VI Reserve Corps (German Empire)

VI Reserve Corps VI. Reserve-Korps
Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918)
Active	2 August 1914 – late 1919
Country	German Empire
Branch	Imperial German Army
Type	Corps
Size	Approximately 38,000 (on formation)
Engagements	World War I Battle of the Frontiers
Insignia
Abbreviation	VI RK

The VI Reserve Corps (German : VI. Reserve-Korps / VI RK) was a corps level command of the German Army in World War I.

Formation

VI Reserve Corps was formed on the outbreak of the war in August 1914 ^[1] as part of the mobilisation of the Army. It was initially commanded by General der Infanterie Konrad von Goßler, brought out of retirement. ^[2] It was still in existence at the end of the war ^[3] in the 1st Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front. ^[4]

Structure on formation

On formation in August 1914, VI Reserve Corps consisted of two divisions, made up of reserve units. In general, Reserve Corps and Reserve Divisions were weaker than their active counterparts

Reserve Infantry Regiments did not always have three battalions nor necessarily contain a machine gun company ^[5]

Reserve Jäger Battalions did not have a machine gun company on formation ^[6]

Reserve Cavalry Regiments consisted of just three squadrons ^[7]

Reserve Field Artillery Regiments usually consisted of two Abteilungen of three batteries each ^[8]

Corps Troops generally consisted of a Telephone Detachment and four sections of munition columns and trains ^[9]

In summary, VI Reserve Corps mobilised with 23 infantry battalions, 8 machine gun companies (48 machine guns), 6 cavalry squadrons, 12 field artillery batteries (72 guns) and 3 pioneer companies. 11th Reserve Division was slightly stronger than the norm as it included an active infantry brigade.

Corps	Division	Brigade	Units
VI Reserve Corps [10]	11th Reserve Division	23rd Infantry Brigade	22nd Infantry Regiment
			156th Infantry Regiment
		21st Reserve Infantry Brigade	10th Reserve Infantry Regiment
			11th Reserve Infantry Regiment
			4th Reserve Hussar Regiment
			11th Reserve Field Artillery Regiment
			4th Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion
			11th Reserve Divisional Pontoon Train
			6th Reserve Medical Company
	12th Reserve Division	22nd Reserve Infantry Brigade	23rd Reserve Infantry Regiment [11]
			38th Reserve Infantry Regiment
			6th Reserve Jäger Battalion
		23rd Reserve Infantry Brigade	22nd Reserve Infantry Regiment
			51st Reserve Infantry Regiment [12]
			4th Reserve Uhlan Regiment
			12th Reserve Field Artillery Regiment
			1st Reserve Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion
			2nd Reserve Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion
			20th Reserve Medical Company
	Corps Troops		6th Reserve Telephone Detachment
			Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to the III Reserve Corps

Combat chronicle

1914

On mobilisation, VI Reserve Corps was assigned to the 5th Army forming part of the centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914.

With the mobilisation at the outbreak of World War I, General of the Infantry von Goßler  [ de ] was appointed Commanding General of the Silesian VI Reserve Corps by a cabinet order ( Kabinettsorder  [ de ]). The large unit was transferred to the Western Front and placed under the command of the 5th Army. Colonel von Rath served as Chief of Staff, the 11th Reserve Division was under Major General Surén, and the 12th Reserve Division was led by Lieutenant General von Lüttwitz  [ de ]. ^[13]

August 22

On 22 August 1914, the corps fought in the Battle of Longwy  [ de ] (part of the Battle of the Ardennes). Opposite the French 5th Army Corps under General Brochin, the VI Reserve Corps – on the left with the 12th Reserve Division via Laix – also attacked Longuyon and Pierrepont and reached the Frants–Cutry–Doncourt–Baslieux line. On the right, the 11th Reserve Division advanced via Cutry–Chenières to the Grandville-Ugny line. The 12th Reserve Division was attacked on its left flank from Joppécourt, but withstood the enemy pressure at Doncourt until help arrived from the 10th Reserve Division.

August 23

On 23 August, the troops reached the Beuveille-Arrancy line and surrounded the fortress of Longwy, which was defended by a French brigade led by General Darche. The 11th Reserve Division had arrived from Dorbey in front of Longwy and was preparing to attack the town. The 12th Reserve Division captured Doncourt and Beuveille.

August 24

On 24 August, the corps fought with the 12th Reserve Division for Arrancy and was pushed back towards the St. Laurent–Pillon line.

August 25

On 25 August, further territorial gains were made on the heights south of the Othain stream and between St. Laurent and Sorbey. ^[14] After the battle, the corps went into trench warfare on the Othain section, while the Armee-Abteilung Strantz established itself on the left wing the following year.

1916

During the Battle of Verdun in 1916, the corps initially provided only artillery support and did not begin its attack on the western bank of the Meuse until 6 March. On 7 March, the 12th and 22nd Reserve Divisions succeeded in capturing the villages of Regnéville and Forges and the strategically important hilltop positions of Côte de l'Oie (lit. 'Goose Ridge') and Côte de Poivre (lit. 'Pepper Ridge'). On 14 March 1916, the Silesian VI Reserve Corps succeeded in capturing one of the peaks of Le Mort Homme and, on 30 March, the village of Malancourt. The VI Reserve Corps was soon withdrawn from the front and transferred to Bapaume as a reserve, from where it was immediately deployed again at the beginning of July in the Battle of the Somme to repel English attacks.

1917

In the spring of 1917, the corps, as the Gruppe Souchez , covered the Liévin–Angres–Givenchy line in the Lens area with the 11th Reserve Division and the 16th Bavarian Infantry Division  [ de ]. At the start of the Battle of Arras, the General Command was replaced by the VIII Reserve Corps.

During the German spring offensive in March 1918, the Korps Borne was assigned to the 17th Army. In July 1918, it reinforced the front of the 7th Army in the area southwest of Reims and launched a brief attack near Chambrecy. After the French counteroffensive from the Forêt de la Montagne, the corps was forced to retreat.

Grenzschutz Ost (1919)

In January 1919, the VI Reserve Corps, designed to protect the border of East Prussia, was subordinated to the Armeeoberkommando Nord (AOK) of the Grenzschutz Ost in Königsberg, later Bartenstein, under the command of Commanding General Ferdinand von Quast. ^[15]

In December 1918, the 8th Army had withdrawn from the Eastern Front and was only partially present in the Livonian Governorate. Thus, there was no effective military protection between the advancing Soviet Red Army and East Prussia. With the consent of the Entente, the AOK North was to lead and supply the various volunteer units and to hold back the Red Army. ^[16]

At the beginning of February 1919, the VI Reserve Corps took over command in Courland. The commanding general, Major General Rüdiger von der Goltz, was in charge of the Gouvernement Libau , the Baltische Landeswehr , the Eiserne Division , the arriving 1st Guards Reserve Division, and various smaller Freikorps. At the beginning of March, a major offensive took place as far as Jelgava. The recapture of Riga on May 22, 1919, was officially carried out without the command of the corps, as the German troops had not received permission to proceed further. ^[17]

In September 1919, the majority of the Freikorps that had not yet been repatriated transferred to the West Russian Volunteer Army. They thus left the VI Reserve Corps and the German state.

On October 13, 1919, Lieutenant General von Eberhardt replaced von der Goltz, who, because of his arbitrary policy in the Baltic States, was no longer acceptable to either the victorious powers or the German Weimar Republic. ^[18] After the military defeat of the West Russian Volunteer Army by the Lithuanian Army at the Battle of Radviliškis, the German Freikorps returned to the corps on November 10, which organized their evacuation to East Prussia by December 1919.

Commanders

VI Reserve Corps had the following commanders during its existence: ^{[19] [20]}

From	Rank	Name
2 August 1914	General der Infanterie	Konrad von Goßler [21]
10 February 1917	Generalleutnant	Kurt von dem Borne [22]
18 April 1918	General der Infanterie

See also

• Germany portal

• German Army order of battle (1914)
• German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)

References

1. Cron 2002 , p. 86
2. The Prussian Machine Accessed: 3 March 2012
3. Cron 2002 , pp. 88–89
4. Ellis & Cox 1993 , pp. 186–187
5. Cron 2002 , p. 111 About a third of Reserve Infantry Regiments formed in August 1914 lacked a machine gun company
6. Cron 2002 , p. 116 Active Jäger Battalions had a machine gun company with the exceptions of the 1st and 2nd Bavarian Jäger Battalions
7. Cron 2002 , p. 128 Most active cavalry regiments had four squadrons, some were raised to six squadrons
8. Cron 2002 , p. 134 Active Divisions had a Field Artillery Brigade of two regiments
9. Cron 2002 , p. 86 Active Corps Troops included a battalion of heavy howitzers (Foot Artillery), an Aviation Detachment, a Telephone Detachment, a Corps Pontoon Train, a searchlight section, 2 munition column sections, one Foot Artillery munitions column section and two Train sections
10. Cron 2002 , p. 316
11. Just two battalions
12. Just two battalions
13. Reichsarchiv: Band I. Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1925, Kriegsgliederungen S. 677
14. Reichsarchiv: Die Grenzschlachten im Westen 1914, E. S. Mittler Verlag, Berlin 1925, S. 303–344.
15. "Das Kabinett Scheideman (Edition "Akten der Reichskanzlei, Weimarer Republik")". ISBN: 978-3-486-41543-8 (in German). Retrieved 26 August 2025.
16. Karsten Brüggemann: Die Gründung der Republik Estland und das Ende des „Einen und unteilbaren Russland“. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2002, S. 189.
17. Rüdiger von der Goltz:'Meine Sendung in Finnland und im Baltikum.' Leipzig 1920. Seite 192
18. Bernhard Sauer: Vom Mythos eines ewigen Soldatentums. Der Feldzug deutscher Freikorps im Baltikum im Jahre 1919. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft (ZfG), 43. Jahrgang, 1995, Heft 10, S. 869–902 (hier S. 892)
19. "German War History" . Retrieved 22 December 2012.
20. "Armee-Reserve-Korps". The Prussian Machine. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
21. Retired. "Konrad von Goßler". The Prussian Machine. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
22. Promoted. "Kurt von dem Borne". The Prussian Machine. Retrieved 22 December 2012.

Bibliography

• Cron, Hermann (2002). Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937]. Helion & Co. ISBN   1-874622-70-1.
• Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN   1-85410-766-6.
• Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919. The London Stamp Exchange Ltd (1989). 1920. ISBN   0-948130-87-3.
• The German Forces in the Field; 7th Revision, 11th November 1918; Compiled by the General Staff, War Office. Imperial War Museum, London and The Battery Press, Inc (1995). 1918. ISBN   1-870423-95-X.