I Royal Bavarian Corps

The I Royal Bavarian Army Corps / I Bavarian AK (I. Königlich Bayerisches Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army, before and during World War I.

As part of the 1868 army reform, the I Royal Bavarian Army Corps of the Bavarian Army was set up in 1869 in Munich as the Generalkommando (headquarters) for the southern part of the Kingdom. With the formation of the III Royal Bavarian Corps in 1900, it was made responsible for Swabia and most of Upper and Lower Bavaria. Like all Bavarian formations, it was assigned to the IV Army Inspectorate. This became the 6th Army at the start of the First World War. The Corps was disbanded at the end of the War.

Franco-Prussian War
The I Royal Bavarian Corps (along with the II Royal Bavarian Corps) participated in the Franco-Prussian War as part of the 3rd Army.

It initially fought in the battles of Worth, Beaumont and the Bazeilles, where it lost about 7.000 men, it also fought at the decisive battle of Sedan. After Sedan, the Corps was responsible for the removal of prisoners and ensuring transport of the booty. Thereafter, it moved south of Paris to the Loire, to shield the army during the Siege of Paris. A newly formed French Corps gathered in the Orléans area, so the Corps was reinforced by the 17th Division, 22nd Division and two cavalry divisions. After the Battle of Artenay, Orléans was captured and the reinforcing divisions were removed so the Corps did not have them for the first battles against the Army of the Loire. As a result of the subsequent Battle of Coulmiers, Orléans was lost once again.

In the period from October to late December 1870, the Corps was on service without interruption, particularly from the beginning of November in the battles of Villepion, Loigny, Orléans and Beaugency, usually against a numerically superior enemy. The losses in December alone amounted to 5,600 men. A planned return to the siege army at Paris had to be postponed several times because the Bavarians could not be spared.

Peacetime organisation
The 25 peacetime Corps of the German Army (Guards, I - XXI, I - III Bavarian) 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:
 * V, VI, VII, IX and XIV Corps each had a 5th infantry brigade (so 10 infantry regiments)
 * II, XIII, XVIII and XXI Corps had a 9th infantry regiment
 * I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3rd cavalry brigade (so 6 cavalry regiments)
 * the Guards Corps had 11 infantry regiments (in 5 brigades) and 8 cavalry regiments (in 4 brigades).

Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more
 * Foot Artillery Regiment
 * Jäger Battalion
 * Pioneer Battalion
 * Train Battalion

Organisation on mobilisation
On mobilization, on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. 1st Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the Bavarian Cavalry Division and the 2nd 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, I Bavarian Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 8 machine gun companies (48 machine guns), 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.

Combat chronicle
On mobilisation, I Royal Bavarian Corps was assigned to the predominately Bavarian 6th Army forming part of the left wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 18th Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front. <!--- It was the beginning of the First World War, the 6th Army under Crown Prince Rupprecht assumed. His deployment and staging area to the west of Saarburg. After the 7th Army (left neighbor of the First Army Corps) had reported a burglary in her back, told Crown Prince Rupprecht of the corps, with all available troops to St. The advance continued. It was the Corps does not even ready with all the parts, so only half the troops had been unloaded and there were no columns for the supply of ammunition and food. On 10 August 1914 it stood before Badonviller. After a day of rest began the corps continued its attacks, and could take Badonviller. Due to superior French forces, the Corps was on 12 August 1914 be taken back to Saarburg. On 16 August 1914 it reached Saarburgrmies. Only the Bavarian Army re and was then reserve the 6th Army. During the Battle of Lorraine on 20 August 1914, the Army Corps of the 7th Army assumed and performed by Saarburg from south to attack the VIII and XIII. French army corps (1st French Army) to. As the only successful corps succeeded until the evening of the Marne-Rhine Canal. Moved after a tough march on 5 September 1914, the First Army Corps in a march to Péronne and entered the south as part of the new 7th Army in the attack on Belgium. In the second half of September 1914, now includes a new sixth Army set up so that the First Army Corps could serve again under their Crown Prince Rupprecht. On 23 September 1914 had already returned to corps command post in front, despite a delayed arrival of the troops Péronne be thrown. The next day it crossed the Somme, but had to cancel the attack and defend against superior attacking French troops. The corps dug into at Péronne and remained there in trench warfare until October 1915. On 11 October 1915 took two French army corps in the autumn battle of La Bassee - Arras (23 September to 13 October 1915) the attempt to destroy the division of Hartz reinforced army corps in the section Givenchy Thélus up to. But the French attack broke already together before the Bavarian positions, which were few penetrated into the French trenches down fighting in the trenches. In the battle of Verdun in 1916, the Corps bolted on 22 French forces in May 1916 a burglary at Douaumont by dashing off and could counterattack the old positions recaptured. Up to 23 June 1916 had been the corps lost 5,000 men and had to be reinforced. Despite the subsequent summary of all available forces to attack the army corps remained Fleury and the honeycomb trenches on 1 July 1916 in the fire of the French defenders are. At the repeated attempt to tear apart the initiative itself, the corps took part in no more. On 2 September 1916, the Corps removed from the front. Until then it had lost in 1916 367 officers and 15,000 men. During the Battle of the Somme (1 July to 18 November 1916), the Army Corps positions on both sides and could keep in Sailly against the attacks of the French and British. In July 1918, the Corps in mid-July 1918 for the offensive battle in the Champagne region. It was on 23 July 1918 by Courville and Crugny laid. It was the Army Corps to erosion of the 14th Infantry Division to seal off the wide slump. End of August 1918, the corps began evasive fighting from behind the Somme. ---> <!--- Original text of equivalent German Language article, 4 April 2012 Es war zu Beginn des Ersten Weltkriegs der 6. Armee unter Kronprinz Rupprecht unterstellt. Sein Aufmarsch- und Bereitstellungsraum war westlich von Saarburg. Nachdem die 7. Armee (linker Nachbar des I. Armeekorps) einen Einbruch in ihrem Rücken gemeldet hatte, befahl Kronprinz Rupprecht dem Korps, mit allen verfügbaren Truppenteilen weiter nach St. Die weiter vorzurücken. Dabei war das Korps noch nicht einmal mit allen Teilen einsatzbereit; so war erst die Hälfte der Truppen ausgeladen und es fehlten die Kolonnen für den Nachschub von Munition und Verpflegung. Am 10. August 1914 stand es vor Badonviller. Nach einem Tag Ruhe setzte das Korps seine Angriffe fort und konnte Badonviller nehmen. Aufgrund überlegener französischer Kräfte wurde das Korps am 12. August 1914 wieder auf Saarburg zurückgenommen. Am 16. August 1914 erreichte es Saarburg und war dann Reserve der 6. Armee. Während der Schlacht in Lothringen am 20. August 1914 war das Armeekorps der 7. Armee unterstellt und trat von Saarburg aus in Richtung Süden zum Angriff auf das VIII. und XIII. französische Armeekorps (1. französische Armee) an. Als einzig erfolgreiches Korps gelang es bis zum Abend an den Rhein-Marne-Kanal. Nach zähem Vormarsch verlegte am 5. September 1914 das I. Armeekorps in einem Fußmarsch nach Péronne und trat südlich davon als Teil der neuen 7. Armee in Belgien zum Angriff an. In der zweiten Septemberhälfte 1914 wurde nun auch eine neue 6. Armee aufgestellt, so dass das I. Armeekorps wieder unter ihrem Kronprinzen Rupprecht dienen konnten. Am 23. September 1914 musste trotz verzögertem Eintreffens der Truppenteile Korps bereits wieder in Gefecht vor Péronne geworfen werden. Tags darauf überschritt es die Somme, musste jedoch den Angriff abbrechen und überlegen angreifende französische Truppen abwehren. Das Korps grub sich bei Péronne ein und verharrte dort im Stellungskrieg bis Oktober 1915.

Am 11. Oktober 1915 unternahmen zwei französischen Armeekorps im Rahmen der Herbstschlacht von La Bassée - Arras (23. September bis 13. Oktober 1915) den Versuch, das mit der Division von Hartz verstärkte Armeekorps im Abschnitt Givenchy bis Thélus zu zerschlagen. Doch brach der französische Angriff schon vor den bayerischen Stellungen zusammen, die wenigen in die Gräben eingedrungenen Franzosen wurden in den Gräben niedergekämpft.

In der Schlacht um Verdun im Jahre 1916 riegelte das Korps am 22. Mai 1916 einen Einbruch französischer Kräfte bei Douaumont ab und konnte durch schneidigen Gegenangriff die alten Stellungen wieder zurückerobern. Bis zum 23. Juni 1916 hatte das Korps schon 5.000 Mann verloren und musste verstärkt werden. Trotz Zusammenfassung aller verfügbaren Kräfte blieb der anschließende Angriff des Armeekorps auf Fleury und die Wabengräben am 1. Juli 1916 im Feuer der französischen Verteidiger liegen. An dem nochmaligen Versuch, dort die Initiative an sich zu reißen, nahm das Korps nicht mehr teil. Am 2. September 1916 wurde das Korps aus der Front herausgelöst. Bis dahin hatte es im Jahr 1916 367 Offiziere und ca. 15.000 Mann verloren.

Während der Schlacht an der Somme (1. Juli - 18. November 1916) konnte das Armeekorps die Stellungen beiderseits und in Sailly gegen die Angriffe der Franzosen und Briten halten.

Im Juli 1918 trat das Korps Mitte Juli 1918 zur Angriffsschlacht in der Champagne an. Es wurde am 23. Juli 1918 nach Courville und Crugny verlegt. Dabei hatte das Armeekorps nach Aufreibung der 14. Infanterie-Division den breiten Einbruch abzuriegeln. Ende August 1918 setzte sich das Korps kämpfend ausweichend hinter die Somme ab. --->

Commanders
The I Royal Bavarian Corps had the following commanders during its existence:

Headquarters staff during World War I
From 2 August 1914, its headquarters staff were:
 * Commanding General: Gen. d. Inf. Oskar Ritter v. Xylander, Gen.-Lt. Nikolaus Ritter v. Endres as Führer from 23 June 1918
 * Chief of General Staff: Gen.-Maj. Karl Frhr. v. Nagel zu Aichberg, Gen.-Maj. Möhl from 6 March 1915, Maj. Ludwig Graf v. Holnstein from Bavaria from 13 September 1916, Oberstlt. Friedrich Haack from 29 May 1918.
 * General staff: Maj. Hans Hemmer, Hptm. Wilhelm Leeb, Hptm. Otto Frhr. v. Berchem, Hptm. Karl Deuringer
 * Commander of Engineers: Major Georg Vogl