VII Corps (German Empire)
| VII Army Corps VII. Armee-Korps | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918) | |
| Active | 1815–1919 |
| Country |  Prussia /  German Empire |
| Type | Corps |
| Size | Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914) |
| Garrison/HQ | Münster/Grevener-Straße 1 |
| Shoulder strap piping | Light Blue |
| Engagements | Austro-Prussian War |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | VII AK |
The VII Army Corps / VII AK (German: VII. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th Century to World War I.
Originating in 1815 as the General Command for the Province of Westphalia, the headquarters was in Münster and its catchment area was the Province of Westphalia and the Principalities of Lippe and Schaumburg-Lippe.[1]
The Corps served in the Austro-Prussian War. During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 1st Army.
In peacetime the Corps was assigned to the III Army Inspectorate which became the 2nd Army at the start of the First World War.[2] It was still in existence at the end of the war[3] in the 7th Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.[4] The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.
Austro-Prussian War
[edit]VII Corps fought in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, seeing action in the Battle of Königgrätz.
Franco-Prussian War
[edit]During the Franco-Prussian War, the Corps formed part of the 1st Army and fought in several battles and engagements, including the Battle of Spicheren, the Battle of Borny-Colombey, the Battle of Gravelotte and the Siege of Metz.[5]
Peacetime organisation
[edit]The 25 peacetime Corps 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.[6] 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, IX and XIV Corps each had a 5th infantry brigade (so 10 infantry regiments)
- II, XIII, 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).[7]
Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more
World War I
[edit]Organisation on mobilisation
[edit]On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 13th and 14th Cavalry Brigades were withdrawn to form part of the 9th Cavalry Division.[9] The 16th Uhlans, formerly of the IV Corps, was raised to a strength of 6 squadrons before being split into two half-regiments of 3 squadrons each. The half-regiments were assigned as divisional cavalry to 13th and 14th Divisions. 28th Infantry Brigade was assigned to the 14th Reserve Division with the VII Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, VII Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies (54 machine guns), 6 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
| Corps | Division | Brigade | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| VII Corps | 13th Division | 25th Infantry Brigade | 13th Infantry Regiment |
| 158th Infantry Regiment | |||
| 26th Infantry Brigade | 15th Infantry Regiment | ||
| 55th Infantry Regiment | |||
| 7th Jäger Battalion[11] | |||
| 13th Field Artillery Brigade | 22nd Field Artillery Regiment | ||
| 58th Field Artillery Regiment | |||
| staff and half of 16th Uhlan Regiment | |||
| 1st Company, 7th Pioneer Battalion | |||
| 13th Divisional Pontoon Train | |||
| 1st Medical Company | |||
| 3rd Medical Company | |||
| 14th Division | 27th Infantry Brigade | 16th Infantry Regiment | |
| 53rd Infantry Regiment | |||
| 79th Infantry Brigade | 56th Infantry Regiment | ||
| 57th Infantry Regiment | |||
| 16th Field Artillery Brigade | 7th Field Artillery Regiment | ||
| 43rd Field Artillery Regiment | |||
| half of 16th Uhlan Regiment | |||
| 2nd Company, 7th Pioneer Battalion | |||
| 3rd Company, 7th Pioneer Battalion | |||
| 14th Divisional Pontoon Train | |||
| 2nd Medical Company | |||
| Corps Troops | I Battalion, 7th Foot Artillery Regiment[12] | ||
| 18th Aviation Detachment | |||
| 7th Corps Pontoon Train | |||
| 7th Telephone Detachment | |||
| 7th Pioneer Searchlight Section | |||
| Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |
Combat chronicle
[edit]On mobilisation, VII Corps was assigned to the 2nd Army forming part of the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front.
It participated in the First Battle of the Marne and First Battle of Ypres in 1914.
It was still in existence at the end of the war[13] in the 7th Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.[14]
Commanders
[edit]The VII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:[15][16][17]
See also
[edit]
- Franco-Prussian War order of battle
- German Army order of battle (1914)
- German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)
- List of Imperial German infantry regiments
- List of Imperial German artillery regiments
- List of Imperial German cavalry regiments
- Order of battle of the First Battle of the Marne
- Order of First Battle of Ypres
References
[edit]- ^ German Administrative History Accessed: 27 May 2012
- ^ Cron 2002, pp. 393
- ^ Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
- ^ Ellis & Cox 1993, pp. 186–187
- ^ Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935); Wegner, p.459
- ^ Haythornthwaite 1996, pp. 193–194
- ^ They formed the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army.
- ^ War Office 1918, p. 246
- ^ Cron 2002, p. 300
- ^ Cron 2002, p. 307
- ^ With a machine gun company.
- ^ 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers)
- ^ Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
- ^ Ellis & Cox 1993, pp. 186–187
- ^ German Administrative History Accessed: 27 May 2012
- ^ German War History Accessed: 27 May 2012
- ^ The Prussian Machine Accessed: 27 May 2012
Bibliography
[edit]- 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.
- Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-351-7.
- 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.