The VI Army Corps / VI AK (german: VI. Armee-Korps) 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 ', literally translated "Germans of the ", is an archaic term for those ethnic Germans who resided within the German state that was founded in 1871. In contemporary usage, it referred to German citizens, the word signifying people from the Germ ...

Armies An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

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 ...

. VI AK originated in 1815 as the General Command for the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

, with headquarters in Breslau. 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 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 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. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after

Austro-Prussian War

VI Corps fought in the

in 1866, seeing action in 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

During the Franco-Prussian War, the Corps was initially held back in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

against the possibility of intervention by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. 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

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 8 infantry, 4 field artillery and 4 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 5th 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 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). 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

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

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

. 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.

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, VI Corps was assigned to the 4th Army forming part of centre of the forces for 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 on the Western Front. It was still in existence at the end of the war.

Commanders

The VI Corps had the following commanders during its existence:The Prussian Machine
Accessed: 31 May 2012

Footnotes

:a.This might be a typographical error in the source, as II Btn is also listed (alongside I Btn) as 5th Army Artillery

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:6th Corps (German Empire) Corps of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1815 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919