The XII (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps / XII AK (german: XII. (I. Königlich Sächsisches) Armee-Korps) was a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

level command of the

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Armies before and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The Corps was formed as the Royal Saxon Corps on 1 April 1867 and headquartered in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

. Initially, it commanded the 1st Royal Saxon Infantry Division in Dresden and the 2nd Royal Saxon Infantry Division in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. After the XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 as the

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

for the western part of the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Sax ...

, XII Corps was made responsible for the eastern part of the Kingdom. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after

Franco-Prussian War

During the Franco-Prussian War, the corps fought in the

Battle of Gravelotte The Battle of Gravelotte (or Battle of Gravelotte–St. Privat) on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle of the Franco-Prussian War. Named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine, it was fought about west of Metz, where on the previous day, h ...

, the

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...

and the Siege of Paris.

Order of Battle during the Franco-Prussian War

The organization of the XII (Royal Saxon) Corps on 18 August 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: Commander: General Crown Prince

Albert of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus Albert Anthony Ferdinand Joseph Charles Maria Baptist Nepomuk William Xavier George Fidelis , image = Albert of Saxony by Nicola Perscheid c1900.jpg , image_size = , caption = Photograph by Nicola Persch ...

Chief of the General Staff: Lt. Col. Friedrich von Zezschwitz * 23rd (1st Royal Saxon) Infantry Division - Lt. General Prince George of Saxony * 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Infantry Division - Maj. General Erwin Nehrhoff von Holderberg *Saxon Cavalry Division - Major General Franz Graf und Edler Herr zur Lippe-Weißenfeld * 12th (Royal Saxon) Field Artillery Regiment - Col. Bernhard Oskar von Funcke * 12th (Royal Saxon) Pioneer Battalion - Lt. Col. Karl Hugo Klemm * 12th (Royal Saxon) Train Battalion - Lt. Col. Edmund Schmalz

Between the wars

On 1 April 1887 another Saxon division was formed ( 32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Infantry Division headquartered in

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budi ...

) and assigned to the Corps. As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th Century, the XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 in

as the ''Generalkommando'' (

) for the western part of the

(districts of Leipzig,

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany ...

and

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

). It took over command of 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division and the newly formed 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division. Thereafter, XII Corps was responsible for the eastern part of the Kingdom. The Corps was assigned to the II Army Inspectorate which formed the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army at the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Peacetime organisation

The 25 peacetime

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

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. 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 VII or vii may refer to: the Roman numeral 7 Art and entertainment * The Vii, a video game console * vii, leading-tone triad, see diminished triad * ''VII'' (Blitzen Trapper album) * ''VII'' (Just-Ice album) * ''VII'' (Teyana Taylor album) * ...

, IX and

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

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). Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more :Foot Artillery Regiment : Jäger Battalion : Pioneer Battalion :

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

Battalion

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 23rd Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 8th Cavalry Division and the 32nd Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XII Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies (54 machine guns), 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XII Corps was assigned to the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army forming part of the right wing of the forces for the

Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (german: Schlieffen-Plan, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on ...

offensive in August 1914 on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

. It was transferred to the 2nd Army on 14 September 1914 and to the 7th Army one day later. It would later serve under the 5th Army and the 3rd Army again. It was still in existence at the end of the war in ''Armee-Abteilung'' B, ''

Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg The Army Group Duke Albrecht or Army Group D (german: Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht) was an Army Group of the German Army, which operated on the Western Front under command of Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, between 7 March 1917 and 11 November 19 ...

'' at the extreme southern end of the

Commanders

The XII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:

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 ...

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

References

* ''Rangliste der Königlich Sächsischen Armee für das Jahr 1914'' (1914), pp. 10–11

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:12th (1st Royal Saxon) Corps Corps of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1867 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919