The XII (Royal Saxon) Reserve Corps (german: XII. (Königlich Sächsisches) Reserve-Korps / XII RK) 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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Army 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 ...

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 ...

Formation

XII Reserve Corps was formed on the outbreak of the war in August 1914 as part of the mobilisation of the Army. It was initially commanded by

General der Artillerie General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean: 1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...

Hans von Kirchbach Rudolph Bodo Hans von Kirchbach (born 22 June 1849 in Auerbach (Vogtland) – died 23 July 1928 in Dresden) was a Royal Saxon army officer who was a Generaloberst in the First World War and awarded the Pour le Mérite. Life and military career He ...

, recalled from retirement. It was still in existence at the end of the war in

Armee-Abteilung C Armee-Abteilung Strantz / Armee-Abteilung C (Army Detachment C) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It served on the Western Front throughout its existence. History ''Armee-Abteilung'' C was formed on 18 September 19 ...

, ''Heeresgruppe'' Gallwitz on the Western Front.

Structure on formation

On formation in August 1914, XII Reserve Corps consisted of two divisions, made up of reserve units. In general, Reserve Corps and Reserve Divisions were weaker than their active counterparts :Reserve Infantry Regiments did not always have three battalions nor necessarily contain a machine gun company :Reserve Jäger Battalions did not have a machine gun company on formation :Reserve Cavalry Regiments consisted of just three squadrons :Reserve Field Artillery Regiments usually consisted of two ''abteilungen'' of three batteries each, though the Reserve Field Artillery Regiments of XII Corps had three ''abteilungen'' :Corps Troops generally consisted of a Telephone Detachment and four sections of munition columns and trains In summary, XII Reserve Corps mobilised with 26 infantry battalions, 6 machine gun companies (36 machine guns), 6 cavalry squadrons, 18 field artillery batteries (108 guns) and 3

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 de ...

companies. 24th Reserve Division was formed by units drawn from the XIX Corps District.

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XII Reserve Corps was assigned to the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army on the right wing of the forces that invaded

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 ...

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.

Commanders

XII Reserve Corps had the following commanders during its existence:

References

Bibliography