The Naval Corps (german: Marinekorps) was a
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 ...
formation of the
German Empire in
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 in November 1914 and was still in existence at the end of the war.
Chronicle
The Naval Corps was formed on 20 November 1914 to command the land-based forces of the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaise ...
operating in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
. It was continuously based on the extreme right wing of the German line on the
Western Front, up against the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
. It commanded the 1st Naval Division and 2nd Naval Division also including 3rd Naval Division throughout; one division held the land front, the other the sea front.
It was still in existence at the end of the war in the
4th Army, ''
Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht
This is a list of German army groups during World War II.
Some German formations during World War II were designated ''Heeresgruppe'' and others ''Armeegruppe''. Both terms are usually translated into English as "army group", but refer to differe ...
'' on the
Western Front, still holding the extreme right of the line. It had the following composition:
* 1st Naval Division
* 2nd Naval Division
* two thirds
38th ''Landwehr'' Division
* one third
3rd Division
*
85th ''Landwehr'' Division
Order of battle
MarineKorps Flandern
– Admiral Ludwig von Schröder
1. Strength at the end of 1918:
1st MarineDivision
– 1st Marine-Brigade
1st Seabattalion
2nd Seabattalion
3rd Seabattalion
– 2nd Marine-Pionier-Battlion
– 1st Pioneer Kompanie
– 2nd Matrosen-Artillerie-Regiment
– 3rd Piooner Sturmtrupen Kompanie
2. Strength at the end of 1918:
– 3rd Marine-Brigade
– 1st Schwere Waffen Kompanie
– 2nd Schwere Waffen Kompanie
– 3rd Marine Regiment
– 1st Marine-Feldartilleriebatterie
– 4th Marine-Brigade
– 2nd Marine-Feldartilleriebatterie
– 4th Matrosen-Regiment
–3rd Marine-Pionier-Kompanie
3. Strength at creation on July 1, 1917
3rd MarineDivision
– Marine-Infanterie-Brigade
– 9th Feldartillerie-Regiment
– 1st Marine-Infanterie-Regiment
– 115th Pioniere-Batallion
– 2nd Marine-Infanterie-Regiment
– 1st Reserve-Kompagnie, 24th Marinebattalion
– 3rd Marine-Infanterie-Regiment
– 3rd Eskadron
– 160th Minenwerfer-Kompagnie
– 7th Husaren-Regiment
Commanders
The Naval Corps was commanded throughout its existence by Admiral
Ludwig von Schröder
Ludwig von Schröder (17 July 1854 Hintzenkamp near Eggesin – 23 July 1933 in Berlin-Halensee) was an Imperial German Navy officer and Admiral during the First World War and a recipient of the ''Pour le Mérite'' with Oak Leaves.
Schröder e ...
, brought out of retirement.
See also
*
German Army (German Empire)
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
*
German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)
This is the German Army order of battle on the Western Front at the close of the war.
The overall commander of the Imperial German Army was Kaiser Wilhelm II, but real power resided with The Chief of the General Staff, Generalfeldmarschall Paul vo ...
*
63rd (Royal Naval) Division
The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who we ...
References
Bibliography
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Corps of Germany in World War I
Military units and formations of the Imperial German Navy
Military units and formations established in 1914
Military units and formations disestablished in 1919