IV Corps (German Empire)


The IV Army Corps / IV 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 on 3 October 1815 as the General Command in the Duchy of Saxony and became the IV Army Corps on August 30, 1818. Its headquarters was in Magdeburg and its catchment area included the Prussian Province of Saxony and the adjacent Saxon Duchies and Principalities.
In peacetime, the Corps was assigned to the VI Army Inspectorate but joined the 1st Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 6th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

Austro-Prussian War

The IV 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 formed part of the 2nd Army. It saw action in the battles of Beaumont and Sedan, and in the Siege of Paris.

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
IV Corps7th Division13th Infantry Brigade26th Infantry "Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau"Magdeburg
66th InfantryMagdeburg---
14th Infantry Brigade27th Infantry "Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia"Halberstadt--
165th InfantryQuedlinburg, II Bn at Blankenburg---
7th Field Artillery Brigade4th Field Artillery "Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria"Magdeburg--
40th Field ArtilleryBurg---
7th Cavalry Brigade10th HussarsStendal--
16th Uhlans "Hennigs von Treffenfeld"Salzwedel, Gardelegen---
8th Division15th Infantry Brigade36th Fusiliers "General Field Marshal Count Blumenthal"Halle, II Bn at Bernburg-
93rd InfantryDessau, II Bn at Zerbst---
16th Infantry Brigade72nd InfantryTorgau, III Bn at Eilenburg--
153rd InfantryAltenburg, III Bn at Merseburg---
8th Field Artillery Brigade74th Field ArtilleryTorgau, Wittenberg--
75th Field ArtilleryHalle---
8th Cavalry Brigade7th Cuirassiers "von Seydlitz"Halberstadt, Quedlinburg--
12th HussarsTorgau---
Corps Troops4th Jäger Battalion "von Neumann"Naumburg -
4th Foot Artillery "Encke"Magdeburg---
4th Pioneer BattalionMagdeburg---
4th Train BattalionMagdeburg---
Halle an der Saale Defence Command
Halle-

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 8th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 7th Cavalry Brigade was broken up: the 10th 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 7th and 8th Divisions; the 16th Uhlan Regiment was likewise assigned as two half-regiments to 13th and 14th Divisions of VII Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, IV 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
IV Corps7th Division13th Infantry Brigade26th Infantry Regiment
66th Infantry Regiment---
14th Infantry Brigade27th Infantry Regiment--
165th Infantry Regiment---
7th Field Artillery Brigade4th Field Artillery Regiment--
40th Field Artillery Regiment---
staff and half of 10th Hussar Regiment--
2nd Company, 4th Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 4th Pioneer Battalion---
7th Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
8th Division15th Infantry Brigade36th Fusilier Regiment-
93rd Infantry Regiment---
4th Jäger Battalion---
16th Infantry Brigade72nd Infantry Regiment--
153rd Infantry Regiment---
8th Field Artillery Brigade74th Field Artillery Regiment--
75th Field Artillery Regiment---
half of 10th Hussar Regiment--
1st Company, 4th Pioneer Battalion---
8th Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsI Battalion, 4th Foot Artillery Regiment-
9th Aviation Detachment---
4th Corps Pontoon Train---
4th Telephone Detachment---
4th Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps---

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, IV 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 the Somme, particularly the Battle of Delville Wood and the Battle of Pozières.
It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 6th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.

49th Landwehr Brigade

During the war, the 49th Landwehr Brigade joined the corps; it had originally been part of 4th Army. It had its headquarters at Bois de Lord farm on the River Aisne for most of the First World War. From 1915 the 49th Landwehr Brigade was commanded by Lt. General Hans von Blumenthal, who had retired in 1910 after disagreements with his commanding officer General Maximilian von Prittwitz. On the outbreak of war he had returned to active service, first to command 60th Landwehr Brigade.

Commanders

The IV Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
FromRankName
3 October 1815General der InfanterieFriedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf
5 March 1821General der InfanterieFriedrich Wilhelm von Jagow
4 September 1830GeneralleutnantGeorg Leopold Graf von Hake
30 March 1836GeneralleutnantPrince Charles of Prussia
5 March 1848GeneralleutnantAugust Georg von Hedemann
19 February 1852General der KavallerieWilhelm Fürst von Radziwill
3 January 1858General der InfanterieHans Wilhelm von Schack
30 October 1866General der InfanterieGustav von Alvensleben
2 October 1871General der InfanterieLeonhard Graf von Blumenthal
17 April 1888General der InfanterieWilhelm von Grolmann
22 March 1889General der KavallerieKarl von Hänisch
1 September 1897General der InfanterieRichard von Klitzing
27 January 1903General der InfanteriePaul von Hindenburg
20 March 1911General der InfanterieFriedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin
25 February 1917GeneralleutnantRichard von Kraewel
20 December 1918General der InfanterieKuno von Steuben
30 January 1919GeneralleutnantJohannes von Malachowski
10 February 1919GeneralleutnantAlfred von Kleist