The 8th Army (german: 8. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 8 / A.O.K. 8) was an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

level command of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 from the I Army Inspectorate. The army was dissolved on 29 September 1915, but reformed on 30 December 1915. It was finally disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.

History

mobilisation Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

in August 1914, the 8th Army Headquarters was formed in Posen to command troops stationed in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

to defend against the expected Russian attack, Plan XIX. Initially, the Army commanded the following formations: Concerned by the defeat at

Gumbinnen Gusev (russian: Гу́сев; german: Gumbinnen; lt, Gumbinė; pl, Gąbin) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border ...

and the continued advance of the Russian Second Army from the south, Prittwitz ordered a retreat to the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

, 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 Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fro ...

, called out of retirement, with

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. ...

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 Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lakeland ( pl, Pojezierze Mazurskie; german: Masurische Seenplatte) is a lake district in northeastern Poland within the geographical region of Masuria, in the past inhabited by Masurians who spoke the Masuri ...

Dissolved and reformed

The

Army of the Niemen The Army of the Niemen (german: Njemen-Armee) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. ''Armee-Abteilung'' Lauenstein The German offensive in Courland was intended to be a diversion while the main effort was made further ...

was formed on 26 May 1915 to control the troops in Courland. The commander of the 8th Army,

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...

Otto von Below Otto Ernst Vinzent Leo von Below (18 January 1857 – 15 March 1944) 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 Aust ...

, along with his chief of staff, Generalmajor von Böckmann, assumed command. In the meantime, the 8th Army got a deputy commander,

General der Artillerie General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean: 1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...

Friedrich von Scholtz Boje Friedrich Nikolaus von Scholtz (born 24 March 1851 in Flensburg – died 30 April 1927 in Ballenstedt) was a German general, who served as commander of 20th Corps and the 8th Army of the German Empire on the Eastern Front in the First World ...

, who was simultaneously commander of XX Corps. 8th Army was dissolved on 29 September 1915. On 30 December 1915 the Army of the Niemen was renamed as the 8th Army with von Below still in command.

Commanders

The original 8th Army had the following commanders from mobilisation until it was dissolved 29 September 1915. A "new" 8th Army was formed by renaming the

on 30 December 1915. It was dissolved after the end of the war on 21 January 1919. File:Stab der 8-Armee.JPG, Staff of the 8th Army,

First Battle of the Masurian Lakes The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes was a German offensive in the Eastern Front 2–16 September 1914, during the second month of World War I. It took place only days after the Battle of Tannenberg where the German Eighth Army encircled a ...

. File:Usdau-Stab-der-8.Armee.jpg, File:Stab-8.Armee.jpg, Staff of the 8th Army, autumn 1914,

Imperial Castle in Poznań Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

Glossary

*''Armee-Abteilung'' or Army Detachment in the sense of "something detached from an Army". It is not under the command of an Army so is in itself a small Army. *''Armee-Gruppe'' or Army Group in the sense of a group within an Army and under its command, generally formed as a temporary measure for a specific task. *''Heeresgruppe'' or

Army Group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organization handled by ...

in the sense of a number of armies under a single commander.

References

Bibliography