The XXXIX Reserve Corps () 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 ...
in
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 ...
.
Formation
XXXIX Reserve Corps was formed in December 1914. It was part of the second wave of new Corps formed in the early stages of World War I consisting of XXXVIII - XXXXI Reserve Corps of 75th - 82nd Reserve Divisions (plus
8th Bavarian Reserve Division
The 8th Bavarian Reserve Division (''8. Bayerische Reserve-Division'') was a unit of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed at the end of December 1914 and organized over the next month, arriving in the line in late Jan ...
). The personnel was predominantly made up of (wartime volunteers) who did not wait to be called up. It was still in existence at the end of the war.
Structure on formation
On formation in December 1914, XXXIX Reserve Corps consisted of two divisions. but was weaker than an Active Corps
*the divisions were organised as
triangular
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimensional ...
rather than
square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
divisions with three infantry regiments rather than four, but had a brigade of two field artillery regiments
*Reserve Infantry Regiments consisted of three battalions but lacked a machine gun company
*Reserve Cavalry Detachments were much smaller than the Reserve Cavalry Regiments formed on mobilisation
*Reserve Field Artillery Regiments consisted of two (1 gun and 1 howitzer) of three batteries each, but each battery had just 4 guns (rather than 6 of the Active and the Reserve Regiments formed on mobilisation)
In summary, XXXIX Reserve Corps mobilised with 18 infantry battalions, 2 cavalry detachments, 24 field artillery batteries (96 guns), 2 cyclist companies and 2
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 ...
companies.
Combat chronicle
In 1915, the German offensive in Courland was intended to be a diversion while the main effort was made further south by the
German 11th Army and Austro-Hungarian 4th Army in the
Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive.
''
Armee-Abteilung Lauenstein'' (Army Detachment Lauenstein) was formed by upgrading XXXIX Reserve Corps of
10th Army on 22 April 1915. It was named for its commander,
Generalleutnant
() is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...
Otto von Lauenstein, who retained simultaneous command of XXXIX Reserve Corps. It was directly under the command of
OB East.
Due to its success, it was continuously reinforced until it was raised to the status of 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 ...
as the
Army of the Niemen on 26 May 1915. Generalleutnant von Lauenstein remained as commander of XXXIX Reserve Corps.
Commanders
XXXIX Reserve Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
Glossary
*''Armee-Abteilung'' 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.
*''Armee-Gruppe'' 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.
*''Heeresgruppe'' 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.
See also
*
Armee-Abteilung Lauenstein
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:39th Reserve Corps (German Empire)
Corps of Germany in World War I
Military units and formations established in 1914
Military units and formations disestablished in 1918