The 17th Army () was an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

-level command of the

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was formed in France on 1 February 1918 from the former 14th Army command. It served exclusively on the Western Front and was dissolved on 19 January 1919.

History

17th Army was one of three armies (along with 18th Army and 19th Army) formed in late 1917 / early 1918 with forces withdrawn from the Eastern Front. They were in place to take part in Ludendorff's

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

. The Germans had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and matériel resources of the United States could be deployed. They also had the temporary advantage in numbers afforded by nearly 50 divisions freed by Russia's withdrawing from the war (

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...

). At the end of the war it was part of . The Headquarters was at St Amand until 6 April 1918,

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

until 1 May 1918,

Denain Denain (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Denain had a population of 19,877, on a land area of 11.52 km2 (4.448 sq mi). It is the largest of 47 communes which comprise the Communauté d'agglomération de la Por ...

until 18 October 1918 and

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

until start of the march back, reaching Zülpich for disbandment on 19 January 1919.

Order of Battle, 30 October 1918

By the end of the war, the 17th Army was organised as:

Commanders

17th Army had the following commanders:

Glossary

* 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. * 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. * or

army group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, 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 organizatio ...

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

References

Bibliography