XVIII Corps (German Empire)
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The XVIII Army Corps / XVIII AK (german: XVIII. 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
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before and during
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 ...
. As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th century, the XVIII Army Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 in
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as the ''Generalkommando'' ( headquarters) for the district of
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and the
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. It took over command of 21st Division from
XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...
and the previously separate 25th (Grand Ducal Hessian) Division. It was assigned to the VII Army Inspectorate, but joined the 4th Army at the start of the
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. It was still in existence at the end of the war, serving in the 17th 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.


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,
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, 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,
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, 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 :
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Battalion :
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Battalion


World War I


Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization, on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. The 25th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 3rd Cavalry Division and the 21st Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The 168th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 25th Reserve Division in XVIII Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XVIII 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.


Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XVIII Corps was assigned to the 4th Army forming part of the 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 ...
offensive in August 1914. It was still in existence at the end of the war, serving in the 17th 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.


Commanders

The XVIII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:The Prussian Machine
Accessed: 12 May 2012


See also

*
German Army order of battle (1914) This is the German Army order of battle on the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. Commanders and locations of the German Army The overall commander of the Imperial German Army was Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Chief of the General Staff was General ...
*
German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918) This is the German Army order of battle on the Western Front at the close of the war. The overall commander of the Imperial German Army was Kaiser Wilhelm II, but real power resided with The Chief of the General Staff, Generalfeldmarschall Paul ...
*
List of Imperial German infantry regiments This is a list of Imperial German infantry regiments before and during World War I. In peacetime, the Imperial German Army included 217 regiments of infantry (plus the instruction unit, ''Lehr'' Infantry Battalion). Some of these regiments had a ...
*
List of Imperial German artillery regiments This is a list of Imperial German artillery regiments before and during World War I. In peacetime, the Imperial German Army included 100 regiments of Field artillery (plus the Lehr instruction unit) and 24 regiments of Foot artillery (plus anoth ...
*
List of Imperial German cavalry regiments This is a List of Imperial German cavalry regiments before and during World War I. In peacetime, the Imperial German Army included 110 regiments of cavalry. Some of these regiments had a history stretching back to the 17th century but others w ...


References


XVIII. Armeekorps (Chronik 1914/1918)
* Claus von Bredow, bearb., ''Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deuschen Heeres'' (1905) * Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815–1939.'' (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1


Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:18th Corps (German Empire) Corps of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1899 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919