XI Corps (German Empire)


The XI Army Corps / XI AK was a corps level command of the Prussian and German Armies before and during World War I.
XI Corps was one of three formed in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War. The Corps was formed in October 1866 with headquarters in Kassel. The catchment area included the newly annexed Province of Hesse-Nassau and the Thuringian principalities.
During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 3rd Army.
The Corps was assigned to the VI Army Inspectorate but joined the predominantly Saxon 3rd 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.

Franco-Prussian War

During the Franco-Prussian War, the corps formed part of the 3rd Army. It participated in the battles of Wissembourg, Wörth and Sedan.

Between the wars

Initially, the Corps commanded the 21st Division in Frankfurt and the 22nd Division in Kassel. In 1871 they were joined by the Grand Ducal Hessian 25th Division in Darmstadt. As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th Century, a new XVIII Corps was formed on 1 April 1899 and took command of the 21st and 25th Divisions. The 38th Division was formed at Erfurt on the same date and joined the Corps.
The Corps was assigned to the VI Army Inspectorate but joined the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army at the start of the First World War.

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
XI Corps22nd Division43rd Infantry Brigade82nd InfantryGöttingen
83rd Infantry "von Wittich"Kassel, III Bn at Arolsen---
44th Infantry Brigade32nd InfantryMeiningen--
167th InfantryKassel, III Bn at Mühlhausen---
22nd Field Artillery Brigade11th Field ArtilleryKassel, Fritzlar--
47th Field ArtilleryFulda---
22nd Cavalry Brigade5th Dragoons "Baron Manteuffel"Hofgeismar--
14th Hussars "Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Homburg"Kassel---
38th Division76th Infantry Brigade71st InfantryErfurt, I Bn at Sondershausen-
95th InfantryGotha, II Bn at Hildburghausen, III Bn at Coburg---
83rd Infantry Brigade94th Infantry "Grand Duke of Saxony"Weimar, II Bn at Eisenach, III Bn at Jena--
96th InfantryGera, III Bn at Rudolstadt---
38th Field Artillery Brigade19th Field ArtilleryErfurt--
55th Field ArtilleryNaumburg an der Saale---
38th Cavalry Brigade2nd Jäger zu PferdeLangensalza--
6th Jäger zu PferdeErfurt---
Corps Troops11th Jäger BattalionMarburg-
6th Machine Gun AbteilungMetz---
18th Foot ArtilleryNiederzwehren bei Kassel---
11th Pioneer BattalionHannoversch Münden---
11th Train BattalionKassel---
Erfurt Defence Command
Erfurt-

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 38th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 8th Cavalry Division and the 22nd Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 3rd Cavalry Division. The 6th Cuirassiers, formerly of the III 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 22nd and 38th Divisions. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XI 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
XI Corps22nd Division43rd Infantry Brigade82nd Infantry Regiment
83rd Infantry Regiment---
44th Infantry Brigade32nd Infantry Regiment--
167th Infantry Regiment---
11th Jäger Battalion---
22nd Field Artillery Brigade11th Field Artillery Regiment--
47th Field Artillery Regiment---
staff and half of 6th Cuirassier Regiment--
1st Company, 11th Pioneer Battalion---
22nd Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
38th Division76th Infantry Brigade71st Infantry Regiment-
95th Infantry Regiment---
83rd Infantry Brigade94th Infantry Regiment--
96th Infantry Regiment---
38th Field Artillery Brigade19th Field Artillery Regiment--
55th Field Artillery Regiment---
half of 6th Cuirassier Regiment--
2nd Company, 11th Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 11th Pioneer Battalion---
38th Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsI Battalion, 18th Foot Artillery Regiment-
28th Aviation Detachment---
11th Corps Pontoon Train---
11th Telephone Detachment---
11th Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps---

Combat chronicle

The Corps was assigned to the VI Army Inspectorate in peacetime but joined the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army at the start of the First World War 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 capture of Namur and was immediately transferred to the Eastern Front to join the 8th Army in time to participate in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. It was then transferred to the 9th Army and took part in the Battle of the Vistula River.
It returned to the Western Front at the end of 1915.
It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 6th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.

Commanders

The XI Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
FromRankName
30 October 1866General der InfanterieHeinrich Ludwig von Plonski
18 July 1870General der InfanterieJulius von Bose
6 April 1880General der KavallerieLudwig Karl von Schlotheim
22 March 1889General der InfanterieWilhelm Hermann von Grolman
11 August 1892General der InfanterieAdolf von Wittich
24 April 1904General der InfanterieWilhelm von Linde-Suden
24 September 1905General der KavallerieAlbrecht, Duke of Württemberg
25 February 1908General der InfanterieReinhard von Scheffer-Boyadel
1 January 1914General der InfanterieOtto von Plüskow
12 March 1917GeneralleutnantViktor Kühne
27 August 1917General der InfanterieFranz Freiherr von Soden
21 November 1917GeneralleutnantViktor Kühne