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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

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,

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,

Konitz Unterwellenborn is a municipality in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It was created on 1 February 2006 by fusion of the municipalities , Goßwitz, Könitz, Lausnitz bei Pößneck and Unterwellenborn itself which had coop ...

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comi ...

, 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

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. It took part in the battles of

Gumbinnen Gusev (; ; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border with Poland and Lithuania, east of Chernyakhovsk. It is p ...

, Tannenberg and 1st Masurian Lakes. Immediately after the latter, it joined the 9th Army in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

, 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

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