XVII Corps (German Empire)


The XVII Army Corps / XVII 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 XVII Army Corps was set up on 1 April 1890 in Danzig as the Generalkommando for West Prussia. It took command of two divisions formed on the same date: 35th Division and 36th Division. It was assigned to the I Army Inspectorate, which became the 8th Army at the start of the First World War.
XVII Corps served on the Eastern Front from the start of the war. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 7th Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.

Formation

By a law of 27 January 1890, it was decided to separate the Province of West Prussia from the Province of East Prussia in military affairs. It stipulated that, from 1 April 1890, the entire power of the Army of the German Empire should be 20 army corps.
The All-highest Cabinet Order of 1 February 1890 authorised the formation of the XVI and XVII Army Corps. The latter was assigned to the I Army Inspectorate and included the territory of the Landwehr districts Schlawe, Stolp, Konitz, Thorn, Graudenz, Danzig, Preußisch Stargard, Neustadt, Osterode, Deutsch-Eylau and Marienburg.
Later, the districts of Osterode, Deutsch-Eylau and Marienburg would be reassigned to the XX Corps.

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
XVII Corps35th Division70th Infantry Brigade21st Infantry "von Borcke"Thorn
61st Infantry "von der Marwitz"Thorn---
87th Infantry Brigade141st InfantryGraudenz, III Bn in Strasburg in Westpreußen--
176th InfantryKulm, II Bn in Thorn---
35th Field Artillery Brigade71st Field Artillery "Grand Komtur"Graudenz--
81st Field ArtilleryThorn---
35th Cavalry Brigade5th Hussars "Prince Blücher of Wahlstatt"Stolp--
4th Jäger zu PferdeGraudenz---
36th Division69th Infantry Brigade129th InfantryGraudenz-
175th InfantryGraudenz, II Bn in Schwetz---
71st Infantry Brigade5th Grenadiers "King Frederick I"Danzig--
128th InfantryDanzig, II Bn in Neufahrwasser---
36th Field Artillery Brigade36th Field ArtilleryDanzig--
72nd Field Artillery "Grand Master"Marienwerder, Preußisch Stargard---
Leib Hussar Brigade1st Life Hussars "Totenkopf"Danzig-Langfuhr--
2nd Life Hussars "Queen Victoria of Prussia"Danzig-Langfuhr---
Corps Troops2nd Jäger Battalion "Fürst Bismarck"Kulm-
4th Machine Gun AbteilungThorn---
3rd Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungGraudenz---
4th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungGraudenz---
5th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungThorn---
11th Foot ArtilleryThorn---
17th Foot ArtilleryDanzig, Pillau---
17th Pioneer BattalionThorn---
5th Telegraph BattalionDanzig, Berlin, Schneidemühl---
1st Telephone CompanyThorn---
2nd Telephone CompanyGraudenz---
17th Train BattalionDanzig---
Graudenz Defence Command
Graudenz-

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. The Leib Hussar Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 35th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XVII 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
XVII Corps35th Division70th Infantry Brigade21st Infantry Regiment
61st Infantry Regiment---
87th Infantry Brigade141st Infantry Regiment--
176th Infantry Regiment---
2nd Jäger Battalion---
35th Field Artillery Brigade71st Field Artillery Regiment--
81st Field Artillery Regiment---
4th Jäger zu Pferde Regiment--
1st Company, 17th Pioneer Battalion---
35th Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
36th Division69th Infantry Brigade129th Infantry Regiment-
175th Infantry Regiment---
71st Infantry Brigade5th Grenadier Regiment--
128th Infantry Regiment---
36th Field Artillery Brigade36th Field Artillery Regiment--
72nd Field Artillery Regiment---
5th Hussar Regiment--
2nd Company, 17th Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 17th Pioneer Battalion---
36th Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsI Battalion, 11th Foot Artillery Regiment-
17th Aviation Detachment---
17th Corps Pontoon Train---
17th Telephone Detachment---
17th Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps---

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XVII Corps was assigned to the 8th Army to defend East Prussia, while the rest of the Army executed the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914. It took part in the battles of Gumbinnen, Tannenberg and 1st Masurian Lakes. Immediately after the latter, it joined the 9th Army in Lower Silesia, where it fought at the Battle of the Vistula River.

Commanders

The XVII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
DatesRankName
24 March 1890General der InfanterieAugust von Lentze
3 April 1902General der InfanterieGeorg von Braunschweig
27 January 1908General der KavallerieAugust von Mackensen
2 November 1914General der InfanterieGünther von Pannewitz
7 September 1916GeneralleutnantPaul Fleck
19 February 1918GeneralleutnantRichard von Webern
23 June 1918GeneralleutnantGünther von Etzel
27 August 1918GeneralleutnantAxel von Petersdorff
13 December 1918General der InfanterieOtto von Below
27 June 1919Johannes von Malachowski