XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps

The XII (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps / XII AK () was a Saxon corps level command of the Saxon and German Armies before and during World War I.

The Corps was formed as the Royal Saxon Corps on 1 April 1867 and headquartered in Dresden. Initially, it commanded the 1st Royal Saxon Infantry Division in Dresden and the 2nd Royal Saxon Infantry Division in Leipzig. After the XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 as the headquarters for the western part of the Kingdom of Saxony, XII Corps was made responsible for the eastern part of the Kingdom.

The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

Franco-Prussian War During the Franco-Prussian War, the corps fought in the Battle of Gravelotte, the Battle of Sedan and the Siege of Paris.Claus von Bredow, bearb., Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deuschen Heeres (1905), p. 1386.

Order of Battle during the Franco-Prussian War The organization of the XII (Royal Saxon) Corps on 18 August 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows:A. Niemann, Der französische Feldzug 1870-1871 (Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Hildburghausen, 1871), p. 44.

Commander: General Crown Prince Albert of Saxony Chief of the General Staff: Lt. Col. Friedrich von Zezschwitz

23rd (1st Royal Saxon) Infantry Division - Lt. General Prince George of Saxony 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Infantry Division - Maj. General Erwin Nehrhoff von Holderberg Saxon Cavalry Division - Major General Franz Graf und Edler Herr zur Lippe-Weißenfeld 12th (Royal Saxon) Field Artillery Regiment - Col. Bernhard Oskar von Funcke 12th (Royal Saxon) Pioneer Battalion - Lt. Col. Karl Hugo Klemm 12th (Royal Saxon) Train Battalion - Lt. Col. Edmund Schmalz

Between the wars On 1 April 1887 another Saxon division was formed (32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Infantry Division headquartered in BautzenGünter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939. (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1, p.128;Claus von Bredow, bearb., Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deuschen Heeres (1905), pp.1388-1389.) and assigned to the Corps.

As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th Century, the XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 in Leipzig as the Generalkommando (headquarters) for the western part of the Kingdom of Saxony (districts of Leipzig, Chemnitz and Zwickau).German Administrative History Accessed: 11 May 2012 It took over command of 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division and the newly formed 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division. Thereafter, XII Corps was responsible for the eastern part of the Kingdom.

The Corps was assigned to the II Army Inspectorate which formed the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army at the start of the First World War.

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 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).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 XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps 23rd (1st Royal Saxon) Division 45th (1st Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade 100th (1st Royal Saxon) Life GrenadiersDresden 101st (2nd Royal Saxon) Grenadiers "Emperor William, King of Prussia"Dresden 46th (2nd Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade 108th (Royal Saxon) Schützen (Füsiliers) "Prince George"Dresden 182nd (16th Royal Saxon) InfantryFreiberg 23rd (1st Royal Saxon) Field Artillery Brigade 12th (1st Royal Saxon) Field ArtilleryHad a third (Horse Artillery) Abteilung of three batteries of 4 guns.Dresden, Königsbrück 48th (4th Royal Saxon) Field ArtilleryDresden 23rd (1st Royal Saxon) Cavalry Brigade 1st Royal Saxon Guards Heavy CavalryDresden 17th (1st Royal Saxon) Uhlans "Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, King of Hungary"Oschatz 32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Division 63rd (5th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade 102nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Infantry "King Ludwig III of Bavaria"Zittau 103rd (4th Royal Saxon) InfantryBautzen 64th (6th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade 177th (12th Royal Saxon) InfantryDresden 178th (13th Royal Saxon) InfantryKamenz 32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Field Artillery Brigade 28th (2nd Royal Saxon) Field ArtilleryBautzen 64th (5th Royal Saxon) Field ArtilleryPirna 32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Cavalry Brigade 18th (1st Royal Saxon) Hussars "King Albert"Großenhain 20th (3rd Royal Saxon) HussarsBautzen Corps Troops 12th (1st Royal Saxon) Jäger BattalionFreiberg 13th (2nd Royal Saxon) Jäger BattalionDresden 19th (2nd Royal Saxon) Foot ArtilleryDresden 12th (1st Royal Saxon) Pioneer BattalionPirna 12th (1st Royal Saxon) Train BattalionDresden, Bischofswerda 7th (Royal Saxon) Telegraph BattalionDresden Dresden Defence Command(Landwehr-Inspektion)Dresden

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 23rd Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 8th Cavalry Division and the 32nd Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XII Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies (54 machine guns), 8 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 XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps 23rd (1st Royal Saxon) Division 45th Infantry Brigade 100th Life- Grenadier Regiment 101st Grenadier Regiment 46th Infantry Brigade 108th Schützen Regiment 182nd Infantry Regiment 23rd Field Artillery Brigade 12th Field Artillery Regiment 48th Field Artillery Regiment 20th Hussar Regiment 1st Company, 12th Pioneer Battalion 23rd Divisional Pontoon Train 1st Medical Company 3rd Medical Company 32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Division 63rd Infantry Brigade 102nd Infantry Regiment 103rd Infantry Regiment 12th Jäger BattalionWith a machine gun company. 64th Infantry Brigade 177th Infantry Regiment 178th Infantry Regiment 32nd Field Artillery Brigade 28th Field Artillery Regiment 64th Field Artillery Regiment 18th Hussar Regiment 2nd Company, 12th Pioneer Battalion 3rd Company, 12th Pioneer Battalion 32nd Divisional Pontoon Train 2nd Medical Company Corps Troops I Battalion, 19th Foot Artillery Regiment4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers) 29th Aviation Detachment 12th Corps Pontoon Train 12th Telephone Detachment 12th Pioneer Searchlight Section Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps

Combat chronicle On mobilisation, XII Corps was assigned to the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army forming part of the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. It was transferred to the 2nd Army on 14 September 1914 and to the 7th Army one day later. It would later serve under the 5th Army and the 3rd Army again.XII. Armeekorps (Chronik 1914/1918) It was still in existence at the end of the war in Armee-Abteilung B, Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg at the extreme southern end of the Western Front.

Commanders The XII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:German Administrative History Accessed: 11 May 2012German War History Accessed: 11 May 2012The Prussian Machine Accessed: 11 May 2012 From Rank Name 23 February 1867 General der Infanterie Crown Prince Albert of Saxony19 August 1870 General der Infanterie Prince Georg of Saxony22 March 1900 Generalleutnant Max von Hausen26 August 1902 General der Infanterie Crown Prince Friedrich Augustus of Saxony18 October 1904 Generalleutnant Hermann von Broizem26 September 1910 General der Infanterie Karl Ludwig d'Elsa17 April 1916 Generalleutnant Horst Edler von der Planitz8 September 1917 General der Kavallerie Hans Krug von Nidda24 July 1918 Generalleutnant Max Leuthold

Glossary Armee-Abteilung or Army Detachment in the sense of "something detached from an Army". It is not under the command of an Army so is in itself a small Army. Armee-Gruppe or Army Group in the sense of a group within an Army and under its command, generally formed as a temporary measure for a specific task. Heeresgruppe or Army Group in the sense of a number of armies under a single commander.

XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps

Bron en licentie