The XXXXI 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
XXXXI 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, XXXXI 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, XXXXI Reserve Corps mobilised with 18 infantry battalions, 2 cavalry detachments, 24 field artillery batteries (96 guns), 2 cyclist companies and 2
pioneer companies.
On 2 May 1915 in preparation for the
Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive the corps consisted of 18 battalions, 4 squadrons, 43 machine guns and 108 guns. The corps was organized as follows:
Commanders
XXXXI Reserve Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
See also
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:41st 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