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 and became the III Army Corps on 3 April 1820. Its headquarters was in Berlin and its catchment area was the Province of Brandenburg.
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.
CorpsDivisionBrigadeUnits
III Corps:
Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow
19,172 infantry
6,240 cavalry		Division: None3rd 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 --
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 Heinrich 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: NoneCorps 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 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, Gravelotte, Beaune-la-Rolande, Orléans, and Le Mans, and in the Siege of Metz.

Peacetime organisation

The 25 peacetime Corps of the German Army 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:
Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more
CorpsDivisionBrigadeUnitsGarrison
III Corps5th Division9th Infantry Brigade8th Life Grenadiers "King Frederick William III"Frankfurt an der Oder
48th Infantry "von Stülpnagel"Küstrin---
10th Infantry Brigade12th Grenadiers "Prince Charles of Prussia"Frankfurt an der Oder--
52nd Infantry "von Alvensleben"Cottbus, I Bn at Crossen an der Oder---
5th Field Artillery Brigade18th Field Artilley "General-Feldzeugmeister"Frankfurt an der Oder--
54th Field ArtilleryKüstrin, Landsberg an der Warthe---
5th Cavalry Brigade2nd DragoonsSchwedt--
3rd Uhlans "Emperor Alexander II of Russia"Fürstenwalde---
6th Division11th Infantry Brigade20th Infantry "Count Tauentzien von Wittenberg"Wittenberg-
35th Fusiliers "Prince Henry of Prussia"Brandenburg an der Havel---
12th Infantry Brigade24th Infantry "Grand Duke Frederick Francis II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin"Neuruppin--
64th Infantry "General Field Marshal Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia"Prenzlau, III Bn at Angermünde---
6th Field Artillery Brigade3rd Field Artillery "General-Feldzeugmeister"Brandenburg an der Havel--
39th Field ArtilleryPerleberg---
6th Cavalry Brigade6th Cuirassiers "Emperor Nicholas I of Russia"Brandenburg an der Havel--
3rd Hussars “von Zieten”Rathenow---
Corps Troops3rd Jäger BattalionLübben-
3rd Pioneer Battalion "von Rauch"Magdeburg---
28th Pioneer BattalionKüstrin---
2nd Telegraph BattalionFrankfurt an der Oder, Cottbus---
3rd Train BattalionSpandau---
Berlin Defence Command
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, 6 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries, 4 heavy artillery batteries, 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
CorpsDivisionBrigadeUnits
III Corps5th Division9th Infantry Brigade8th Leib Grenadier Regiment
48th Infantry Regiment---
10th Infantry Brigade12th Grenadier Regiment--
52nd Infantry Regiment---
3rd Jäger Battalion---
5th Field Artillery Brigade18th 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 Division11th Infantry Brigade20th Infantry Regiment-
35th Fusilier Regiment---
12th Infantry Brigade24th Infantry Regiment--
64th Infantry Regiment---
6th Field Artillery Brigade3rd 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 TroopsI Battalion, 2nd Guards Foot Artillery Regiment-
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.
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:
FromRankName
1814General der InfanterieBogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien
7 April 1820General der InfanterieFrederick William, Crown Prince of Prussia
22 March 1824GeneralleutnantPrince Wilhelm of Prussia
30 March 1838GeneralleutnantAdolf Eduard von Thile
9 May 1840General der InfanterieKarl von Weyrach
13 November 1849General der KavallerieFriedrich Graf von Wrangel
19 September 1857General der KavalleriePrince August of Württemberg
3 June 1858General der InfanterieWilhelm Fürst von Radziwill
1 July 1860General der KavalleriePrince Friedrich Karl of Prussia
18 July 1870General der InfanterieConstantin von Alvensleben
27 March 1873General der InfanterieJulius von Groß genannt Schwarzhoff
18 October 1881General der InfanterieAlexander August Wilhelm von Pape
21 August 1884GeneralleutnantHermann Graf von Wartensleben
12 July 1888General der InfanterieWalther Bronsart von Schellendorff
24 March 1890GeneralleutnantMaximilian von Versen
7 October 1893General der KavalleriePrince Frederick of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
18 April 1896General der InfanterieFriedrich von Lignitz
27 January 1903General der InfanterieKarl von Bülow
1 October 1912General der InfanterieEwald von Lochow
25 November 1916GeneralleutnantWalther von Lüttwitz
12 August 1918GeneralleutnantAlfred von Böckmann