8. Armee 8th Army | |
---|---|
Active | 2 August 1914 – 29 September 1915 30 December 1915 – 21 January 1919 |
Country | German Empire |
Type | Army |
Engagements | World War I |
Insignia | |
Abbreviation | A.O.K. 8 |
The 8th Army (German : 8. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 8 / A.O.K. 8) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 from the I Army Inspectorate. [1] The army was dissolved on 29 September 1915, but reformed on 30 December 1915. [2] It was finally disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.
On mobilization in August 1914, the 8th Army Headquarters was formed in Posen to command troops stationed in East Prussia to defend against the expected Russian attack, Plan XIX. Initially, the Army commanded the following formations: [3]
|
Concerned by the defeat at Gumbinnen and the continued advance of the Russian Second Army from the south, Prittwitz ordered a retreat to the Vistula, effectively abandoning East Prussia. When he heard of this, Helmuth von Moltke, the German Army Chief of Staff, recalled Prittwitz and his deputy to Berlin. They were replaced by Paul von Hindenburg, called out of retirement, with Erich Ludendorff as his chief of staff. Under its new command, the Army was responsible for the victories at the Battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes.
The Army of the Niemen was formed on 26 May 1915 to control the troops in Courland. [5] The commander of the 8th Army, General der Infanterie Otto von Below, along with his chief of staff, Generalmajor von Böckmann, assumed command. In the meantime, the 8th Army got a deputy commander, General der Artillerie Friedrich von Scholtz, who was simultaneously commander of XX Corps. 8th Army was dissolved on 29 September 1915. [6] On 30 December 1915 the Army of the Niemen was renamed as the 8th Army with von Below still in command. [7]
The original 8th Army had the following commanders-in-chief from mobilisation until it was dissolved 29 September 1915. [8]
From | Commander | Previously | Subsequently, |
---|---|---|---|
2 August 1914 | Generaloberst Maximilian von Prittwitz | I Army Inspectorate (I. Armee-Inspektion) | Retired |
23 August 1914 | Generaloberst Paul von Hindenburg | Brought out of retirement | 9th Army |
18 September 1914 | General der Artillerie Richard von Schubert | XIV Reserve Corps | XXVII Reserve Corps from 27 October 1914 |
9 October 1914 | General der Infanterie Hermann von François | I Corps | XXXXI Reserve Corps from 24 December 1914 |
7 November 1914 | General der Infanterie Otto von Below | I Reserve Corps | Army of the Niemen |
26 May 1915 | General der Artillerie Friedrich von Scholtz | Simultaneously commander of XX Corps | XX Corps |
A "new" 8th Army was formed by renaming the Army of the Niemen on 30 December 1915. It was dissolved after the end of the war on 21 January 1919.
From | Commander | Previously | Subsequently, |
---|---|---|---|
30 December 1915 | General der Infanterie Otto von Below | Army of the Niemen | Heeresgruppe Below |
5 October 1916 | General der Infanterie Max von Fabeck | 12th Army | Died 16 December 1916 |
22 October 1916 | General der Infanterie Bruno von Mudra | XVI Corps | Armee-Abteilung A |
2 January 1917 | General der Artillerie Friedrich von Scholtz | Armee-Abteilung Scholtz | Heeresgruppe Scholtz |
22 April 1917 | General der Infanterie Oskar von Hutier | Armee-Abteilung D | 18th Army from 27 December 1917 |
12 December 1917 | General der Infanterie Günther Graf von Kirchbach | Armee-Abteilung D | Heeresgruppe Kiev |
27 January 1918 | Generaloberst Günther Graf von Kirchbach | ||
31 July 1918 | General der Infanterie Hugo von Kathen | XXIII Reserve Corps | Commander of German troops in Lithuania and Estonia |
Fritz Theodor Carl von Below was a Prussian general in the German Army during the First World War. He commanded troops during the Battle of the Somme, the Second Battle of the Aisne, and the German spring offensive in 1918.
Otto Ernst Vinzent Leo von Below served as a Prussian general officer in the Imperial German Army during the First World War (1914–1918). He arguably became most notable for his command, along with the Austro-Hungarian commander Svetozar Borojević, during the victorious Battle of Caporetto in October–November 1917.
The Russian invasion of East Prussia occurred during World War I, lasting from August to September 1914. As well as being the natural course for the Russian Empire to take upon the declaration of war on the German Empire, it was also an attempt to focus the Imperial German Army on the Eastern Front, as opposed to the Western Front. Despite having an overwhelming superiority over the Germans in numbers, the invading Imperial Russian Army spread its forces thin and was defeated in the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes, resulting in a complete strategic collapse of the Russian invasion.
The IV Army Corps / IV AK was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th Century to World War I.
The XX Army Corps / XX AK was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.
The 36th Reserve Division was a unit of the Imperial German Army, in World War I. The division was formed on the mobilization of the German Army in August 1914 and was disbanded during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was a reserve division of the I Reserve Corps and was raised primarily in Pomerania Province and West Prussia Province.
The Army of the Niemen was an army level command of the German Army in World War I.
The 1st Army was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 from the VIII Army Inspectorate. The army was dissolved on 17 September 1915, but reformed on 19 July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. It was finally disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.
The 3rd Army was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 seemingly from the II Army Inspectorate. The army was disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.
The 5th Army was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 seemingly from the VII Army Inspection. The army was disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.
The 6th Army was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 from the IV Army Inspectorate. The army was disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.
The 9th Army was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed in September 1914 in Breslau to command troops on the southern sector of the Eastern Front. The army was dissolved on 30 July 1916, but reformed in Transylvania on 6 September 1916 for the Romanian Campaign. It was transferred to the Western Front on 19 June 1918 where it was finally dissolved on 18 September 1918.
The 12th Army was an army level command of the German Army in World War I formed in August 1915 by the redesignation of Armee-Gruppe Gallwitz. It served exclusively on the Eastern Front and was dissolved on 9 October 1916 when its commander, General der Infanterie Max von Fabeck, was transferred to 8th Army.
Armee-Abteilung Scholtz / Armee-Abteilung D was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It served on the Eastern Front throughout its existence.
The XXXIX Reserve Corps was a corps level command of the German Army in World War I.
The Guards Reserve Corps was a corps level command of the German Army in World War I.
The North Army was an army level command of the German Army that existed briefly at the outbreak of World War I.
The XVII Army Corps / XVII AK was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.
Armee-Abteilung Woyrsch was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It served on the Eastern Front throughout its existence.
Alfred Hans Emil Friedrich von Böckmann (1859-1921) was a German general in World War I. He commanded several corps throughout the war and commanded the Guard Corps during the Fifth Battle of Ypres.