I Corps (German Empire)

I Army Corps; I. Armee-Korps
	Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918)
Country	Prussia / German Empire
Type	Corps
Size	Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914)
Garrison/HQ	Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia)
Engagements	Austro-Prussian War Battle of Trautenau Battle of Königgrätz Franco-Prussian War Battle of Noiseville Battle of Gravelotte Siege of Metz Battle of Amiens (1870) Battle of Hallue Battle of St. Quentin (1871) World War I Battle of Stallupönen Battle of Gumbinnen Battle of Tannenberg (1914) First Battle of the Masurian Lakes
Insignia
Abbreviation	I AK

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

It was established with headquarters in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia). Initially, the Corps catchment area comprised the entire Province of East Prussia, but from 1 October 1912 the southern part of the Province was transferred to the newly formed XX Corps District.[1]

In peacetime, the Corps was assigned to the VIII Army Inspectorate, which became the 1st Army at the start of the First World War.[2] The corps was still in existence at the end of the war,[3] and was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

Austro-Prussian War

The I Corps fought in the Austro-Prussian War against Austria in 1866, including the Battle of Trautenau and the Battle of Königgrätz.[4]

Franco-Prussian War

The Corps served in the Franco-Prussian War against France in 1870–1871. It saw action in the Battle of Noiseville, the Battle of Gravelotte, the Siege of Metz, the Battle of Amiens, the Battle of Hallue, and the Battle of St. Quentin, among other actions.[5]

Peacetime organisation

Headquarters, about 1908

From formation in 1820, the Corps commanded two divisions: 1^st Division and 2^nd Division.[6] These were joined by 37^th Division when it was formed on 1 April 1899. 37^th Division was transferred to XX Corps when it was formed on 1 October 1912.[7]

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.[8] 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 5^th infantry brigade (so 10 infantry regiments)

II, XIII, XVIII and XXI Corps had a 9^th infantry regiment

I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3^rd cavalry brigade (so 6 cavalry regiments)

the Guards Corps had 11 infantry regiments (in 5 brigades) and 8 cavalry regiments (in 4 brigades).[9]

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[10]
Corps	Division	Brigade	Units	Garrison
I Corps	1st Division	1^st Infantry Brigade	1^st (1^st East Prussian) Grenadiers "Crown Prince"	Königsberg
		1^st Infantry Brigade	41^st (5^th East Prussian) Infantry "von Boyen"	Tilsit, III Bn at Memel
		2^nd Infantry Brigade	3^rd (2^nd East Prussian) Grenadiers "King Frederick William I"	Königsberg
		2^nd Infantry Brigade	43^rd (6^th East Prussian) Infantry "Duke Charles of Mecklenburg"	Königsberg, II Bn at Pillau
		1^st Field Artillery Brigade	16^th (1^st East Prussian) Field Artillery	Königsberg
		1^st Field Artillery Brigade	52^nd (2^nd East Prussian) Field Artillery	Königsberg
		1^st Cavalry Brigade	3^rd (East Prussian) Cuirassiers "Count Wrangel"	Königsberg
		1^st Cavalry Brigade	1^st (Lithuanian) Dragoons "Prince Albrecht of Prussia"	Tilsit
	2nd Division	3^rd Infantry Brigade	4^th (3^rd East Prussian) Grenadiers "King Frederick the Great"	Rastenburg
		3^rd Infantry Brigade	44^th (7^th East Prussian) Infantry "Count Dönhoff"	Goldap
		4^th Infantry Brigade	33^rd (East Prussian) Fusiliers "Count Roon"	Gumbinnen
		4^th Infantry Brigade	45^th (8^th East Prussian) Infantry	Insterburg, Darkehmen
		2^nd Field Artillery Brigade	1^st (1^st Lithuanian) Field Artillery "Prince August of Prussia"[11]	Gumbinnen, Insterburg
		2^nd Field Artillery Brigade	37^th (2^nd Lithuanian) Field Artillery	Insterburg
		2^nd Cavalry Brigade	12^th (Lithuanian) Uhlans	Insterburg
		2^nd Cavalry Brigade	9^th Jäger zu Pferde	Insterburg
		43^rd Cavalry Brigade	8^th (East Prussian) Uhlans "Count zu Dohna"	Gumbinnen, Stallupönen
		43^rd Cavalry Brigade	10^th Jäger zu Pferde	Angerburg, Goldap
	Corps Troops		5^th Machine Gun Abteilung	Insterburg
			1^st Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung	Königsberg
			1^st (East Prussian) Foot Artillery "von Linger"	Königsberg, Lötzen (Feste Boyen)
			1^st (East Prussian) Pioneer Battalion "Prince Radziwill"	Königsberg
			18^th (Samland) (Fortress-) Pioneer Battalion	Königsberg
			5^th Fortress Telephone Company	Königsberg
			5^th Airship Battalion	Graudenz, Königsberg, Schneidemühl
			1^st (East Prussian) Train Battalion	Königsberg

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. The 1^st and 2^nd Cavalry Brigades were withdrawn to form part of the 1^st Cavalry Division[12] and the 43^rd Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, I 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[13]
Corps	Division	Brigade	Units
I Corps	1st Division	1^st Infantry Brigade	1^st Grenadier Regiment
		1^st Infantry Brigade	41^st Infantry Regiment
		2^nd Infantry Brigade	3^rd Grenadier Regiment
		2^nd Infantry Brigade	43^rd Infantry Regiment
		1^st Field Artillery Brigade	16^th Field Artillery Regiment
		1^st Field Artillery Brigade	52^nd Field Artillery Regiment
			8^th Uhlan Regiment
			1^st Company, 1st Pioneer Battalion
			1^st Divisional Pontoon Train
			1^st Medical Company
			3^rd Medical Company
	2nd Division	3^rd Infantry Brigade	4^th Grenadier Regiment
		3^rd Infantry Brigade	44^th Infantry Regiment
		4^th Infantry Brigade	33^rd Fusilier Regiment
		4^th Infantry Brigade	45^th Infantry Regiment
		2^nd Field Artillery Brigade	1^st Field Artillery Regiment
		2^nd Field Artillery Brigade	37^th Field Artillery Regiment
			10^th Jäger zu Pferde Regiment
			2^nd Company, 1^st Pioneer Battalion
			3^rd Company, 1^st Pioneer Battalion
			2^nd Divisional Pontoon Train
			2^nd Medical Company
	Corps Troops		I Battalion, 1^st Foot Artillery Regiment[14]
			14^th Aviation Detachment
			1^st Corps Pontoon Train
			1^st Telephone Detachment
			1^st Pioneer Searchlight Section
			Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, I Corps was assigned to the 8^th Army to defend East Prussia, while the rest of the Army executed the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914. It saw action at the battles of Stallupönen, Gumbinnen, and Tannenberg, and the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes.

The Corps was still in existence at the end of the war.[3]

Commanders

The I Corps had the following commanders during its existence:[1][15][16]

From	Rank	Name
18 March 1814	General der Infanterie	Friedrich Graf Bülow von Dennewitz
5 March 1816	General der Kavallerie	Ludwig von Borstell
18 June 1825	Generalleutnant	Karl August von Krafft
30 March 1832	Generalleutnant	Oldwig von Natzmer
29 November 1839	General der Kavallerie	Friedrich Graf von Wrangel
7 April 1842	General der Kavallerie	Karl Friedrich Emil zu Dohna-Schlobitten
28 March 1854	General der Infanterie	Franz Karl von Werder
29 January 1863	General der Infanterie	Adolf von Bonin
30 October 1866	General der Infanterie	Eduard Vogel von Falckenstein
4 August 1868	General der Kavallerie	Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel
15 July 1873	General der Infanterie	Albert Freiherr von Barnekow
5 June 1883	Generalleutnant	Walther von Gottberg
1 June 1885	Generalleutnant	Christian Ewald von Kleist
15 June 1889	General der Infanterie	Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff
29 June 1891	General der Infanterie	Hans Wilhelm von Werder
10 January 1895	General der Infanterie	Karl Graf Finck von Finckenstein
27 January 1902	General der Infanterie	Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz
11 September 1907	General der Infanterie	Alexander von Kluck
1 October 1913	Generalleutnant	Hermann von François
8 October 1914	Generalleutnant	Robert Kosch
11 June 1915	General der Infanterie	Johannes von Eben
5 June 1917	General der Infanterie	Arnold von Winckler
25 February 1918	Generalleutnant	Wilhelm Groener
28 March 1918	Generalleutnant	Theodor Mengelbier
14 December 1918	General der Infanterie	Johannes von Eben
25 February 1919	Generalleutnant	Ludwig von Estorff

References

German Administrative History Accessed: 5 June 2012
Cron 2002, p. 392
Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935); Bredow
Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle
Wegner 1993, p. 49
Wegner 1993, pp. 84–85
Haythornthwaite 1996, pp. 193–194
They formed the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army.
War Office 1918, p. 240
Had a third (Horse Artillery) Abteilung of three batteries of 4 guns.
Cron 2002, p. 324
Cron 2002, p. 323
4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers)
German War History Accessed: 5 June 2012
The Prussian Machine Accessed: 5 June 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.
Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-351-7.
Wegner, Günter (1993). Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939, Bd. 1. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück.
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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[German_Administrative_History-1] German Administrative History Accessed: 5 June 2012

[2] Cron 2002, p. 392

[Cron_2002_88–89-3] Cron 2002, pp. 88–89

[4] Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935); Bredow

[Cron_et_al.,_Ruhmeshalle-5] Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle

[6] Wegner 1993, p. 49

[7] Wegner 1993, pp. 84–85

[8] Haythornthwaite 1996, pp. 193–194

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

[10] War Office 1918, p. 240

[11] Had a third (Horse Artillery) Abteilung of three batteries of 4 guns.

[12] Cron 2002, p. 324

[13] Cron 2002, p. 323

[14] 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers)

[15] German War History Accessed: 5 June 2012

[16] The Prussian Machine Accessed: 5 June 2012