XX Corps (German Empire)


The XX Army Corps / XX AK was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.
As the German Army expanded in the later part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, the XX Army Corps was set up on 1 October 1912 in Allenstein as the Generalkommando for the southern part of East Prussia. It took over command of 37th Division from I Corps and the newly formed 41st Division. General der Artillerie Friedrich von Scholtz, former commander of 21st Division, took command. It was assigned to the I Army Inspectorate. which became the 8th Army at the start of the First World War.
XX Corps served on the Eastern Front from the start of the war. In September 1915, the corps was upgraded to form Armee-Gruppe Scholtz, later Armee-Abteilung Scholtz, as part of the Army of the Niemen. It was reformed from Armee-Abteilung D in September 1918. It was dissolved after the 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
XX Corps37th Division73rd Infantry Brigade147th InfantryLyck, III Bn at Lötzen
151st InfantrySensburg, III Bn at Bischofsburg---
75th Infantry Brigade146th InfantryAllenstein--
150th InfantryAllenstein---
37th Field Artillery Brigade73rd Field ArtilleryAllenstein--
82nd Field ArtilleryRastenburg, Lötzen---
37th Cavalry Brigade10th Dragoons "King Albert of Saxony"Allenstein--
11th Dragoons "von Wedel"Lyck---
41st Division72nd Infantry Brigade18th Infantry "von Grolman"Osterode-
59th Infantry "Baron Hiller von Gaertringen"Deutsch-Eylau, Soldau---
74th Infantry Brigade148th InfantryElbing, III Bn at Braunsberg--
152nd Infantry "Teutonic Order"Marienburg, III Bn at Stuhm---
41st Field Artillery Brigade35th Field ArtilleryDeutsch-Eylau--
79th Field ArtilleryOsterode---
41st Cavalry Brigade5th Cuirassiers "Duke Frederick Eugene of Württemberg"Riesenburg--
4th Uhlans "von Schmidt"Thorn---
Corps Troops1st Jäger Battalion "Graf Yorck von Wartenberg"Ortelsburg-
2nd Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungLötzen ---
23rd Pioneer BattalionGraudenz---
26th Pioneer BattalionGraudenz---
20th Train BattalionMarienburg---
Allenstein Defence Command
Allenstein-

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 41st Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 1st Cavalry Division and the 37th 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, XX 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
XX Corps37th Division73rd Infantry Brigade147th Infantry Regiment
151st Infantry Regiment---
1st Jäger Battalion---
75th Infantry Brigade146th Infantry Regiment--
150th Infantry Regiment---
37th Field Artillery Brigade73rd Field Artillery Regiment--
82nd Field Artillery Regiment---
11th Dragoon Regiment--
1st Company, 26th Pioneer Battalion---
37th Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
41st Division72nd Infantry Brigade18th Infantry Regiment-
59th Infantry Regiment---
74th Infantry Brigade148th Infantry Regiment--
152nd Infantry Regiment---
41st Field Artillery Brigade35th Field Artillery Regiment--
79th Field Artillery Regiment---
10th Dragoon Regiment--
2nd Company, 26th Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 26th Pioneer Battalion---
41st Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsII Battalion, 5th Foot Artillery Regiment-
15th Aviation Detachment---
20th Corps Pontoon Train---
20th Telephone Detachment---
26th Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps---

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XX 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 1st Masurian Lakes it joined 9th Army in Lower Silesia where it fought at the Battle of the Vistula River. By May 1915 it was back with 8th Army and on 26 May the commander of XX Corps, General der Artillerie Friedrich von Scholtz, was made commander of the Army, while retaining simultaneous command of his Corps. On 29 September 1915, the headquarters of 8th Army was dissolved. On 18 September 1915, XX Corps was upgraded to form Armee-Gruppe Scholtz, later Armee-Abteilung Scholtz, as part of the Army of the Niemen.
XX Corps was reformed from Armee-Abteilung D on 21 September 1918.

Commanders

The XX Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
DatesNameNotes
1 October 1912 to 28 October 1915General der Artillerie Friedrich von ScholtzHeadquarters upgraded to Armee-Abteilung Scholtz
21 September 1918 to end of warGeneralleutnant Viktor AlbrechtHeadquarters reformed from Armee-Abteilung D

Glossary