''Lehr'') units.

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was extensively restructured. The Guards Cavalry Division (less the 4th Guards Cavalry Brigade) was assigned to the I Cavalry Corps (''Höhere Kavallerie-Kommando 1''); the 4th Guards Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The ''Lehr'' Infantry Battalion was expanded to form the ''Lehr'' Infantry Regiment. It formed 6th Guards Infantry Brigade (with the Guards ''Füsilier'' Regiment) and together with the

5th Guards Infantry Brigade The 5th Guards Infantry Brigade (German: 5. Garde-Infanterie-Brigade) was a unit in the Imperial German Army prior to and during the First World War. At the outbreak of war, it was part of the 3rd Guards Infantry Division of the Guards Reserve Co ...

formed the 3rd Guards Division of the

Guards Reserve Corps The Guards Reserve Corps (german: Garde-Reserve-Korps / Garde RK) was a corps level command of the German Army in World War I. Formation Guards Reserve Corps was formed on the outbreak of the war in August 1914 as part of the mobilisation of th ...

. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, the Guards Corps mobilised with 26 infantry battalions, 10 machine gun companies (60 machine guns), eight cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), four heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), three pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, the Guards Corps was assigned to the 2nd Army as part of the right wing of the forces that invaded

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

as part of the

Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (german: Schlieffen-Plan, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on 4 ...

offensive in August 1914. 2nd Ox & Bucks, Nonne Bosschen, defeating the Prussian Guard 1914 by W

Soon into the war, at the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

, the Prussian Guards were bitterly defeated in an attempt to take French positions. In early July 1915 it participated in the "Battle of the Guards" near Krasnostav, acting against parts of the Russian Guard corps. It participated in the Battle of Lublin-Kholm in July 1915 In 1917, the corps was stationed on the

Aisne River The Aisne ( , , ) is a river in northeastern France. It is a left tributary of the Oise. It gave its name to the French department of Aisne. It was known in the Roman period as Axona. The river rises in the forest of Argonne, at Rembercour ...

as part of 1st Army, and played an important role in the German defense against the French offensive in that sector. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 4th Army, ''Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht'', on the Western Front.

Commanders

The Guards Corps had the following commanders during its existence:The Prussian Machine
Accessed: 20 June 2012

Citations

General bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:G Corps of Germany in World War I