The German Army in World War I (1): 1914–15

51 Pages·8.023 MB·English

by  Nigel Thomas, Gerry Embleton(Illustrations)

The German Army i n
World War I (1)
,
~
191 -15
CONTENTS
THE GERMAN EMPIRE & ARMY IN 1914 3
• Army high command - recruitmenl- branches or lIlc Army
SlatC & corps organisation - Army cxpansion
• Field ,mny org:mis,ltion - formation & unit organis.-llion
redllced establishments
STRATEGY 8
DR NIGEL THOMAS I. In • Thc Schlicffcn Plan - the Western Frolll - .he Eastern From
lICCOfnt)Iished lil19Ulst Ind othcr fronts
mU/taI'y hlstort.n -.'CI1s
CUrTently I Senlol' ~Ul'Sf'
UNIFORMS 13
In charge 01 thoI Busl_
I In"",1IVe Unit lit thoI • Orden ofdress
UnlYefslty 01 Northwnbr\al. • Line inlantry - elite line infantry - Resel'vc infant!)'
Newentle. His ~tsI"
Landwehr - Landst.llnn
20th centufy mil~-.td
• Light inrantr)' - rifles - ski/moulllain troops - machine gun
eM! unlformed~,
b<utalions
wittl I ~"'i Int_t In
aenn.ny. c.ntr.l ~ E..tern • General officers & gener.l.1 staff
Europe....... reeentJy • C:wah1': cuirassiers - dragoons - hussars - lancers - light horse
~ I PhD on thoI
• Arlillel")'
Eastern Enial8.rnent of NATO.
• Technical troops: engineers - communicmions & rdih,....)· troops
signals - air corps - motOl' tr.mspon - supply
• Medical & "cterinal")' corps - miscellaneous units
• Rank & rank insignia - special unit insignia
THE PLATES 44
INDEX 48
GERRY EMBLETON hi' bMn
• leldlng hl.tomll Iitu.trtltor
linee tIM earty 18701, Gerry
speclaUles In the m~leval
period, but has a keen
Inte....t In the 18th, 10th
and 20th centurlea, An
Illustritor Ind luthor 01 I
number 01 O.p..y tltlel,
1M now lives and worlls In
Switzerland. where his
company TIme Mlchlne
designs Ind prodUC.S I wIde
"'098 01 reconstructions,
mod.ls and otherdispllY'
lor mUNums worldwkle.
OSPREY
Men-at-Arms· 394
PUBLISHING
T h e G e r m a n Army •
I n
W o r l d Walr I (1)
Nigel Thomas PhD· Illustrated by Gerry Embleton
Senes edItor Milrtln Windrow
Frat~InGtMl BrIIalnIn20IXl t>v~f'ubWlIng Dedication
EIn-.Co.o'I.0.,..WIrf. ~. O>:lotd0)(2 lIL.P.VNltd ~
EmIlI: lnIoeo." 'II ~"""'com
ThIs book Isrespec:tfuIydedicated the IIole 0berfeIdam••0.
Frie<*ieh ~.
0..,._
Acknowledgements
'"rIgI-.,III """--'\pMIram..,.pIoI.ir.".".*'I.I...,.II.-p,o<poMOf~SlUdy.
""'~o!lj;' " CO'-..~ 1I'llCoP)'iQflt.
"-Act. ,-' noPI"!Of1Iw Dit wwt -.din•
•..,._~CO'•••,Iitwdin..,.......ort>v..,._ -.clio... of mlrIypeeple, ~ the late friedlidl """'"'"""" WId the
ct.,....."......
-.clI1eII. I,~... ./lQ,' IA""CO'OIhIoAiM. Cue'b::t..n fill" Heereskl.nde. IiIITl aIaogmefIAtomyWIle tIeMheo
wiI'olMII.-polar~p"u •OfII.- c:~I.I'll_......&..4.*ieIlOhoI*l endlICImAIeunder WId Oul","" lorthW ~
Dit,II nOll.-po"I...
ACF, 1;....__••• ',....... Author'. Note
ISllN ,,,,71_1
- - ThIstntoftine voa.r- c:o¥llOO theGerman Nmy from Geo_1I
EdiIor: Martinw..:Ii_ MIlt"'I.lion on2 August 1914IoI'llil theintroduction of!he M1915
fiIld I.I'Illomt on 21 September 1915. It inc:Ii"""!he'1« ry
ntroductofy telCtS end tables. someofwhich aIao applyto !he
""'t>v-~
Mopt>v0Irk0PwkMc luidltXliIl~ second and ItWd YOUnesofthis stu::ly.
Tlvoughout thiI text. thet~ 'er'Bsted men' ~d ~
Ortginaltdt>vDw:boio; PIgICoo''-').CW"obi.~ Ul( raNts; '~NCOaand men' /'rI&at"IS ranks up to and including
Pm!IodInCI'IinIlhrougI'lW:IIIcl Pl1nI LId.
5ergalInt 0#equlVaIenl; 'senior NCOs' ~ renkI oIJequiyalerot to
VlzefektWebel and above. Table 5 CO\IilfSthesedistnctioilS In detail.
03(l.l05QO 07109'7054321
Artist'. Note
fOR ACATAlOGUEOFALL BOOKS PUBUSliEDBY
osPREY MIUTARVANDAVIATIONPl.£ASECONTAC'r.
ThIMwilltlng "'...... 0II><e\I DIN<:l UK, PO eo~ "'0, Readef1; maycaretonote that the original painting, from which the
w..l\Ib<w....... ~ NNll'If'A, UniIIdKIngdom oolour pIItes In this book were prepared are availilble lor private
EnwI: ~"O.ll= ....IClco... sale. AI repnxII.JctIon c:opyrIghlwhataoever Is retaned by the
F"ubIlshett.. AI ~ :should be llddreMed 10:
ThI-......Mao I; ,o-DiNdUSA.,woMBlP'IIII.", .G.er.T.y,E-m.b,Ieton.T1me MactWleSA. LaChane 15, CH-2515 Pr6les.
721P':I~ ctA_O :' ,Wl84020,.USA
EnwI:~".. r a'.K. ·a Ii TheP\lbbheo,18gret!hat theycan enter"'o no~
upon thiI matter.
,a,.
AA I".; "
TABLE 1: -
GERMAN ARMY CORPS DISTRICTS
AND THE WESTERN AND
"",,,
EASTERN FRONTS ...
SWEDEH
AUGUST 1814- SEPTEMBER 1815
•
-
GREAT
BRrTAIN
•
RUSSIA
~ AUSSlAN
POUND
XN
THE GERMAN ARMY IN WORLD WAR I
(1) 1914-15
THE GERMAN EMPIRE & ARMY IN 1914
IN 1914 GfJ.MA.'....., with 65 million inhabitants As head of SlalC Wilhelm II was Supreme
and an area of 20,871,408 square miles, dominated Commander (Ohenler KriegshcJT) of me German
Central Europe, It was technically a federation of Ann}'. This vain and foolish man 3ncmpted to O\~rrule
four kingdoms - Prussia, Ba\'aria, Saxony and his generals. bm they us..wly sub\~ned his militarily
Wlirttc:mbcrg aud 21 minor states. These lauer inept decisions. On 2 August 1914 he ordered
comprised fh'e grand duchies - Baden, Heuc:, general mobilisation ;lOd the fomlation of a General
Mecklenburg-SChwerin, Mecklenburg-5treliu and Headquarters (CHQ- Cro8es Hauptquartier) 10direct
Oldenburg; 1\<0'0 duchies - Anhillt and Brunsv.ick.: thrtt the ""ar, comprising the KaUer's pC-rx>naJ st<lff. lhe
principalities - Lippe, Schaumberg-Lippe and Wilideck; Field Army Gt:ner<ll StaJT (formerly Creal General
and three 'free cities' Bremen, Hamburg and LUbeck. Staff), specialist officers, military officials, lr.lJ\Spon
Finally. eight minor states - the Grand Duchy of personnel and guards. It was baKd initially in
Saxe-Weimar; Duchies of Saxe-AItenburg and Saxe Ikrlin; from 17 August 1914, in Koblenz; 50 August.
Coburg-Gotha: and the principalities of ReuB Senior Luxembourg; " September. Charlc"ille-Mhiercs,
Line, ReuB Junior Line, SCh....anburg-RudoLstadt and nonh-eaSlem France; and 9 May 1915. Ple6
Sch\\'artburg&ndershausen were collecu\'c:!Y (Pnczyna. Poland).
described as Thuringia. The eastern French pl'O\inces The CHQ, also called lhe Supreme Command
of Alsace and Lorraine were annexed by Gennany in (Obentc Heeresleilung - OHL) was headed by
1871 M an 'imperial territory'. PnwiaJl domiuallce of the Chief of lhe Field Army General Staff, GenObst
Gennally was guarantud by the appointment of the Helmuth \'On Moltke the Younger. On 14 September
King of Prussia, Wilhelm II, as Gcnnan Emperor 1914 Moltke w.as tempor.uily (from 3 November,
(DeutSCher Kaiser). permanclllly) replaced by GcnLt (later Cen d.lnf)
Erich \oon Falkenhayn. Mohke was assisted by a
Army High Command Quanenna.Sler-Ceneral, who supe.....ised Amly rear
The Gennan Anned Forces comprised the Genuan areas - from 2 August 1914 Genu I-Iennann \oon
Army (DeulSChes Hecr) including the Air Corps Stein; September, GcnMaj (later GenLt) Werner
and the Imperial Navy (Kaiscrliche Marine), with the von Voigu-Rheu; November, GenMaj Adolf Wild
Imperial Defence Troops (Kaiserlic.he SdllH1,truppcn) \'on Hohenborn, and January 1915, CenLt Hugo
defending thc colonies. Freiherr (Baron) \'un Frcytag·LoringhovclI.
InJuly 1914 the Gellllan Anny comprised 840,000
men, the largest continental Europe:m anny after that Recruitment
of Imperial Russia. Il was a fcdc.",,1 force, comprising Male military service lasted 29 rears, from age 17 to 45.
the al'mies of thc foul' kingdoms, their sizes officially Rccnlits progressed through five categories: from 17 to
regulated according to their percelllage population 20, 1I1e Landstunll (Home Guard); frolll 21 to 22, half
share. The Pnlssian Anny, which also included the oflIle recnlits to lilt: Stehendes !-leer (StandingAnny),
smaller states, had 655,200 men (78 per cent of the rest to the Ersaurese : (Supplementary Rcse.....·e);
the Gennan AnllY), the Bav""rian Ann)', 92,400 (11 from 23 to 27, the Rese ·e (Rcse.....·e); from 28 to M,
per cent); the Saxon Army, 58,800 (7 per cent); and the Land....ehr (Territorial Anny); and from 39 to 45,
the Wlirucmberg Anny, 33,600 (4 per cent), Each back to the Landsturnl.
kingdom had its 0\\11 ministryofWdf, general staff, and On general mobilisation this progression was sus
military units; but Prussia dominated, supplying pended: all men aged 17·22 (and Ersal2: rese.....ists aged
the pre-war Great General Staff (GroBer Generalstab) 21-22)joined the Standing Anny. Thereafter, according
and integrating all units except the Bavarians into to age. men joined the Resc..... for front line sel"\ice
'C
its ballic order. or the Land\\'Chr for SC:l"\ice in rear areas. On 15 August 3
to note Ihal the tenn Abkilung dCl1ott:d a full sized
field artillel)' Ixmalion, but compan}"'5ill.:d machine gun
(MG), monar, signals and air corps battalions.
Line Infantry (Infanterie) rcmaint."d the dt.'Cisi\'e
branch on the bauJefieki. ",;th the Lighllnfantry Qager),
Rifle (Schfu7.en) and Machine Gun (MaschinengClO'Chr
MG) battalions functioning as ilite infalllf}', The
moullted Ca\'3.I.ry (Ka\-al.lerie) "''as largely forced 10
redeplo)' as infaolf}: PnISSian Uli~rs (KUr:wiere),
including Lifeguards (CarrIes du Corps) and Schwen':
Reiter, constituted the hea\'}' ca\-aI.'1', intended for
offensi\'C oper.uions.. while Drngoolu (Dragoner) fought
as mOUnled infantry - tra\'ClIing on horseback but
fighting on fOOl- TIle Light Ca,-alry comprised Lancers
(Ulanen) for l'C'Conn~ce, infantry protection and
deep penetrdtion skinnishing. and Light Horse Qagcrzu
Prcrde or O1C\'3.ulegers) for skimlishing and mounled
li<Won duties,
Artillery comprised dh;sional Field Anille'1'
(Feldartillcre), Hea\')' (called 'Foot Artillery'
FuBartillcrie) manning heavy sieg~'uns. and MOllnl:l.jn
Artillery (Gcbirgsartillcl;e), The Engineers (l'ioniere)
dt....'C!oped inlo a key offensive ann, pro\;ding l'leavy
(sch\\"erc Minclw,erfer), Medium (l\lincnwcrfer). Light
(Ieichte Minen\\"erfer) and Mountain (Gcbirgsminen
\\'Crfer) Mortar Companies for trench w.lrfare,
Communications Troops (Verkehrstnlppen)
comprised RaiIl<l'3.y Troops (EisenbahlHnlppen).
Ol~.t Hrtlmuth _ MoIttle ~ v-.-lt84&-t81e), operating military rail tr.lIUpon; Signals (Tc:legrafen
ChIef of the OIIWl" Staf'l1~14••'.".' ......... or Femsprechlmppc:n): Air Corps (F1iegennlppe)
ctlftc....' "uNorm in 1814. ThIs ~ tht 1111810 \\ith compan~ized airship units (LuftsehifT.Trupps)
p"kecl field cap; Mte03 und, tunk: 1JNwU with red and slatic balloon (FeldlufuchifTer) and F1ying
~ patchM IMd gokl ~ The gellleI.... ahout~lr (Feldflieger) battalions; ~Iotor Transport (Kraft
bol • wtth... red WMSetWy 8M ~ GOowned
fahnmppc:n); and Supply Corps (Train) \\;th
'WA' clflhwIdow,ltl, him __ of 25 AdjutairtsOln...-..
compan)'-Sil:ed corps Suppl)' (PrO\ianl) and horse':
tMWIg ~ to brtng about lind win .....I ... MtUe on
tr.lIUpon (Fuhrpark) columns. The Medical Corps
the WeRem Front, MottkIl_ db.-' ..dlln 5ept t't4,
dytng of. m-ou In June t.,6. (F111dr1di Henm.nn deplored unil medical officers (Sanilitsoflh:iere),
medical (Saniciu) companies and field hospitals
Ma,lCHi8l Co8Ktlon)
(Fcldlazarclte); and the Velerinary Corps prO\ided
1914 the semi-independent LandslUrm "''as called Out unit \'Cterina'1' officers (Veterinaroffi7Jcn':), and ran
and personnel were retained bc)'Ond age 45 for the horse hospitals (Pferde-Lazarclte),
duration ofthe war. Miscellaneous units included Labour (Arbeitcr, lalcr
Anniemng.'l) Battalions, fOnJlcd to dig earthworks
Br.nch•• of the Army for the forts. Military Police (Fcldgendarmcrie)
Most Anny units U-dCed their lineage back to l.he supen'ised troops in rear areas and the civilian
I>russian Ann)' as reconstituted on 7 September 1808. population in occupied ten;tories.
TIle Geml<lll Army jealously prese....·t:d iu traditions
with complelC uniform distinctions and rcgimenClI tilies, State and Corps organisation
many ofwhich incorporated the name of a German or On 29June 1912 the Gcnnan Anny was organised into
foreign aristocrat 5C:niug as the colonel-in-ehief. 25 corps rccmiting from 22 locall}~recntited Corps
There ....'ere infantry, ca,-alI)', artillery. engineers. Districts (1·14, 17-21; 1·3 Ba\'3.rian), \\;th the Guards
communications. medical and \'elC:rinary COI'p5 and Corps recnliting fTOm Pmssia andAlsace-Lorraine. and
mocellaneous units. Most branches had Standing Anny. the 15th (AI.sace) and 16th (Western Lorraine)
Resel"\'e, l..and...<ehr, Landstunn and Ersatz (depot) units.. Districts recmiting national!}', There ""ere 19 Pmssian
The Pnwian Guardsfonned theAnny'silite U'OOps.and corps: Guards, 1-9, 1+18, 20-21: three Ba\Olrian - 1-3
• most branches "''en': represented in the four Guards Ba\-arian; 1\\'0 Saxon -12.19: and olle Wurttembc:rg
Di\isions fonned befon': September 1915, It is important 13, Each corps comprised 1\\'0 infantry di\uions,
usuall)' numbered sequentially, totalling 50 divisions
(lsi-2nd Guards, Ist-42nd, 1s1-6lh Ba\'arian), wilh lhe
Guards Corps containing the Guarm Ca\'alry Division.
The corps were groul)(.'{! inlO eighl AnIlY Districu (1.-8.
Armee Inspektionen).
Minor stales conlribuled uniu to the Pnlssian
Anny, Baden prmided mOSI of 14th Corps with 10
infantry regimcilts (109-114, 142, 169, 170): 2 dragoon
rt:gt5 (21-22): 5 field artillery regIS (14, 30, 50, 66, 76),
14th Heavy Anillc'1' Regt, Engineer Bn and Supply
Bau...lion. Hesse deplored lhe 25th Inf Oi\' \lith 5
infanl.r)' regLS (11~118. 168): 2 dragoon regLS (23-24): 2
field arolle'1' regts (25, 61) and 18th Supply Baualion.
McckJenburg-Sch\\'~ritlhad 2 infantry OOs (1/ &: 1II/89)
and a ugt (90); 2 dr.goon rqts (17-18), and 60th field
Anille'1' Regiment. M«J;Jcnburg-Sl.relitz had 11/89 Inf
Btl, 14th lighl Inf Bn and ~/24 F~1d AniIIe'1' Baltery.
Oldenburg proo.ided 91st Inf Reg!, 19th Dragoon Reg!
and field artillery b:meries (2/62,3/62). BruIlS\\ick
1\00'0
pro\ided 92nd Inf Regt, 17th Huss:.tr Regt and
2/46 Field Anillery Baue'1', Fl\~ minor states each
prm'ided an infantry regimenc Hamburg (76), Anhalt
(93), Saxe-Weimar (94), Saxe:-Coburg-Gotha &: Saxe
Mciningen (95), Three more PTO\'ided infantry
",",'0
battaliom: Bremen (1/ &: 11/75), tilbeck (1/ &: 11/162)
and Saxe-Altenburg (II &: 11/153). Fi\~ proo.ided one Erk:h _ Fatk~ (1atl1-1fl2), ChMf of the 0.,_..
infantry battalion each: lippe (III/55), SCh....Olfl.bI.lrg S~fn;>m S<tpt UU.. to Aug 18141, photographed _-.I
Sondershausen (I/il), Waldeck. (11I/83). ReuB Infantty colonel In 1807. He _,. the M11103 oMcets'
(11/96) and Schw:mburg-Rudobtadl (11I/96); and Pnlulan-bl_ double bNastacl frock e:oa1 wtth • ""
Schaumburg-lippe, I..he 71.h Ught Infantry Baltalion, cot.... and ~totdbuttons.
The German Empire comprised fi\~ significant
mitloritiC5, all liable for military5CT\ice,Thm there .....ere Ersatz di\isioll5 (Guards, 4); in September, Eberhardl.
Lithuanians in lsI Corps Oislricl.: PolC5 in 5th-81h: (later 15th Resen'e) \lilh 3OI.h and 39th (Ba\'arian)
Danes in 91h: Serbs in 121h:and A1sace-Lorraine French Dhisiolls: in Ocl.obcr, .six resen'C corps (22-27), with
in 141h-16th and 215I,J(:\\'5 served I.hroughoul the Army 12 '1st Wa\'C' (I.Rate) resen'C divisions (43-54); in
and could become generJ.1 officers. November 1914, Ihe ZastrOwCorps (later 17th Resen~);
in January 1915, five resen-e corps (3841, 2 B..wdrian)
Army expansion ....ilh len '2nd Wa\'C' resen'C divisions (75-82; 8 Bavarian,
On 2 August 1914 I.he 25 pcacel.ime corps were also 6'1st Wa\'C' B:lmrian); and in AugtiSi 1915, Gruppe
cxpanded 10 wdrUme su'cngtJl, a !Ird Guards Ohision Mitau (lalcr 60th Special Corps - Korps "lur bcsonderen
added, and existing line ca\'alry regiments grouped Verwendung), Meanwhile four corps "'ere re
inlO 10 ca\~\h)' di\isions (1-9, plus Bavarian). During deplo)'ed (2, 20, Guards R<."SCrve, EN."ltzkorps), 'TIlin)'
Augusl recnlits, reservists and volunteers massingat the independent divisions were also fonm:d March-April
corps depots were ol'gllniscd ilHo 14 Reserve Corps 1915: 20 Infamry (4 Guards, SO, 52, 54, 56, 58, 101, 103,
(Guards, J. 3-10, 12, 14, 18, I B..'\~lrian), wilh 28 105,107-109,111,113,115,117,119,121,123; 10,11
Rescn'e Ohisions (I, 2 Guards; I. 1).7, 9-19, 21·26, 28, Bavarian); and ten Landwehr (7-10, 12-15; I, 6
30, 36; I, 5 B.."l\Oui.lIl) and 3 independent Resen'e Ba\'aliall), Afurther ten tempornry bthdfsmaftigdr.isions
Oi\isions (3, 33, 35), There was also lhe Landwehr were fonned Augusl-November 1914 from easlem
Corps "ith tWO dhisions (3, 4) and tWO independent German garrisons, and in 1915 redesignaled as
Landwehr dh'isions (I, 2): and 6 Ersatz (Depot) di\isions: 83, 84, 86-89 Inf; 5, II, 18 Landwehr. finally,
Di\isiolls (Guards, 4, 8, 10, 19, I Bavarian). The II Ihe elile A1penkorps (Alpine Corps) mountain dr.ision
caval'1' dhisions were organised il1l.o four 'corps' was fonned in Mar 1915 for I.he Italian From, followed
(wilhom a Corps HQor HQ troops) each designated a by the last lemporary dillision (Basedow) in July, Thus
'Ca\'alry Command' (1-4 "!6herer Ka\'3.lIerie by September 1915, tJle Anny totalled 51 corps and
Kommandeur - HKK), 161 infanuy di\isions.
Wilhin a rear 15 more corps were fomled: in mid Thirty-four su.uegically imponanl or vulnerable
•
Augusl 1914 tile, Depot Col"J)S (Ersatzkorps) ....ith t....,o Gennan to\'lllS "-ere designated 'fortrcsscs' (Fesumgen)
and ringed ",ith concrete forts and defensive lines. FIELD ARMY ORGANISATION
There were five \'ulnerable fortresses on lhe Western On 2 AUgl15t 1914 the bulk of tlle Gennan Anny
Front in A1sace-Lorraine: Biueh (Bilche), Diedenhofen ....-as duly fornled into eight field annies (In·8th). but
(Thion\ille), Metz, Neu-Breissach (Neuf-Bl"isach), and these did nOt correspond to the pre-war anny dimlcu,
StraBburg (SlraSbourg). Ele\'en \'Ulnerable fortresses on Se\'en (hi-7th) were deplo}-ed on the Western FronL
the Eastern Front are now mostly in Poland: 8o)'en The 8th and 9th Armies (established Septcmber 1914)
(Bojanowo). Danng (Gdansk), Glatz (K1odzko), fonned on I NO\-ember 1914 'Easlern Command'
Glogau (Glogow), Graudenz (Grndriadz), KOnigsberg (Obero~IJil), reinforced in 1915 b)' lh-e more annics: in
(KaJiningrnd. RlWoia). Memel (Klaipeda, Lithuania). Januat'}', SUd (fonnerly 20 Corps)and lOlh; IIth in
NeiBe (N)u), Pillau (Bielawa). Posen (Poman) and March, Bug in Jul)', and 12th in August. There .....-ere
Thorn (fornn).The remaining 18fonn:sses,.safein the also eighl temporary annics: fi\'e designated as
Gennan interior, saw their garrUons u-ansferred 10 the Armttabteilung (AA) - Faikenhausen (Ersatzkorps),
from and replaced b)' Landstunn. lauenslein (39 Resel'\'e Corps), Scholtz (20 Corps),
SU'antz (pan of 51h Army) and WO)'J'SCh (pan of
Land¥l'ehr Corps): and three as Armcegruppe (AG)
Bescler (pan of ~ Resel"'\'e Corps), GaU....itz (Guards
Resel"'\'e Corps) and Gaede (14 Rcsel"'\'C Corps - later
an AA).
On 25 November 1914 lhree Anny Groups werc
formed 10 comrol armies on the \\'cslern From;
from late January to 7 March 1915 lhese
WCI'C
reorganised into five 'Groups' (GruPI>cn). Later ill
1915 four Army Groups were fonncd: on the Western
Front, Deuucher Kronprinz (I August) with 5th
Army. AA Falkenhausen, Gaede and Str,mtz; on the
Eastern Front, Mackensen/Kicw, laler Linsingen (22
Annr
April) .....;th Bug Army and 11th Hindcnburg
(5 August), with 8th (Niemen). 10th & 12th Annies;
and Prinz Leopold \"On Ba)'ern, later \\'O)nch (5
Augwt). with 9th Anny and AA WO)'J'SCh.
Formation and unit organl.atlon
An anny group (Heeresgruppe) comprised a number
of annics ....ilh an Army HQ as Arm)' Group HQ. In
August 1914 an ann)' (Annee) comprised Ami)' HQ,
Ann)' HQ troops (1-2 engineer regu; 1-4 hea\)' artillery
blu (each 8-16guns); 190-strOngairshipand 29(ktrong
signals bns); ~ corps, and independent di\'isions
and Land",'Chr brigades, An Annceabteilung operated
independentlywith SC'\'eral corps but initially no HQor
HQ troops; while an Anneegnlppe was similarly
organised but subordinated to an Anny HQ,
Acorps (Anlleckorps) initiallycomprised Co.,>s HQ,
Corps HQ troops (1-2 engineer hns; 2 ammunition bns;
I,085-strong lighl inf bn; heavy artillcry bn; signals 'bn',
A young NCO, probaIbty.n Inf.ntry vtzef~.marc.hes
hapflllyto w.r, Aug 181•• He _.,. the M1807 \rlf.ntry
..,llstMl _'I field unltoom wlttI M1lM)8 8rMtcoat,.nd
*
omc.r
style ItIgh IMthergII/t-.. He t\n ,.gl_tsl
*
.....11"'-... Oft ths snouldfH' su.ps., grNtcost cot.....
petdMs wlttI NCO ~ snd ... Mtll10 otIks,style pesked
l'Ietd c.p tudl_1nto his belt. He ~ Mnlor Nco.' field
~ k<ducMne s POe pistol snd blnocu..... but sIso
the MtllOll rtftos ~ pouctIn. 1l'8d1tionsl1y tlaall'l
lee,ll.. fw the '"'"' __ flo..'" snd bi~In their
•
het..leW _ good luck tok_ fl'om their Iovoed _
l()().strong air bn, 104- to 194-strong tr,\Jlspon coy,
12 field hospilals); 2 dhisions and Land"'"ehr. A reserve
corps (Reservckorps) had minimal HQtroops (2 anum..
nition bus: 2 tnulSlXln cO}'S: signals bn), and IWO reser.e
di\isions.. The Landwe.hr corps had an ammuuition bn,
some tnlJlSpon CO)'S and twO Landwehrdi\isions.
TIle 17,()()()..strong infantry dhision (Dhision)
comprised Di\uional HQ. HQ troops (C<lI\'aJt)' regt;
tnlnspon cO},; 2 engineer cO}'S; 2 medical CO)'S - each
315 men): 2 infanuy brigades (each 2 inf rqu;); ;lnd
one field artillerybde (2 artillery regimen15). Landwehr
;lnd El"Satz di\isions had fewer HQtroops.
Each 3.287-strong infanuy regiment (R.c:gimem) had
a 53-man Regimenlal HQ. 99-man '13th' MG coy
(6x MG08 hea\y MGs), and 1-1II Batlalions each 1,079
strong_ Each infantry batlalion (Balaillon) had four
companies nlunbered rcgimemally- 1-4, 5-8, 9-12. Each
245-sttong coml>any (Kompanie) had Ist-lkd PlalOOns;
each 77-strong plaloon (Zug) had four sccLions
numbered within the company - 1-4, 5-8, 9-12; each 19
slrong section (Korpol"d1schaft) h;ld LWO sub-scctions
(GnJppen), each comprising a lancC<Ol'(X1ral and 8
privates. A6-man machine gun team for the MG08 com
prised a COI1X)I<i1 commander, 1st gunner, 2nd assistant
gunner to carry anununitioll, 3rd gunner to cany
ammunition and 4th and 5th gunners 10 dmg Ihe gun.
TIle 1,36lktrong field artillery regiment had 1-11
battalions, each 67.3-man battalion (Abteilung) "'ilh
three 149-strong batteries (numbered regimentally).
eac.h Bauerie ",ith siJt guns (totalling i2 guns); and a
192-strong light ammuniLion column. A dhisional
C<l\'3Jry rcgimellt had 724 or 538 men in either 4 or 3
squadrollS, eac.h sqn (Eskadron) ha\ing 167 men. An
MG 'battalion' had only 114 men, while an engineer
battalion had 1,080 in four 27<ktrong companies.
The La.nd"'-ehr dhision had no MG companics and
onlyone artillery battalion and enginc:c:rcompany. The
Emtz division comprised HQ troops and 3 El"Satz
brigadcs, cach "';th 4-5 battalions. The 5,238-strong
C<l\'3.lry di\ision had three cavalry brig'.tdc:s, each with
tWO c~I\~.tlry rcgtS (I ~IG, 4 caw!!)' sqns); one horse F._a pnoto of ~tna"tRackow of 158th Inf Aegt
artillcry bn (3 x 4-gun battcries); and a light infantrybn (7th lO....JM), 13th Infantry Division. H. w.a,. the M1810
(4 coys, I cyclist & I MG coy): itS HQtroops comprised otrlc.,.' field uniform with M1886 b...1d walat belt, M1tt12
a 114-man MG bn (6x MG08), a signals bn and a 34 luther lettttintt. an.d ankleboolt. His .ublol1em" field
equipment comprl... the M181. office,.' backpa.ck, P08
man engineer platoon.
plstol, blno<:ulara, an.d M1888 Pru..lan Infantry office,.'
aword with M1886 knot. The 13th DMaIon fou(tht with
R.duced .shbllshments
2nd Army In Bel81um, Artol., Champaene end A1aee..
Huge losses 011 the Wcstem Front in 1914 forced a
reduction in unit cstablishmentS. TIle eight '5O-serics'
infantrydi\isions fonned March 1915 (50, 52, 54. 56, 58. guns. The 12 'I()(keries' dhisions (101. 103, 105, 107·
10 &: II Bavarian, 4 Guards) introduced the ·triangular' 109, Ill, 113. 115. 117, 121, 123), IO &: 11 Bavarian
infantry brigade, fonned by reducing Ihe infantry from and 4 Guards had the same rc:ducc:d organisation but
four to three regiments.. Funhennore, the batteries of Ollly one 4-gun field hea\y anillery battery.
the field artillery brigade "'-ere each reduced from six to The ReseI'\'Cdhisions fonned August 1914 often had
four guns. ghing 48 guns rather than i2 per dhision. four 2-battalion infantry rc:gimen15, no MG companies.
Thoe reducLions Yl-erc: panially compensated for by one 2-battalion field artillery regimeJll (36 gllllS) and
adding a tv."t>ba.uery ho\y artillery battalion Ylith 8 one medical company. A 1st \\'a\'C Roel'\-e di\isioll had 7
a 3-bn field artillery regt. but still oni}' 36 guns; while a outflank the cnemy main force. :rnd then encircle it
2nd Wavedi\ision had one 3-regt infbdeand one 2-regt before concentrating a powerful allack against its
field anillery bde, each regt ha\ing two bns. each ...ith weakest poinL The enemy's command stmcture would
Ihree :J.gun baneries totalling 36 gum. then be S)'Stematically dcslro}"al, forcing a mililal)'
collapse: and surrender. This strategy "''as all the more
STRATEGY
\ital afterJune 1890, when the Kaiser's inept foreign
policy had forced GenObsl Alfred Gra( (Earl) \'Oll
In the 1860s, GFM. Helmuth \'On Moltke the Elder Schlieffen, Chief of the General Staff (1891-1905), to
had established the strdtcgic principle of 'decisive plan for a Two-Front War' against the numerically
manOCU\1·e', Using the latest military technologysuch as superior Russian and French annics, The SchliclTen
milwa}'S and the telegraph, and supported by the massive Plan of December 1905 committed 4 '/0 corps (almost
firepower ofartillery, mortarsand machineglllls, a large, the entire Gennan Anny), with 16corpsgrouped in the
r.apidly mobilised and well- tr.Lined infaJ1U)' would \ital right ",ing, to advance acroM northern France and
hook south west ofParis, omflank.ing the French annies
stationed on the Franco-Ccnnan border. and forcing an
early French surrenderafter a predicted 42 da)'S.
Concerned that the Plan would leave Alsacc
LorTaine, south-western Gennany and East PnlSSia
virtually undefended and I.hus \'\I1ner.able to French
and Russian inllaSioll, SchliefTen'5 successor. Moltke
theYoungcr, di\'crted 7'I. corps to defend these front:i,
Rccognizing that Paris tOO far. and the Gcmlan
WdS
right wing tOO weak, to take the city in the 20 days
before Russian mobilization required the Army's
redeployment to defend eastern Gennany, Mohke
deeided that the right wing should tum soulh ...·hile
still to the cast of Paris and outflank the French Anny
in no~tern Fr.ance.
The Western Front
On I August 1914 the Gennan in\'asion force, "ith
1,485,000 men in seven annies, assembled 011 the
western German frontier. The Right Wing (1st. 2nd
Armies) had 580,000 men in II corpll; the Centre (3rd
Army) 180,000 in four corps; the Left Wing (4th, 5th
Annies) 380,000 ill JI corps; and the Dela)ing Force
(6th. 7th Annies), intended to defend Alsacc-LorTaillC,
345,000 mell in eight corps.
On the C\-ening of 3 August. lst Anny (GcnObsl
Alexander \'On Kluck) ad\'anced into Belgium, ca.using
Great Britain, a gual1tntor of Belgian neutrality, to
declare war. On 2'0 August, Kluck took Bmssels, forcing
the British ExpeditionaryForce to retreat from MOilSon
23 August and from I.e Catcall, north-eastem Fl1tllCe,
on the 26th, Mean"'hile 2nd Anny (Cen d.lnf Fritz von
Billow) capturtxl Ucge fortress 011 17 August. Charleroi
AIth<ough the saxon Amw was numbeNcl In the Prusfien
lIne, tt Ple..ned dlatlnctlve uniform fMtvNs. Thl$ saxon
SoIdat is _ring the "'f8ntry enlisted men" M1907
unlfonn wlttI the 'saxon' euft', ..-:l Intantoy red piping
_nd the bottom of the Udrt; It would also .....
re<:tangular _button back tlIlps. ... hn rolHtd lIP
hl$ shoulder 'tnIpt1l0 COf'I(:..1hl$ reelmentlll number,
whIch 1$ also abMnl from hi' hel""'l c_. The M1895
b.ckpack seems huge when the M1f108 9rn1co,t end
M1892 "'elter-qu,rter." .trapped to It. (Friedrlch
8 H,,,,,,.",, Memorial Colledlonl