III Corps (German Empire)

The III Army Corps / III AK () was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th century to World War I.

It was established in 1814 as the General Headquarters in Berlin (Generalkommando in Berlin) and became the III Army Corps on 3 April 1820. Its headquarters was in Berlin and its catchment area was the Province of Brandenburg.German Administrative History Accessed: 3 June 2012

In peacetime, the Corps was assigned to the IV Army Inspectorate, joining the 1st Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 7th Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

War of the Sixth Coalition In 1813 the III Corps fought at the battles of Luckau, Grossbeeren, Dennewitz, Leipzig and Arnhem. In 1814, the corps fought at Hoogstraten and Laon.

+Nov. 1813–Jan. 1814 organization of the Corps Corps Division Brigade Units III Corps:Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow19,172 infantry6,240 cavalry Division: None 3rd Brigade:Karl Heinrich von Zielinski 2nd East Prussian Grenadier Battalion 3rd East Prussian Infantry Regiment 4th Reserve Infantry Regiment 3rd East Prussian Landwehr Regiment 1st Leib Hussar Regiment 6-pounder Foot Battery Nr. 6 4th Brigade:Heinrich Ludwig August von Thümen East Prussian Jäger Battalion (2 companies) 4th East Prussian Infantry Regiment 5th Reserve Infantry Regiment 2nd Pommeranian Landwehr Regiment 1st Pommeranian Landwehr Cavalry Regiment 6-pounder Foot Battery Nr. 8 5th Brigade:Karl Ludwig von Borstell Pommeranian Grenadier Battalion 1st Pommeranian Infantry Regiment 2nd Reserve Infantry Regiment Elbe Infantry Regiment 2nd Kurmärk Landwehr Regiment Pommeranian Hussar Regiment 6-pounder Foot Battery Nr. 10 6th Brigade:Karl August Adolf von Krafft Kolberg Infantry Regiment 9th Reserve Infantry Regiment 1st Neumärk Landwehr Regiment 2nd Pommeranian Landwehr Cavalry Regiment 6-pounder Foot Battery Nr. 16 Division:Adolph Friedrich von Oppen Cavalry Brigade:Karl Alexander Wilhelm von Treskow Queen's Dragoon Regiment Brandenberg Dragoon Regiment 2nd West Prussian Dragoon Regiment 6-pounder Horse Battery Nr. 5 Cavalry Brigade:Karl Bernhard Hellmuth von Hobe Westphalian Uhlan Regiment 2nd Silesian Hussar Regiment Pommeranian National Cavalry Regiment 6-pounder Horse Battery Nr. 6 Cavalry Brigade:Hans Joachim Friedrich von Sydow 2nd Kurmärk Landwehr Cavalry Regiment 4th Kurmärk Landwehr Cavalry Regiment Division: None Corps Artillery:Karl Friedrich von Holtzendorff 12-pounder Foot Batteries Nrs. 4 and 5 6-pounder Foot Batteries Nrs. 19 and ? 6-pounder Horse Battery Nr. 11 Park Columns Nrs. 3, 4 and 6 Pioneer Companies Nrs. 4 and 5

Second Schleswig War Part of the Corps (10th Brigade of the 5th Division and the 6th Division) fought in the Second Schleswig War of 1864, including the key Battle of Dybbøl, or Düppeler Heights.

Austro-Prussian War The III Corps formed part of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia's 1st Army and fought in the Austro-Prussian War against Austria in 1866, including the Battle of Königgrätz.

Franco-Prussian War In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the Corps joined the 2nd Army. It saw action in the battles of Spicheren, Mars-la-Tour (a key part), Gravelotte, Beaune-la-Rolande, Orléans, and Le Mans, and in the Siege of Metz.Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935)

Peacetime organisation 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. 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 5 infantry brigades (so 10 infantry regiments) II, XIII, XVIII and XXI Corps had a 9 infantry regiments I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3 cavalry brigades (so 6 cavalry regiments) the Guards Corps had 11 infantry regiments (in 5 brigades) and 8 cavalry regiments (in 4 brigades).They formed the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army. Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more Foot Artillery Regiment Jäger Battalion Pioneer Battalion Train Battalion

+Peacetime organization of the Corps Corps Division Brigade Units Garrison III Corps 5th Division 9th Infantry Brigade 8th (1st Brandenburg) Life Grenadiers "King Frederick William III"Frankfurt an der Oder 48th (5th Brandenburg) Infantry "von Stülpnagel"Küstrin 10th Infantry Brigade 12th (2nd Brandenburg) Grenadiers "Prince Charles of Prussia"Frankfurt an der Oder 52nd (6th Brandenburg) Infantry "von Alvensleben"Cottbus, I Bn at Crossen an der Oder 5th Field Artillery Brigade 18th (2nd Brandenburg) Field Artillery "General-Feldzeugmeister"Frankfurt an der Oder 54th (Neumark) Field ArtilleryKüstrin, Landsberg an der Warthe 5th Cavalry Brigade 2nd (1st Brandenburg) DragoonsSchwedt 3rd (1st Brandenburg) Uhlans "Emperor Alexander II of Russia"Fürstenwalde 6th Division 11th Infantry Brigade 20th (3rd Brandenburg) Infantry "Count Tauentzien von Wittenberg"Wittenberg 35th (Brandenburg) Fusiliers "Prince Henry of Prussia"Brandenburg an der Havel 12th Infantry Brigade 24th (4th Brandenburg) Infantry "Grand Duke Frederick Francis II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin"Neuruppin 64th (8th Brandenburg) Infantry "General Field Marshal Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia"Prenzlau, III Bn at Angermünde 6th Field Artillery Brigade 3rd (1st Brandenburg) Field Artillery "General-Feldzeugmeister"Had a third (Horse Artillery) Abteilung of three batteries of 4 guns.Brandenburg an der Havel 39th (Kurmark) Field ArtilleryPerleberg 6th Cavalry Brigade 6th (Brandenburg) Cuirassiers "Emperor Nicholas I of Russia"Brandenburg an der Havel 3rd (Brandenburg) Hussars “von Zieten”Rathenow Corps Troops 3rd (Brandenburg) Jäger Battalion Lübben 3rd (1st Brandenburg) Pioneer Battalion "von Rauch" Magdeburg 28th (2nd Brandenburg) Pioneer BattalionKüstrin 2nd Telegraph Battalion Frankfurt an der Oder, Cottbus 3rd (Brandenburg) Train BattalionSpandau Berlin Defence Command(Landwehr-Inspektion)Berlin

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 5th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 6th Cavalry Brigade was broken up: the 3rd Hussar Regiment was raised to a strength of 6 squadrons before being split into two half-regiments of 3 squadrons each and the half-regiments were assigned as divisional cavalry to 5th and 6th Divisions; the 6th Cuirassier Regiment was likewise assigned as two half-regiments to 22nd and 38th Divisions of XI Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, III 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.

+Initial wartime organization of the Corps Corps Division Brigade Units III Corps 5th Division 9th Infantry Brigade 8th Leib Grenadier Regiment 48th Infantry Regiment 10th Infantry Brigade 12th Grenadier Regiment 52nd Infantry Regiment 3rd Jäger BattalionWith a machine gun company. 5th Field Artillery Brigade 18th Field Artillery Regiment 54th Field Artillery Regiment staff and half of 3rd Hussar Regiment 2nd Company, 3rd Pioneer Battalion 3rd Company, 3rd Pioneer Battalion 5th Divisional Pontoon Train 1st Medical Company 3rd Medical Company 6th Division 11th Infantry Brigade 20th Infantry Regiment 35th Fusilier Regiment 12th Infantry Brigade 24th Infantry Regiment 64th Infantry Regiment 6th Field Artillery Brigade 3rd Field Artillery Regiment 39th Field Artillery Regiment half of 3rd Hussar Regiment 1st Company, 3rd Pioneer Battalion 6th Divisional Pontoon Train 2nd Medical Company Corps Troops I Battalion, 2nd Guards Foot Artillery Regiment4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers) 7th Aviation Detachment 3rd Corps Pontoon Train 3rd Telephone Detachment 3rd Pioneer Searchlight Section Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps

Combat chronicle On mobilisation, III Corps was assigned to the 1st Army on the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. It participated in the Battle of Mons and the First Battle of the Marne which marked the end of the German advances in 1914. Later, it participated in the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of Amiens (1918).

It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 7th Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.

Commanders The III Corps had the following commanders during its existence:German Administrative History Accessed: 4 June 2012German War History Accessed: 4 June 2012The Prussian Machine Accessed: 4 June 2012

From Rank Name 1814 General der Infanterie Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien 7 April 1820 General der Infanterie Frederick William, Crown Prince of Prussia 22 March 1824 Generalleutnant Prince Wilhelm of Prussia 30 March 1838 Generalleutnant Adolf Eduard von Thile 9 May 1840 General der Infanterie Karl von Weyrach 13 November 1849 General der Kavallerie Friedrich Graf von Wrangel 19 September 1857 General der Kavallerie Prince August of Württemberg 3 June 1858 General der Infanterie Wilhelm Fürst von Radziwill 1 July 1860 General der Kavallerie Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia 18 July 1870 General der Infanterie Constantin von Alvensleben 27 March 1873 General der Infanterie 18 October 1881 General der Infanterie Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape 21 August 1884 Generalleutnant Hermann Graf von Wartensleben 12 July 1888 General der Infanterie Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff 24 March 1890 Generalleutnant Maximilian von Versen 7 October 1893 General der Kavallerie Prince Frederick of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen 18 April 1896 General der Infanterie Friedrich von Lignitz 27 January 1903 General der Infanterie Karl von Bülow 1 October 1912 General der Infanterie Ewald von Lochow 25 November 1916 Generalleutnant Walther von Lüttwitz 12 August 1918 Generalleutnant Alfred von Böckmann

III Corps (German Empire)

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