XVIII Corps (German Empire)

XVIII Army Corps
*XVIII. Armee-Korps*
XVIII Army Corps; XVIII. Armee-Korps
	Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918)
Active	1 April 1899–1919
Country	German Empire
Branch	Army
Type	Corps
Size	Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914)
Garrison/HQ	Frankfurt am Main/Untermain-Kai 19
Shoulder strap piping	Light Blue
Engagements	World War I Battle of the Frontiers Battle of Verdun
Insignia
Abbreviation	XVIII AK

Last updated February 12, 2024

The XVIII Army Corps / XVIII AK (German : XVIII. Armee-Korps) 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 XVIII Army Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 in Frankfurt am Main as the Generalkommando (headquarters) for the district of Wiesbaden and the Grand Duchy of Hesse.^[1] It took over command of 21st Division from XI Corps and the previously separate 25th (Grand Ducal Hessian) Division. It was assigned to the VII Army Inspectorate,^[2] but joined the 4th Army at the start of the First World War.

It was still in existence at the end of the war,^[3] serving in the 17th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.^[4]

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.^[5] 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).^[6]

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

Peacetime organization of the Corps^[7]
Corps	Division	Brigade	Units	Garrison
XVIII Corps	21st Division	41st Infantry Brigade	87th (1st Nassau) Infantry	Mainz
		41st Infantry Brigade	88th (2nd Nassau) Infantry	Mainz, II Bn at Hanau
		42nd Infantry Brigade	80th (Kurhessian) Fusiliers "von Gersdorff"	Wiesbaden, II Bn at Bad Homburg
		42nd Infantry Brigade	81st (1st Kurhessian) Infantry "Landgrave Frederick I of Hesse-Cassel"	Frankfurt am Main
		21st Field Artillery Brigade	27th (1st Nassau) Field Artillery "Oranien"	Mainz, Wiesbaden
		21st Field Artillery Brigade	63rd (2nd Nassau) Field Artillery	Frankfurt am Main
		21st Cavalry Brigade	6th (Magdeburg) Dragoons	Mainz
		21st Cavalry Brigade	6th (Thuringian) Uhlans	Hanau
	25th Division	49th Infantry Brigade	115th (1st Grand Ducal Hessian) Lifeguard Infantry	Darmstadt
			116th (2nd Grand Ducal Hessian) Infantry "Emperor William"	Gießen
			168th (5th Grand Ducal Hessian) Infantry	Offenbach, I Bn at Butzbach, III Bn at Friedberg
		50th Infantry Brigade	117th (3rd Grand Ducal Hessian) Life Infantry "Grand Duchess"	Mainz
		50th Infantry Brigade	118th (4th Grand Ducal Hessian) Infantry "Prince Charles"	Worms
		25th Field Artillery Brigade	25th (1st Grand Ducal Hessian) Field Artillery	Darmstadt
		25th Field Artillery Brigade	61st (2nd Grand Ducal Hessian) Field Artillery	Darmstadt, Babenhausen
		25th Cavalry Brigade	23rd Guards Dragoons (1st Grand Ducal Hessian)	Darmstadt
		25th Cavalry Brigade	24th Life Dragoons (2nd Grand Ducal Hessian)	Darmstadt
	Corps Troops		8th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung	Mainz
			3rd (General-Feldzeugmeister) (Brandenburg) Foot Artillery	Mainz
			21st (1st Nassau) Pioneer Battalion	Mainz
			25th (2nd Nassau) (Fortress-)Pioneer Battalion	Mainz
			7th (Royal Saxon) (Fortress-) Telephone Company	Mainz
			18th (Grand Ducal Hessian) Train Battalion	Darmstadt
			2nd Railway Regiment	Hanau
			3rd Railway Regiment	Hanau

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization, on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. The 25th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 3rd Cavalry Division ^[8] and the 21st Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The 168th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 25th Reserve Division in XVIII Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XVIII Corps mobilised with 24 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.

Initial wartime organization of the Corps^[9]
Corps	Division	Brigade	Units
XVIII Corps	21st Division	41st Infantry Brigade	87th Infantry Regiment
		41st Infantry Brigade	88th Infantry Regiment
		42nd Infantry Brigade	80th Fusilier Regiment
		42nd Infantry Brigade	81st Infantry Regiment
		21st Field Artillery Brigade	27th Field Artillery Regiment
		21st Field Artillery Brigade	63rd Field Artillery Regiment
			6th Uhlan Regiment
			1st Company, 21st Pioneer Battalion
			21st Divisional Pontoon Train
			1st Medical Company
			3rd Medical Company
	25th Division	49th Infantry Brigade	115th Life Guard Infantry Regiment
		49th Infantry Brigade	116th Infantry Regiment
		50th Infantry Brigade	117th Life Infantry Regiment
		50th Infantry Brigade	118th Infantry Regiment
		25th Field Artillery Brigade	25th Field Artillery Regiment
		25th Field Artillery Brigade	61st Field Artillery Regiment
			6th Dragoon Regiment
			2nd Company, 21st Pioneer Battalion
			3rd Company, 21st Pioneer Battalion
			25th Divisional Pontoon Train
			2nd Medical Company
	Corps Troops		I Battalion, 3rd Foot Artillery Regiment^[10]
			27th Aviation Detachment
			18th Corps Pontoon Train
			18th Telephone Detachment
			21st Pioneer Searchlight Section
			Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XVIII Corps was assigned to the 4th Army forming part of the centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914. It was still in existence at the end of the war, serving in the 17th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.^[11]

Commanders

The XVIII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:^[12]^[13]

Dates	Rank	Name
25 March 1899 to 30 April 1904	General der Infanterie	Oskar von Lindequist
1 May 1904 to 12 September 1912	Generalleutnant	Hermann von Eichhorn
13 September 1912 to 20 January 1917	General der Infanterie	Dedo von Schenck
21 January 1917 to 26 August 1918	Generalleutnant	Viktor Albrecht
27 August 1918 to end of the war	Generalleutnant	Günther von Etzel

Related Research Articles

–

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The II Army Corps / II 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 XII Army Corps / XII AK was a Saxon corps level command of the Saxon and German Armies before and during World War I.

The XIX Army Corps / XIX AK was a Saxon corps level command of the German Army, before and during World War I.

The XIII Army Corps / XIII AK was a corps of the Imperial German Army. It was, effectively, also the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which had been integrated in 1871 into the Prussian Army command structure, as had the armies of most German states. The corps was originally established as the Württemberg Corps Command (Korpskommando) in 1817. It became the XIII Army Corps when it was integrated into the Prussian numbering system on December 18, 1871, shortly after the Franco-Prussian War.

The XIV Army Corps / XIV AK was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I. It was, effectively, also the army of the Grand Duchy of Baden, which, in 1871, had been integrated into the Prussian Army command structure, as had the armies of most German states. Both divisions and the bulk of the corps' support units were from the grand duchy. The corps was established in 1870, after the Siege of Strasbourg.

The I Royal Bavarian Army Corps / I Bavarian AK was a corps level command of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the Imperial German Army, before and during World War I.

The X Army Corps / X AK was a corps level command of the Prussian and German Armies before and during World War I.

The I Army Corps / I AK was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th Century to World War I.

The XVI Army Corps / XVI AK was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.

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The XVII Army Corps / XVII AK was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.

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The V Army Corps / V AK was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th century to World War I.

References

↑ German Administrative History Accessed: 12 May 2012
↑ Cron 2002 , p. 395
↑ Cron 2002 , pp. 88–89
↑ Ellis & Cox 1993 , p. 187
↑ Haythornthwaite 1996 , pp. 193–194
↑ They formed the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army.
↑ War Office 1918 , p. 257
↑ Cron 2002 , p. 301
↑ Cron 2002 , pp. 312–313
↑ 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers)
↑ Ellis & Cox 1993 , p. 187
↑ German War History Accessed: 12 May 2012
↑ The Prussian Machine Archived 11 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Accessed: 12 May 2012

XVIII. Armeekorps (Chronik 1914/1918)
Claus von Bredow, bearb., Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deuschen Heeres (1905)
Günter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815–1939. (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1

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.
Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-351-7.
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.

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[1] German Administrative History Accessed: 12 May 2012

[2] Cron 2002 , p. 395

[3] Cron 2002 , pp. 88–89

[4] Ellis & Cox 1993 , p. 187

[5] Haythornthwaite 1996 , pp. 193–194

[6] They formed the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army.

[7] War Office 1918 , p. 257

[8] Cron 2002 , p. 301

[9] Cron 2002 , pp. 312–313

[10] 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers)

[11] Ellis & Cox 1993 , p. 187

[12] German War History Accessed: 12 May 2012

[13] The Prussian Machine Archived 11 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Accessed: 12 May 2012

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