The III Army Corps / III AK () 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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

level command of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n and then the Imperial German

Armies 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 ...

from the 19th century to

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 established in 1814 as the General Headquarters in Berlin (''Generalkommando in Berlin'') and became the III Army Corps on 3 April 1820. Its headquarters was in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and its catchment area was the

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...

. In peacetime, the Corps was assigned to the IV Army Inspectorate, joining the 1st Army at the start of the

First World War 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 still in existence at the end of the war in the 7th Army, ''Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz'' on the Western Front. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after

War of the Sixth Coalition

In 1813 the III Corps fought at the battles of

Luckau Luckau (Lower Sorbian: ''Łuków'') is a city in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in the States of Germany#States, federal state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Known for its beauty, it has been dubbed "the Pearl of Lower Lusatia". Origin of t ...

, Grossbeeren,

Dennewitz Dennewitz is a village of Germany, in the federal state and old Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 km. S.W. from Berlin. It is part of the municipality of Niedergörsdorf, Teltow-Fläming district. History It is memorable a ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

. In 1814, the corps fought at

Hoogstraten Hoogstraten () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel (Meersel-Dreef includes the northernmost point in Belgium). Ho ...

and

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

Second Schleswig War

Part of the Corps (10th Brigade of the 5th Division and the 6th Division) fought in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

of 1864, including the key

Battle of Dybbøl The Battle of Dybbøl (; ) was the key battle of the Second Schleswig War, fought between Denmark and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia. The battle was fought on the morning of 18 April 1864, following a siege that began on 2 April. Denmark suffered ...

, or Düppeler Heights.

Austro-Prussian War

The III Corps formed part of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia's 1st Army and fought in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 1866, including the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrä ...

Franco-Prussian War

In the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870-71, the Corps joined the 2nd Army. It saw action in the battles of Spicheren, Mars-la-Tour (a key part), Gravelotte, Beaune-la-Rolande,

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, and in the Siege of Metz.Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935)

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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

of the German Army (Guards, I - XXI, I - III Bavarian) had a reasonably standardised organisation. Each consisted of two

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

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, IX and XIV Corps each had a 5 infantry brigades (so 10 infantry regiments) : II, XIII,

XVIII 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 (number), 17 and preceding 19 (number), 19. It is an even composite number. Mathematics 18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors a ...

and XXI Corps had a 9 infantry regiments : I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3 cavalry brigades (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 A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

Battalion

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 5th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 6th Cavalry Brigade was broken up: the 3rd Hussar Regiment was raised to a strength of 6 squadrons before being split into two half-regiments of 3 squadrons each and the half-regiments were assigned as divisional cavalry to 5th and 6th Divisions; the 6th Cuirassier Regiment was likewise assigned as two half-regiments to 22nd and 38th Divisions of

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, III Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies (54 machine guns), 6 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, III Corps was assigned to the 1st Army on the right wing of the forces for the

Schlieffen Plan The 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 4 August 1914. Schlieffe ...

offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. It participated in the

Battle of Mons The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (World War I), British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies of World W ...

and the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by oc ...

which marked the end of the German advances in 1914. Later, it participated in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

and the

Battle of Amiens (1918) The Battle of Amiens, also known as the Third Battle of Picardy was the opening phase of the Allies of World War I, Allied offensive which began on 8 August 1918, later known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which ultimately led to the end of Wo ...

. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 7th Army, ''Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz'' on the Western Front.

Commanders

The III Corps had the following commanders during its existence:The Prussian Machine
Accessed: 4 June 2012

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Corps (German Empire) Corps of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1814 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919