V Corps (German Empire)


The V Army Corps / V 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 Grand Duchy of Posen with headquarters in Posen. Its catchment area included the Regierungsbezirk Posen and Regierungsbezirk Liegnitz from the Province of Silesia.
The Corps served in the Austro-Prussian War. During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 3rd Army.
In peacetime the Corps was assigned to the VIII Army Inspectorate but joined the 5th Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war in Armee-Abteilung C, Heeresgruppe Gallwitz on the Western Front. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

Austro-Prussian War

V 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 joined the 3rd Army. It saw action in the opening battles of Weissenburg and Wörth, in the Battle of 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
V Corps9th Division17th Infantry Brigade19th Infantry "von Coubière"Görlitz, II Bn at Lauban
58th InfantryGlogau, III Bn at Fraustadt---
18th Infantry Brigade7th Grenadiers "King William I"Liegnitz--
154th InfantryJauer, III Bn at Striegau---
9th Field Artillery Brigade5th Field Artillery "von Podbielski"Sprottau, Sagan--
41st Field ArtilleryGlogau---
9th Cavalry Brigade4th Dragoons "von Bredow"Lüben--
10th Uhlans "Prince August of Württemberg"Züllichau---
10th Division19th Infantry Brigade6th Grenadiers "Count Kleist von Nollendorf"Posen-
46th Infantry "Count Kirchbach"Posen, III Bn at Wreschen---
20th Infantry Brigade47th Infantry "King Ludwig III of Bavaria"Posen, II Bn at Schrimm--
50th InfantryRawitsch, III Bn at Lissa---
77th Infantry Brigade37th Fusiliers "von Steinmetz"Krotoschin--
155th InfantryOstrowo, III Bn at Pleschen---
10th Field Artillery Brigade20th Field ArtilleryPosen--
56th Field ArtilleryLissa---
10th Cavalry Brigade1st Uhlans "Emperor Alexander III of Russia"Militsch, Ostrowo--
1st Jäger zu PferdePosen---
Corps Troops5th Jäger Battalion "von Neumann"Hirschberg-
6th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungPosen---
5th Foot ArtilleryPosen---
5th Pioneer BattalionGlogau---
29th Pioneer BattalionPosen---
8th Fortress Telephone CompanyPosen---
2nd Flying BattalionPosen, Graudenz, Königsberg---
5th Train BattalionPosen---
Posen Defence Command
Posen-

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 9th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 5th Cavalry Division and the 10th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. 77th Infantry Brigade was assigned to the 10th Reserve Division with the V Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, V Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies, 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries, 4 heavy artillery batteries, 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
CorpsDivisionBrigadeUnits
V Corps9th Division17th Infantry Brigade19th Infantry Regiment
58th Infantry Regiment---
18th Infantry Brigade7th Grenadier Regiment--
154th Infantry Regiment---
5th Jäger Battalion---
9th Field Artillery Brigade5th Field Artillery Regiment--
41st Field Artillery Regiment---
1st Uhlan Regiment--
1st Company, 5th Pioneer Battalion---
9th Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
10th Division19th Infantry Brigade6th Grenadier Regiment-
46th Infantry Regiment---
20th Infantry Brigade47th Infantry Regiment--
50th Infantry Regiment---
10th Field Artillery Brigade20th Field Artillery Regiment--
56th Field Artillery Regiment---
1st Jäger zu Pferde--
2nd Company, 5th Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 5th Pioneer Battalion---
10th Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsI Battalion, 5th Foot Artillery Regiment-
19th Aviation Detachment---
5th Corps Pontoon Train---
5th Telephone Detachment---
5th Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps---

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, V Corps was assigned to the 5th Army forming part of centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front.
It was still in existence at the end of the war in Armee-Abteilung C, Heeresgruppe Gallwitz on the Western Front.

Commanders

The V Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
FromRankName
15 Match 1815Heinrich Ludwig von Thümen
3 April 1820Friedrich von Roeder
30 March 1832General der InfanterieKarl von Grolman
21 September 1843General der KavallerieFriedrich August Peter von Colomb
13 May 1848Friedrich Wilhelm von Brünneck
4 November 1851Wilhelm von Tietzen und Hennig
15 August 1856General der KavallerieFranz Graf von Waldersee
15 August 1864General der InfanterieKarl Friedrich von Steinmetz
18 July 1870General der InfanterieHugo von Kirchbach
3 February 1880General der InfanterieAlexander August Wilhelm von Pape
18 October 1881General der InfanterieGustav von Stiehle
22 March 1886General der KavallerieGustav Hermann von Alvensleben
23 November 1886GeneralleutnantOskar Freiherr von Meerscheidt-Hüllessem
19 September 1888GeneralleutnantFranz Freiherr von Hilgers
27 January 1890GeneralleutnantRichard von Seeckt
27 January 1897General der InfanterieAugust von Bomsdorff
4 April 1899General der InfanterieFerdinand von Stülpnagel
13 June 1906General der InfanterieAlexander von Kluck
11 September 1907General der InfanterieGünther von Kirchbach
3 April 1911General der InfanterieHermann von Strantz
1 September 1914GeneralleutnantRobert Kosch
9 October 1914Adolf von Oven
2 February 1917General der InfanterieEduard von Below
2 January 1919General der InfanterieGeorg Wichura