The 9th Army (german: 9. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 9 / A.O.K. 9) 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 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, ...

. It was formed in September 1914 in Breslau to command troops on the southern sector of the Eastern Front. The army was dissolved on 30 July 1916, but reformed in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

on 6 September 1916 for the

Romanian Campaign The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, before reentering the war on 1 ...

. It was transferred to 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 ...

on 19 June 1918 where it was finally dissolved on 18 September 1918.

History

First formation

The 9th Army Headquarters was established in Breslau on 19 September 1914 and commanded units drawn from the 8th Army, the

and other units in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

. It was originally placed on the southern sector of the Eastern Front on the left flank of the 1st Austro-Hungarian Army.

Second formation

9th Army was reformed for the

in September 1916. Along with the 1st Austro-Hungarian Army (1st A-H Army) it formed the Siebenburg Sector and had the following units: * XXXIX Reserve Corps **Group von Szivo (A-H) ***Group Danube (A-H) ***145th Infantry Brigade (A-H) **Group Sunkel (A-H) *** 187th Division ***part of 144th Infantry Brigade (A-H) ***part of ''

Alpenkorps The Alpenkorps was a provisional mountain formation of division size formed by the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was considered by the Allies to be one of the best in the German Army. Formation After experiencing considerable diffic ...

'' **Group Krafft ***part of ''

'' * Cavalry Corps "Schmettow" **51st Honvéd Infantry Division (A-H) ** 3rd Cavalry Division **1st Cavalry Division (A-H) *''En route'' ** 76th Reserve Division Image:Romania-WW1-1.jpg, Romanian invasion of Austria-Hungary, August 1916 Image:Romania-WW1-2.jpg, Central Powers counterattack, September–October 1916 Image:Romania-WW1-3.jpg, Operations in Romania, November 1916 to January 1917

Commanders

The original 9th Army had the following commanders until it was dissolved 30 July 1916: }) , - , 2 November 1914 , ,

General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...

August von Mackensen Anton Ludwig Friedrich August von Mackensen (born Mackensen; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), ennobled as "von Mackensen" in 1899, was a German field marshal. He commanded successfully during World War I of 1914–1918 and became one of ...

, , rowspan=2 , XVII Corps , , rowspan=2 , 11th Army , - , 17 December 1914 , ,

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank was ...

August von Mackensen , - , 17 April 1915 , ,

Prince Leopold of Bavaria Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf; 9 February 1846 – 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825–1864). H ...

, , Brought out of retirement , , ''Heeresgruppe'' Leopold
concurrently from 5 August 1915 A "new" 9th Army was formed in Transylvania for the Romanian Campaign on 6 September 1916. It was dissolved on the Western Front on 18 September 1918.

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

Bibliography

* * {{German Empire Armies, 9th=y 09 Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1916 Military units and formations established in 1916 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918