XVIII Corps (German Empire)


The XVIII Army Corps / XVIII AK was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.
As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th century, the XVIII Army Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 in Frankfurt am Main as the Generalkommando for the district of Wiesbaden and the Grand Duchy of Hesse. It took over command of 21st Division from XI Corps and the previously separate 25th Division. It was assigned to the VII Army Inspectorate, but joined the 4th Army at the start of the First World War.
It was still in existence at the end of the war, serving in the 17th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.

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
XVIII Corps21st Division41st Infantry Brigade87th InfantryMainz
88th InfantryMainz, II Bn at Hanau---
42nd Infantry Brigade80th Fusiliers "von Gersdorff"Wiesbaden, II Bn at Bad Homburg--
81st Infantry "Landgrave Frederick I of Hesse-Cassel"Frankfurt am Main---
21st Field Artillery Brigade27th Field Artillery "Oranien"Mainz, Wiesbaden--
63rd Field ArtilleryFrankfurt am Main---
21st Cavalry Brigade6th DragoonsMainz--
6th UhlansHanau---
25th Division49th Infantry Brigade115th Lifeguard InfantryDarmstadt-
116th Infantry "Emperor William"Gießen---
168th InfantryOffenbach, I Bn at Butzbach, III Bn at Friedberg---
50th Infantry Brigade117th Life Infantry "Grand Duchess"Mainz--
118th Infantry "Prince Charles"Worms---
25th Field Artillery Brigade25th Field ArtilleryDarmstadt--
61st Field ArtilleryDarmstadt, Babenhausen---
25th Cavalry Brigade23rd Guards Dragoons Darmstadt--
24th Life Dragoons Darmstadt---
Corps Troops8th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungMainz-
3rd Foot ArtilleryMainz---
21st Pioneer BattalionMainz---
25th Pioneer BattalionMainz---
7th Telephone CompanyMainz---
18th Train BattalionDarmstadt---
2nd Railway RegimentHanau---
3rd Railway RegimentHanau---

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization, on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. The 25th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 3rd Cavalry Division and the 21st Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The 168th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 25th Reserve Division in XVIII Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XVIII Corps mobilised with 24 infantry battalions, 8 machine gun companies, 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries, 4 heavy artillery batteries, 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
CorpsDivisionBrigadeUnits
XVIII Corps21st Division41st Infantry Brigade87th Infantry Regiment
88th Infantry Regiment---
42nd Infantry Brigade80th Fusilier Regiment--
81st Infantry Regiment---
21st Field Artillery Brigade27th Field Artillery Regiment--
63rd Field Artillery Regiment---
6th Uhlan Regiment--
1st Company, 21st Pioneer Battalion---
21st Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
25th Division49th Infantry Brigade115th Life Guard Infantry Regiment-
116th Infantry Regiment---
50th Infantry Brigade117th Life Infantry Regiment--
118th Infantry Regiment---
25th Field Artillery Brigade25th Field Artillery Regiment--
61st Field Artillery Regiment---
6th Dragoon Regiment--
2nd Company, 21st Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 21st Pioneer Battalion---
25th Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsI Battalion, 3rd Foot Artillery Regiment-
27th Aviation Detachment---
18th Corps Pontoon Train---
18th Telephone Detachment---
21st Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps---

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XVIII Corps was assigned to the 4th Army forming part of the centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914. It was still in existence at the end of the war, serving in the 17th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.

Commanders

The XVIII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
DatesRankName
25 March 1899 to 30 April 1904General der InfanterieOskar von Lindequist
1 May 1904 to 12 September 1912GeneralleutnantHermann von Eichhorn
13 September 1912 to 20 January 1917General der InfanterieDedo von Schenck
21 January 1917 to 26 August 1918GeneralleutnantViktor Albrecht
27 August 1918 to end of the warGeneralleutnantGünther von Etzel