XXI Corps (German Empire)

The XXI Army Corps / XXI AK () was a corps level command of the German Army, before and during World War I.

As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, the XXI Army Corps was set up on 1 October 1912 in Saarbrücken as the Generalkommando (headquarters) for the districts of Koblenz, Trier and part of Alsace–Lorraine.German Administrative History Accessed: 9 April 2012 It took over command of 31st Division from XV Corps and the newly formed 42nd Division (the last division to be formed by the peacetime army). General der Infanterie Fritz von Below, former commander of 1st Guards Division, took command.

It was assigned to the VII Army Inspectorate. but joined the predominantly Bavarian 6th Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 5th Army, Heeresgruppe Gallwitz on the Western Front.

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 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 XXI Corps 31st Division 32nd Infantry Brigade 70th (8th Rhenish) InfantrySaarbrücken 174th (10th Lotharingian) InfantryForbach 62nd Infantry Brigade 60th (7th Brandenburg) Infantry "Margrave Charles"Weißenburg 137th (2nd Lower Alsatian) InfantryHagenau 166th (Hessen-Homburg) InfantryBitsch 31st Field Artillery Brigade 31st (1st Lower Alsatian) Field ArtilleryHagenau 67th (2nd Lower Alsatian) Field ArtilleryHagenau, Bischweiler 31st Cavalry Brigade 7th (Westphalian) DragoonsSaarbrücken 7th (Rhenish) Uhlans "Archduke Frederick of Baden"Saarbrücken 42nd Division 59th Infantry Brigade 97th (1st Upper Rhenish) InfantrySaarburg 138th (3rd Lower Alsatian) InfantryDieuze 65th Infantry Brigade 17th (4th Westphalian) Infantry "Count Barfuss"Mörchingen 131st (2nd Lotharingian) InfantryMörchingen 42nd Field Artillery Brigade 8th (1st Rhenish) Field Artillery "von Holtzendorff"Had a third (Horse Artillery) Abteilung of three batteries of 4 guns.Saarbrücken 15th (1st Upper Alsatian) Field ArtilleryHad a third (Horse Artillery) Abteilung of three batteries of 4 guns.Saarburg, Mörchingen 42nd Cavalry Brigade 11th (2nd Brandenburg) Uhlans "Count Haeseler"Saarburg 15th (Schleswig-Holstein) UhlansSaarburg Corps Troops 3rd Machine Gun AbteilungSaarburg 27th (2nd Rhenish) Pioneer BattalionTrier 21st (2nd Rhenish) Train BattalionForbach Saarbrücken Defence Command(Landwehr-Inspektion)Saarbrücken

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 42nd Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 7th Cavalry Division and the 31st 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. Unusually, the Corps retained its 9th infantry regiment on mobilisation. In summary, XXI Corps mobilised with 27 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 XXI Corps 31st Division 32nd Infantry Brigade 70th Infantry Regiment 174th Infantry Regiment 62nd Infantry Brigade 60th Infantry Regiment 137th Infantry Regiment 166th Infantry Regiment 31st Field Artillery Brigade 31st Field Artillery Regiment 67th Field Artillery Regiment 7th Uhlan Regiment 1st Company, 27th Pioneer Battalion 31st Divisional Pontoon Train 1st Medical Company 42nd Division 59th Infantry Brigade 97th Infantry Regiment 138th Infantry Regiment 65th Infantry Brigade 17th Infantry Regiment 131st Infantry Regiment 42nd Field Artillery Brigade 8th Field Artillery Regiment 15th Field Artillery Regiment 7th Dragoon Regiment 2nd Company, 27th Pioneer Battalion 3rd Company, 27th Pioneer Battalion 42nd Divisional Pontoon Train 2nd Medical Company 3rd Medical Company Corps Troops II Battalion, 3rd Foot Artillery Regiment4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers) 8th Aviation Detachment 21st Corps Pontoon Train 21st Telephone Detachment 27th Pioneer Searchlight Section Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps

Combat chronicle On mobilisation, XXI Corps was assigned to the predominantly Bavarian 6th Army forming part of the left wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. By 1915 it was on the Eastern Front where it took part in the siege of Kaunas and the battles on the Neman River and at Vilnius. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 5th Army, Heeresgruppe Gallwitz on the Western Front.

Commanders The XXI Corps had the following commanders during its existence:German Administrative History Accessed: 9 April 2012German War History Accessed: 9 April 2012 Dates Rank Name 1 October 1912 to 4 April 1915 General der Infanterie Fritz von Below 4 April 1915 to 2 January 1917 Generalleutnant Oskar von Hutier 2 January 1917 to end of war Generalleutnant Ernst von Oven

XXI Corps (German Empire)

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