German Army order of battle (1914)
This is the German Army order of battle on the outbreak of war 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 Generaloberst Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, with General von Stein as Deputy Chief. The Departmental chiefs were Oberst Tappen (Operations Branch), Oberstleutnant Hentsch (Intelligence Branch), Major Nicolai (Secret Service), Oberst von Dommes (Political Section), Generalleutnant Siger (Field munitions), Major Thomsen (Air Service), Oberst Groner (Field Railways), and General von Schjerning (Medical Services). Generalmajor von Schoeler was Intendant-General (responsible for logistical supplies), and General von Claer was General of Engineers.
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Helmuth von Moltke the Younger
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Location of the German divisions 1914
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Location of the German brigades 1914
Western Front
Cavalry
Four independent cavalry corps served on the Western Front:
- I Cavalry Corps - preceding 3rd Army (General der Kavallerie Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen)
- II Cavalry Corps - preceding 1st and 2nd Armies (General der Kavallerie Georg von der Marwitz)
- III Cavalry Corps - preceding 6th Army (General der Kavallerie Rudolf Ritter von Frommel)
- IV Cavalry Corps - preceding 4th and 5th Armies (General der Kavallerie Gustav Freiherr von Hollen)
Each Cavalry Division consisted of 3 Brigades, each of 2 Cavalry Regiments (24 squadrons total), 3 horse artillery batteries (4 guns each) and an MG detachment (6 MGs).
First Army
First Army was commanded by Generaloberst Alexander von Kluck.
- II Corps (General der Infanterie Alexander von Linsingen)
- III Corps (General der Infanterie Ewald von Lochow)
- IV Corps (General der Infanterie Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin)
- IX Corps (General der Infanterie Ferdinand von Quast)
- III Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Hans von Beseler)
- IV Reserve Corps (General der Artillerie Hans von Gronau)
- IX Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Max von Boehn)[1]
- 10th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 11th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 27th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- Pionier Regiment[2]
Second Army
2nd Army was commanded by Generaloberst Karl von Bülow.
- Guards Corps (General der Infanterie Karl von Plettenberg)
- VII Corps (General der Kavallerie Karl von Einem)
- X Corps (General der Infanterie Otto von Emmich)
- Guards Reserve Corps (General der Artillerie Max von Gallwitz)
- VII Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Hans von Zwehl)
- X Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Günther Graf von Kirchbach)
- 25th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 29th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 4 Mortar Battalions[4]
- 10-cm Gun Battalion[5]
- 2 Heavy Coastal Mortar Batteries[6]
- 2 Pionier Regiments[7]
Third Army
3rd Army was commanded by Generaloberst Max von Hausen.
- XI Corps (General der Infanterie Otto von Plüskow)
- XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps (General der Infanterie Karl d'Elsa)
- XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps (General der Kavallerie Maximilian von Laffert)
- XII (Royal Saxon) Reserve Corps (General der Artillerie Hans von Kirchbach)
- 47th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- Mortar Battalion[8]
- Pionier Regiment[9]
Fourth Army
4th Army was commanded by Generaloberst Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg.
- VI Corps (General der Infanterie Kurt von Pritzelwitz)
- VIII Corps (Generalleutnant Erich Tülff von Tschepe und Weidenbach)
- XVIII Corps (General der Infanterie Dedo von Schenck)
- VIII Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Wilhelm Freiherr von Egloffstein)
- XVIII Reserve Corps (Generalleutnant Kuno von Steuben)
- 49th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 2 Mortar Battalions[10]
- Pionier Regiment[11]
Fifth Army
5th Army was commanded by Generalmajor Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany.
- V Corps (General der Infanterie Hermann von Strantz)
- XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps (General der Infanterie Max von Fabeck)
- XVI Corps (General der Infanterie Bruno von Mudra)
- V Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Erich von Gündell)
- VI Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Konrad von Goßler)
- 13th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- Senior Landwehr Commander 2 (2nd Landwehr Division)
- 43rd Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 45th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 53rd Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 9th Bavarian Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 4 Mortar Battalions[12]
- 2 Pionier Regiments[13]
Sixth Army
6th Army was commanded by Generaloberst Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria.
- XXI Corps (General der Infanterie Fritz von Below)
- I Bavarian Corps (General der Infanterie Oskar Ritter und Edler v. Xylander)
- II Bavarian Corps (General der Infanterie Karl Ritter von Martini)
- III Bavarian Corps (General der Kavallerie Ludwig Freiherr von Gebsattel)
- I Bavarian Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Karl Ritter von Fasbender)
- Guards Ersatz Division
- 4th Ersatz Division
- 8th Ersatz Division
- 10th Ersatz Division
- 5th Bavarian Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 3 Mortar Battalions[14]
- Heavy Coastal Mortar Battery[15]
- Heavy Coastal Gun Battery[16]
- 2 Pionier Regiments[17]
Seventh Army
7th Army was commanded by Generaloberst Josias von Heeringen.
- XIV Corps (General der Infanterie Ernst Freiherr von Hoiningen gen. Huene)
- XV Corps (General der Infanterie Berthold von Deimling)
- XIV Reserve Corps (General der Artillerie Richard von Schubert)
- 19th Ersatz Division
- Bavarian Ersatz Division
- 60th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- Upper Rhine Fortifications
- 55th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 110th Reinforced Landwehr Infantry Regiment
- 1st Bavarian Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 2nd Bavarian Mixed Landwehr Brigade
Eastern Front
Eighth Army
8th Army was commanded by Generaloberst Maximilian von Prittwitz.
- I Corps (Generalleutnant Hermann von François)
- XVII Corps (General der Kavallerie August von Mackensen)
- XX Corps (General der Infanterie Friedrich von Scholtz)
- I Reserve Corps (Generalleutnant Otto von Below)
- 3rd Reserve Division
- 1st Cavalry Division
- Landwehr Corps (General der Infanterie Remus von Woyrsch)
- Senior Landwehr Commander 3 (3rd Landwehr Division)
- 17th Landwehr Infantry Brigade
- 18th Landwehr Infantry Brigade
- Senior Landwehr Commander 4 (4th Landwehr Division)
- 22nd Landwehr Infantry Brigade
- 23rd Landwehr Infantry Brigade
- Senior Landwehr Commander 3 (3rd Landwehr Division)
- 2nd Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 6th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 70th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
Army of the North
- IX Reserve Corps (General der Infanterie Max von Boehn)[18]
- Senior Landwehr Commander 1 (1st Landwehr Division)
- 33rd Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 34th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 37th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- 38th Mixed Landwehr Brigade
- North Sea Islands
Central Reserves and Border Fortresses
- Strassburg
- 30th Reserve Division
- 60th Reserve Infantry Brigade
- 3rd Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade
- 10th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade
- 30th Reserve Division
- Metz
- 33rd Reserve Division
- 8th Bavarian Infantry Brigade
- 66th Reserve Infantry Brigade
- Reserve Infantry Regiment Metz
- 33rd Reserve Division
- Thorn
- 35th Reserve Division
- 5th Landwehr Infantry Brigade
- 20th Landwehr Infantry Brigade
- 35th Reserve Division
- Königsberg
- 9th Landwehr Infantry Brigade
- Ersatz Infantry Brigade Königsberg
- Posen
- 19th Landwehr Infantry Brigade
- Graudenz
- Provisional 69th Infantry Brigade
See also
Notes
- ↑ Originally held back in Schleswig in case of British landings; moved up in late August.
- ↑ expansion of pre-war 18th Btn
- ↑ Given by Edmonds as "3rd Guard Reserve Division".
- ↑ II & III Btns, 4th Foot Regt; I & II Btns, 9th Foot Regt
- ↑ II Btn, 9th Reserve Foot Regt
- ↑ 1st & 5th Btys
- ↑ expansion of pre-war 24th & 25th Btns
- ↑ III Btn, 1st Foot Regt
- ↑ expansion of pre-war 23rd Btn
- ↑ II & III Btns, 7th Foot Regt
- ↑ expansion of pre-war 30th Btn
- ↑ I & II Btns, 6th Foot Regt; II & III Btns, 12th Foot Regt;
- ↑ expansion of pre-war 20th & 29th Btns
- ↑ II Btn, 3rd Bavarian Foot Regt; II & III Btns, 18th Foot Regt
- ↑ 2nd Bty
- ↑ 1st Bty
- ↑ expansion of pre-war 19th & 4th Bavarian Btns
- ↑ Transferred to 1st Army in late August.
Sources
- Appendix 6: Order of battle of the German Armies. In: History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1914, by J. E. Edmonds. Macmillan & Co., London, 1922.
- Appendix 1: The Field Army, 17 August 1914. In: Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle, by Hermann Cron. Helion & Co., 2002.
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