VII Corps (German Empire)

The VII Army Corps / VII AK () 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.German Administrative History Accessed: 27 May 2012

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. 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.

Austro-Prussian War VII Corps fought in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, seeing action in the Battle of Königgrätz.

Franco-Prussian War 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.Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935); Wegner, p.459

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 VII Corps 13th Division 25th Infantry Brigade 13th (1st Westphalian) Infantry "Herwarth von Bittenfeld"Münster 158th (7th Lotharingian) InfantryPaderborn, III Bn at Senne 26th Infantry Brigade 15th (2nd Westphalian) Infantry "Prince Frederick of the Netherlands"Minden 55th (6th Westphalian) Infantry "Count Bülow von Dennewitz"Detmold, I Bn at Höxter, II Bn at Bielefeld 13th Field Artillery Brigade 22nd (2nd Westphalian) Field ArtilleryMünster 58th (Minden) Field ArtilleryMinden 13th Cavalry Brigade 4th (Westphalian) Cuirassiers "von Driesen"Münster 8th (1st Westphalian) Hussars "Emperor Nicholas II of Russia"Neuhaus, Paderborn 14th Division 27th Infantry Brigade 16th (3rd Westphalian) Infantry "Baron Sparr"Cologne 53rd (5th Westphalian) InfantryCologne 28th Infantry Brigade 39th (Lower Rhenish) FusiliersDüsseldorf 159th (8th Lotharingian) InfantryMülheim/Ruhr, III Bn at Geldern 79th Infantry Brigade 56th (7th Westphalian) Infantry "Vogel von Falkenstein"Wesel, III Bn at Kleve 57th (8th Westphalian) Infantry "Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick"Wesel 14th Field Artillery Brigade 7th (1st Westphalian) Field ArtilleryWesel, Düsseldorf 43rd (Cleve) Field ArtilleryWesel 14th Cavalry Brigade 11th (2nd Westphalian) HussarsKrefeld 5th (Westphalian) UhlansDüsseldorf Corps Troops 7th (Westphalian) Jäger Battalion Bückeburg 7th Machine Gun Abteilung Paderborn 7th (Westphalian) Foot ArtilleryCologne 7th (1st Westphalian) Pioneer BattalionCologne 24th (2nd Westphalian) (Fortress-)Pioneer BattalionCologne 7th (Westphalian) Train BattalionMünster Dortmund Defence Command(Landwehr-Inspektion)Dortmund Düsseldorf Defence Command(Landwehr-Inspektion)Düsseldorf

World War I Organisation on mobilisation 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. 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.

+Initial wartime organization of the Corps 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 BattalionWith a machine gun company. 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 Regiment4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers) 18th Aviation Detachment 7th Corps Pontoon Train 7th Telephone Detachment 7th Pioneer Searchlight Section Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps

Combat chronicle 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 in the 7th Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.

Commanders The VII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:German Administrative History Accessed: 27 May 2012German War History Accessed: 27 May 2012The Prussian Machine Accessed: 27 May 2012

From Rank Name 30 October 1815 Generalleutnant Johann Adolf Freiherr von Thielmann 3 April 1820 Generalleutnant Philipp von Luck und Witten 24 May 1820 Generalleutnant Heinrich Wilhelm von Horn 28 November 1829 Generalleutnant Karl Freiherr von Müffling 30 March 1837 General der Infanterie Ernst von Pfuel 2 March 1848 General der Kavallerie Karl von der Gröben 2 June 1853 General der Kavallerie Ludwig Freiherr Roth von Schreckenstein 3 June 1858 Generalleutnant Eduard von Bonin 6 November 1858 General der Kavallerie Charles Anthony, Prince of Hohenzollern 20 January 1860 General der Infanterie Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld 21 November 1864 General der Infanterie Eduard Vogel von Falckenstein 30 October 1866 General der Infanterie Heinrich von Zastrow 5 September 1871 Generalleutnant Wilhelm Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode 15 April 1882 General der Infanterie Carl Friedrich von Witzendorff 7 August 1888 General der Kavallerie Emil von Albedyll 3 June 1893 General der Infanterie Robert von Goetze 5 April 1898 General der Infanterie Viktor von Mikusch-Buchberg 27 January 1900 Generalleutnant Ernst Freiherr von Bülow 18 May 1901 Generalleutnant Moritz von Bissing 12 December 1907 General der Kavallerie Friedrich von Bernhardi 11 August 1909 General der Kavallerie Karl von Einem 16 September 1914 General der Infanterie Eberhard von Claer 29 June 1915 General der Infanterie Hermann von François 6 July 1918 Generalleutnant Wilhelm von Woyna

VII Corps (German Empire)

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