XVII Corps (German Empire)
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The XVII Army Corps / XVII 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
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before and 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 ...
. As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th century, the XVII Army Corps was set up on 1 April 1890 in Danzig as the ''Generalkommando'' (
headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...
) for
West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...
. It took command of two divisions formed on the same date: 35th Division and 36th Division. It was assigned to the I Army Inspectorate, which became the 8th 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 ...
. XVII Corps served on the Eastern Front from the start of the war. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 7th Army, ''Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz'' on the Western Front. In 1919, the corps served with the ''Grenzschutz Ost'' (border protection east) in Danzig,
West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...
.


Formation

By a law of 27 January 1890, it was decided to separate the
Province of West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...
from the
Province of East Prussia East Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's Free State of Prussia, ...
in military affairs. It stipulated that, from 1 April 1890, the entire power of the Army of the German Empire should be 20 army corps (Guards, I - XVII, I and II Bavarian). The All-highest Cabinet Order (''Allerhöchste Kabinettsorder'', AKO) of 1 February 1890 authorised the formation of the XVI and XVII Army Corps. The latter was assigned to the I Army Inspectorate and included the territory of the ''Landwehr'' districts Schlawe, Stolp,
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,
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, Graudenz, Danzig,
Preußisch Stargard Preußisch is the German language adjective for "Prussian". Preußisch may refer to: ;Places in Germany * Preußisch Oldendorf, town in North Rhine-Westphalia ;Places outside of Germany *Preußisch Eylau, now Bagrationovsk, Russia *Preußisch F ...
, Neustadt, Osterode, Deutsch-Eylau and Marienburg. Later, the districts of Osterode, Deutsch-Eylau and Marienburg would be reassigned to the XX Corps.


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 5th infantry brigade (so 10 infantry regiments) : II,
XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a 2003 video game based on the comic b ...
,
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 9th infantry regiment : I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3rd cavalry brigade (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 Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...
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. The Leib Hussar Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 35th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XVII Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies (54 machine guns), 8 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, XVII Corps was assigned to the 8th Army to defend East Prussia, while the rest of the Army executed the
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offensive in August 1914. It took part in the battles of
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, Tannenberg and 1st Masurian Lakes. Immediately after the latter, it joined the 9th Army in
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, where it fought at the
Battle of the Vistula River The Battle of the Vistula, Vistula River, also known as the Battle of Warsaw and Ivangorod, was a major Russian Empire, Russian victory against German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front (World War I), Eastern Front during ...
.


Commanders

The XVII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:The Prussian Machine
Accessed: 5 June 2012


See also

*
German Army order of battle (1914) This is the German Army order of battle on the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. Commanders and locations of the German Army The overall commander of the Imperial German Army was Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Chief of the General Staff was Generalo ...
*
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 v ...
*
List of Imperial German infantry regiments This is a list of Imperial German infantry regiments before and during World War I. In peacetime, the Imperial German Army included 217 regiments of infantry (plus the instruction unit, ''Lehr'' Infantry Battalion). Some of these regiments had a ...
*
List of Imperial German artillery regiments This is a list of Imperial German artillery regiments before and during World War I. In peacetime, the Imperial German Army included 100 regiments of Field artillery (plus the Lehr instruction unit) and 24 regiments of Foot artillery (plus another ...
*
List of Imperial German cavalry regiments Cavalry regiments of Germany, Regiments of the German Army in World War I, Lists of military units and formations of World War I, German Lists of military units and formations of Germany, Imperial German cavalry regiments ...
* Order of battle at Tannenberg


References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:17th Corps (German Empire) Corps of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1890 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919