X. Reserve Corps (German Empire)

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The X Reserve Corps was a major unit of the German Army in the First World War .

Outline on August 18, 1914

  • 2nd Guard Reserve Division
    • 26th Reserve Infantry Brigade
    • 38th Reserve Infantry Brigade
    • Reserve Uhlan Regiment No. 2
    • Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 20
    • 4th Company / Hanover Pioneer Battalion No. 10
  • 19th Reserve Division
    • 37th Reserve Infantry Brigade
    • 39th Reserve Infantry Brigade
    • Reserve Dragoon Regiment No. 6
    • Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 19
    • 1st and 2nd Reserve Company / Hanover Pioneer Battalion No. 10
  • 25th mixed Landwehr Brigade
  • 29th mixed Landwehr Brigade
  • Corps troops
    • Reserve Telephone Department No. 10
    • Columns of ammunition
    • Trains

history

Günther Graf von Kirchbach

The corps had been assembled and mobilized at the beginning of the First World War on August 2, 1914. It was subordinate to the 2nd Army (Colonel General Bülow ) and took part in the planned deployment in the west . The large association marched into neutral Belgium via the Aachen - Eupen - Montjoie parade area and took part in the conquest of Liège . During the Battle of the Sambre , the corps forced entry into northern France. On August 21, the corps was approaching Charleroi via Gosselies with the 19th Reserve Division . The 2nd Guard Reserve Division deployed on the right was advancing via Roux to Marchienne-au-Pont. The outpost of the French III. Corps were forced to retreat to Aiseau across the Sambre. On August 22nd, the corps was set up in the center of the 2nd Army on Charleroi, the 2nd Guard Reserve Division (General Susskind) was to advance via Roux to Marchiennes , the 19th Reserve Division (General von Bahrfeldt ) followed directly Charleroi and was involved in a bitter street fight with insurgents while proceeding to the Sambre .

In the following battle near St. Quentin , the commanding General Günther von Kirchbach was wounded on August 29, 1914 and replaced on September 2 by General of the Infantry Johannes von Eben . The 19th Reserve Division gathered at Essigny le Grand for the further advance on the Oise , when they got into serious distress at Mesnil by a strong French counterattack (5th Army under Lanrezac). Around noon she was relieved by the intervention of the 2nd Guard Reserve Division, which included parts of the enemy via Hinacourt. The further advance of the 2nd Army across the Oise in the direction of Reims was free again.

Johannes von Eben as general of the infantry

The X. Reserve Corps advanced at the beginning of September via Dormans and Orbais to the Petit Morin , between September 5th and 8th there was the decisive battle of the Marnes , together with the VIIth Army Corps the corps formed the right wing of the 2nd Army. On September 10th, the corps and parts of the 13th Division tried in vain to stop the French advance in the gap in the front at Dormans to the north and had to retreat behind the Vesle by September 12th together with the Xth Army Corps . As a result of the retreat behind the Aisne, Reims was evacuated and became an immediate front city. On September 17, 1914, the 2nd Guard Reserve Division succeeded in storming Brimont Castle during the first battle of the Aisne .

On June 11, 1915, General of the Infantry Robert Kosch was appointed commanding general of the corps. At the beginning of July the corps in the area east of Reims was replaced by the XIV Army Corps, thrown on the eastern front and relocated to southern Poland as part of the 11th Army . Inserted on the left wing of the X Army Corps , the advance to the Bug took place after the battle of Krasnostaw .

At the beginning of October 1915 the corps was transferred to Syrmia on the Danube line and received the 101st ( Kraewel ) and 103rd Divisions ( Estorff ) subordinate to take part in the campaign against Serbia . After the enforcement of the Danube crossing at Ram (about 20 kilometers northeast of Požarevac ), action was taken over the Resava along the Morava to the south to Jagodina . After reaching the blackbird field near Pristina at the end of November , the advance was stopped for the time being after contact was made with Bulgarian units.

Relocated back to the Western Front, the General Command, as part of the 5th Army , took over command of the 22nd Reserve Division and 113th Division on the west bank of the Meuse in early March 1916 during the Battle of Verdun . On April 7, 1916 a regrouping took place in the main attack area - the adjacent XVIII. Army Corps (21st and 25th Divisions) replaced the 58th Division to be relieved in the area south of Douaumont until April 9 , the X. Reserve Corps was subordinate to the 113th Division and the 19th Reserve Division . In the summer of 1916, the corps command moved to the western Meuse group and was assigned the 7th Reserve Division there .

On March 15, 1917, the corps under General von Eberhardt was transferred to the 7th Army , which had returned to the Vailly area as a result of the Alberich movement . As of April 10, 1917, the corps was subordinated to the 1st Army before the start of the Battle of the Aisne and referred to as the Brimont Group . The General Command was responsible for the defense of the Sapigneul line via Fort de Brimont to the northern apron of Reims . The Brimont group was subordinated to the 10th Reserve Division (Lieutenant General Dallmer ), the 21st Division (Major General von Suter) and the 43rd Reserve Division in the front, as well as the Guard Replacement Division and the 54th Division as reserves. Compared to the strong attacks of the French VII. And XXXII. Corps Loivre and Courcy were lost, and it was necessary to relieve the worn-out divisions. In mid-May the corps with the newly subordinated 34th and 39th Divisions held out on the attacked line from Bermericourt-Brimont and was reinforced with the 239th Division .

At the end of October 1917 the General Command was transferred to Flanders and placed under the 4th Army . Between November 14, 1917 and April 5, 1918, the corps was known as Gruppe Dixmuide . The corps moved to Warneton during the Georgette Offensive and received the 31st and 214th Divisions under control. On April 25, 1918, the Eberhardt Corps, together with the assigned Alpine Corps, succeeded in conquering the Kemmelberg west of Messines . On August 6, 1918, Lieutenant General Arthur von Gabain was entrusted with the command of the corps, which was still in Flanders . After the battle of the Lys , the corps returned to the Antwerp - Maas position. After the war ended, the corps was demobilized in January 1919.

Commanding general

Rank Surname date
General of the Infantry Günther von Kirchbach 2nd to 30th August 1914
General of the Infantry Johannes von Eben August 30, 1914 to June 11, 1915
General of the Infantry Robert Kosch June 11, 1915 to August 28, 1916
Lieutenant General Georg Fuchs August 28 to October 15, 1916
General of the Infantry Magnus von Eberhardt October 15, 1916 to August 6, 1918
Lieutenant General Arthur of Gabain August 6, 1918 to January 1919

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Curt Jany (ed.), Hermann Cron: History of the German Army in the World Wars 1914-1918. Volume 5. Karl Siegismund Military Publishing House. Berlin 1937. p. 87.
  2. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914-1918, Volume I., Berlin 1925, p. 357
  3. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914-1918, Volume III., Berlin 1926, pp. 152–154
  4. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914-1918 The Marne Campaign, Volume IV, Berlin 1926, Appendix 10.
  5. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914-18, Volume IX., Supplements Sketch 1 and 2
  6. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914-1918, Volume IX, Supplement 18
  7. ^ Crown Prince Wilhelm: My memories, Mittler and Son, Berlin 1923, p. 191
  8. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914 to 1918, Volume XII, p. 291.
  9. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914 to 1918, Volume XII, Supplement 16: Double battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne 1917, situation map on April 16, 1917
  10. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914 to 1918, Volume XII, p. 288
  11. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914 to 1918, Volume XII, Supplement 18: Double battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne situation sketches for May 3rd, 20th and 31st, 1917
  12. ^ Reports from the German headquarters 1914-1918: The conquest of Kemmel
  13. ↑ Dermot Bradley (Ed.), Günter Wegner: Occupation of the German Army 1815-1939. Volume 1: The higher command posts 1815-1939. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1990. ISBN 3-7648-1780-1 . P. 631.