The Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria or Army Group A () was an

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 ...

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 ...

, which operated on the Western Front under command of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, between 28 August 1916 and 11 November 1918 during

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 from the short-lived Army Group Gallwitz under

Max von Gallwitz Max Karl Wilhelm von Gallwitz (2 May 1852 – 18 April 1937) was a German general from Breslau (Wrocław), Silesia, who served with distinction during World War I on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. Biography Gallwitz grew up in a Catho ...

(19 July - 28 August 1916).

History

At the start of the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

(July 1916), the German 2nd Army had grown to such an extent, that a decision was made to split it into two armies. The 1st Army was recreated on 19 July 1916 from the right (northern) wing of the 2nd Army. The new commander of the reduced 2nd Army,

, was also installed as commander of Army Group Gallwitz (''Heeresgruppe Gallwitz'') to co-ordinate the actions of both armies on the Somme. On 28 August 1916, two extra armies (6th and 7th) were added to the Army Group, which was renamed ''Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria'', after its new commander Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria. The Army Group remained in place until the end of the war. On 28 August 1916,

Hermann von Kuhl Hermann Josef von Kuhl (2 November 1856 – 4 November 1958) was a Prussia, Prussian military officer, member of the German General Staff, and a ''General (Germany)#Generalleutnant, Generalleutnant'' during World War I. One of the most competent ...

was appointed as chief of staff of the army group.

Composition

* 1st Army ( Fritz von Below) : Jul 1916 – Apr 1917 * 2nd Army (

then Georg von der Marwitz then Adolph von Carlowitz) : Jul 1916 – Nov 1918 * 6th Army ( Ludwig von Falkenhausen then Otto von Below then Ferdinand von Quast) : Aug 1916 – Nov 1918 * 7th Army ( Richard von Schubert then Max von Boehn) : Aug 1916 – Apr 1917 * 4th Army ( Friedrich Sixt von Armin) : Mar 1917 – Nov 1918 * 17th Army ( Otto von Below then Bruno von Mudra) : Feb–Nov 1918

Sources

The Soldier's Burden

Die Deutschen Heeresgruppen im Ersten Weltkrieg

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book , last = Cron , first = Hermann , year = 2002 , title = Imperial German Army 1914–18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle irst published: 1937 , publisher = Helion & Co , isbn = 1-874622-70-1 Rupprecht Military units and formations of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1916 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918