Guards Corps (German Empire)

Command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies

For the Haganah Guard Corps, see Guard Corps (Haganah). For the Prussian military unit known as the Prussian Guard, see Gardes du Corps (Prussia).

Guards Corps
Gardekorps

Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918)

Active| 1815 (1815)–1919 (1919)
Country|  Prussia /  German Empire
Branch| Army
Type| Artillery
Cavalry
Infantry
Pioneer
Size| Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914)
Garrison/HQ| Berlin/Hinter dem Gießhause 3
Patron| German Emperor and King of Prussia
Motto(s)| Semper talis (always the same/great)
Shoulder strap piping| Varies per unit
Engagements| Austro-Prussian War

Battle of Königgrätz

Franco-Prussian War

Battle of Gravelotte
Battle of Sedan (1870)
Siege of Paris
Battle of Le Bourget

World War I

Battle of the Frontiers
First Battle of the Marne
First Battle of Ypres
Insignia
Abbreviation| GK

Military unit

The Guards Corps/GK (German: Gardekorps) was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th century to World War I.

The Corps was headquartered in Berlin, with its units garrisoned in the city and nearby towns (Potsdam, Jüterbog, Döberitz). Unlike all other Corps of the Imperial German Army, the Guards Corps did not recruit from a specific area, but from throughout Prussia and the "Imperial Lands" of Alsace-Lorraine.

The Corps served in the Austro-Prussian War. During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 2nd Army.

In peacetime the Corps was assigned to the II Army Inspectorate but joined the 2nd Army at the start of the First World War.[1] It was still in existence at the end of the war[2] in the 4th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht, on the Western Front.[3] The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

## Austro-Prussian War[edit]

The Guards Corps fought in the Austro-Prussian War against Austria in 1866, including the Battle of Königgrätz.

## Franco-Prussian War[edit]

The Corps served in the Franco-Prussian War against France in 1870–1871 as part of 2nd Army. It saw action in the Battle of Gravelotte, Battle of Sedan and the Siege of Paris (including the Battle of Le Bourget), among other actions.

## Peacetime organisation[edit]

The 25 peacetime Corps of the German Army (Guards, I–XXI, I–III Bavarian) had a reasonably standardised organisation. Each consisted of two divisions with usually two infantry brigades, one field artillery brigade and a cavalry brigade each.[4] Each brigade normally consisted of two regiments of the appropriate type, so each Corps normally commanded eight infantry, four field artillery and four cavalry regiments. There were exceptions to this rule:

V, VI, VII, IX and XIV Corps each had a fifth infantry brigade (so 10 infantry regiments)
II, XIII, XVIII and XXI Corps had a ninth infantry regiment
I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3rd cavalry brigade (so six cavalry regiments)

Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more

Foot Artillery Regiment
Jäger Battalion
Pioneer Battalion
Train Battalion

The Guards Corps was considerably above this norm, with 11 infantry regiments (in five brigades) and 8 cavalry regiments (in four brigades). In addition to the normal two infantry divisions (1st Guards Infantry and 2nd Guards Infantry Divisions), the Guards Corps also commanded the Guards Cavalry Division, the only peacetime cavalry division in the German Army. It also incorporated an exceptional number of "Corps Troops" units, in particular school and demonstration (Lehr) units.

Peacetime organization of the Corps[5] Corps  | Division  | Brigade  | Units  | Garrison

|
|
|
|

Guards Corps | Guards Cavalry Division | 1st Guards Cavalry Brigade  | Gardes du Corps | Potsdam
Guards Cuirassiers | Berlin
2nd Guards Cavalry Brigade  | 1st Guards Uhlans | Potsdam
3rd Guards Uhlans | Potsdam
3rd Guards Cavalry Brigade  | 1st Guards Dragoons "Queen of Great Britain and Ireland" | Berlin
2nd Guards Dragoons "Empress Alexandra of Russia" | Berlin
4th Guards Cavalry Brigade  | Life Guards Hussars | Potsdam
2nd Guards Uhlans | Berlin
1st Guards Infantry Division | 1st Guards Infantry Brigade  | 1st Foot Guards | Potsdam
3rd Foot Guards | Berlin
Guards Jäger Battalion | Potsdam
2nd Guards Infantry Brigade  | 2nd Foot Guards | Berlin
4th Foot Guards | Berlin
Guards Fusiliers | Berlin
1st Guards Field Artillery Brigade  | 1st Guards Field Artillery[6] | Berlin
3rd Guards Field Artillery | Berlin, Beeskow
2nd Guards Infantry Division | 3rd Guards Infantry Brigade  | 1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers | Berlin
3rd (Queen Elizabeth) Guards Grenadiers | Charlottenburg
Guards Schützen Battalion | Groß-Lichterfelde
4th Guards Infantry Brigade  | 2nd (Emperor Francis) Guards Grenadiers | Berlin
4th (Queen Augusta) Guards Grenadiers | Berlin
5th Guards Infantry Brigade | 5th Foot Guards | Spandau
5th Guards Grenadiers | Spandau
2nd Guards Field Artillery Brigade  | 2nd Guards Field Artillery | Potsdam
4th Guards Field Artillery | Potsdam
Corps Troops  |  | Lehr Infantry Battalion | Potsdam
1st Guards Machine Gun Abteilung | Potsdam
2nd Guards Machine Gun Abteilung | Berlin
Guards Foot Artillery | Spandau
Lehr Regiment of the Field Artillery Firing School | Jüterbog
Lehr Regiment of the Foot Artillery Firing School | Jüterbog
Guards Pioneer Battalion | Berlin
Guards Train Battalion | Berlin
1st Railway Regiment | Berlin
4th Railway Regiment | Berlin
Operating Abteilung of the Railway Troops | Berlin
1st Telegraph Battalion | Berlin (Treptow)
War Telegraph School | Spandau (Ruheleben)
1st Airship Battalion | Berlin (Tegel)
2nd Airship Battalion | Berlin / Hannover / Dresden
1st Flying Battalion | Döberitz / Großenhain
Motorised Battalion | Berlin
Testing Abteilung of the Transport Technical Examination Board | 1st Co. Berlin, 2nd Co. Jüterbog

## World War I[edit]

### Organisation on mobilisation[edit]

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was extensively restructured. The Guards Cavalry Division (less the 4th Guards Cavalry Brigade) was assigned to the I Cavalry Corps (Höhere Kavallerie-Kommando 1);[7] the 4th Guards Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The Lehr Infantry Battalion was expanded to form the Lehr Infantry Regiment.[8] It formed 6th Guards Infantry Brigade (with the Guards Füsilier Regiment) and together with the 5th Guards Infantry Brigade formed the 3rd Guards Division of the Guards Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters.

In summary, the Guards Corps mobilised with 26 infantry battalions, 10 machine gun companies (60 machine guns), eight cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), four heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), three pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.

Initial wartime organization of the Corps[9] Corps  | Division  | Brigade  | Units

|
|
|

Guards Corps | 1st Guards Division | 1st Guard Infantry Brigade  | 1st Foot Guards Regiment
3rd Foot Guards Regiment
Guards Jäger Battalion[10]
2nd Guard Infantry Brigade  | 2nd Foot Guards Regiment
4th Foot Guards Regiment
1st Guard Field Artillery Brigade  | 1st Guards Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Guards Field Artillery Regiment
| Leib Guards Hussar Regiment
1st Company, Guards Pioneer Battalion
1st Guards Divisional Pontoon Train
1st Medical Company
3rd Medical Company
2nd Guards Division | 3rd Guard Infantry Brigade  | 1st Guards Grenadier Regiment
3rd Guards Grenadier Regiment
Guards Schützen Battalion[10]
4th Guard Infantry Brigade  | 2nd Guards Grenadier Regiment
4th Guards Grenadier Regiment
2nd Guard Field Artillery Brigade  | 2nd Guards Field Artillery Regiment
4th Guards Field Artillery Regiment
| 2nd Guards Uhlan Regiment
2nd Company, Guards Pioneer Battalion
3rd Company, Guards Pioneer Battalion
2nd Guards Divisional Pontoon Train
2nd Medical Company
Corps Troops  |  | I Battalion, 1st Guards Foot Artillery Regiment[11]
1st Aviation Detachment
Guards Corps Pontoon Train
Guards Telephone Detachment
Guards Pioneer Searchlight Section
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps

### Combat chronicle[edit]

On mobilisation, the Guards Corps was assigned to the 2nd Army as part of the right wing of the forces that invaded France and Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914.

2nd Ox and Bucks defeating the Prussian Guard at Nonne Bosschen. Painting by William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936)

Soon into the war, at the First Battle of the Marne, the Prussian Guards were bitterly defeated in an attempt to take French positions.

In early July 1915 it participated in the "Battle of the Guards" near Krasnostav, acting against parts of the Russian Guard corps.[12][13][14] It participated in the Battle of Lublin-Kholm in July 1915[15]

In 1917, the corps was stationed on the Aisne River as part of 1st Army, and played an important role in the German defense against the French offensive in that sector.

It was still in existence at the end of the war[2] in the 4th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht, on the Western Front.[3]

## Commanders[edit]

The Guards Corps had the following commanders during its existence:[16][17]

From | Rank | Name

|
|

20 September 1814 | General der Infanterie | Duke Charles of Mecklenburg
30 March 1838 | Generalleutnant | Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
23 May 1848 | Generalleutnant | Karl von Prittwitz
2 June 1853 | General der Kavallerie | Karl von der Gröben
3 June 1858 | General der Kavallerie | Prince August of Württemberg
30 August 1882 | General der Kavallerie | Wilhelm von Brandenburg
21 August 1884 | General der Infanterie | Alexander von Pape
19 September 1888 | General der Infanterie | Oskar von Meerscheidt-Hüllessem
6 May 1893 | General der Infanterie | Hugo von Winterfeld
18 August 1897 | General der Infanterie | Max von Bock und Polach
27 January 1902 | General der Infanterie | Gustav von Kessel
29 May 1909 | General der Infanterie | Alfred von Loewenfeld
1 March 1913 | General der Infanterie | Karl von Plettenberg
6 February 1917 | General der Infanterie | Ferdinand von Quast
9 September 1917 | General der Kavallerie | Graf zu Dohna-Schlobitten
2 November 1917 | Generalleutnant | Alfred von Böckmann

## See also[edit]

* Germany portal
* World War I portal

* Franco-Prussian War order of battle
* German Army order of battle (1914)
* German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)
* List of Imperial German infantry regiments
* List of Imperial German artillery regiments
* List of Imperial German cavalry regiments

## Citations[edit]

1. ^ Cron 2002, p. 393
2. ^ a b Cron 2002, pp. 88–89
3. ^ a b Ellis & Cox 1993, pp. 186–187
4. ^ Haythornthwaite 1996, pp. 193–194
5. ^ War Office 1918, p. 239
6. ^ Had a third (Horse Artillery) Abteilung of three batteries of 4 guns.
7. ^ Cron 2002, p. 299
8. ^ Busche 1998, p. 4 Lehr (meaning "teach" or "training") is usually left untranslated.
9. ^ Cron 2002, p. 306
10. ^ a b With a machine gun company.
11. ^ 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 heavy field howitzers)
12. ^ "Битва Гвардий. Часть 1". btgv.ru. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
13. ^ "Битва Гвардий. Часть 2". btgv.ru. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
14. ^ "Битва Гвардий. Часть 3". btgv.ru. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
15. ^ "Люблин-Холмская битва 1915 г. Ч. 2. Борьба за инициативу". btgv.ru. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
16. ^ German War History Accessed: 20 June 2012
17. ^ The Prussian Machine Accessed: 20 June 2012

## General bibliography[edit]

* Busche, Hartwig (1998). Formationsgeschichte der Deutschen Infanterie im Ersten Weltkrieg (1914 bis 1918) (in German). Institut für Preußische Historiographie.
* Cron, Hermann (2002) [1937]. Imperial German Army 1914–18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle. Helion & Co. ISBN 1-874622-70-1.
* Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.
* Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-351-7.
* The German Forces in the Field; 7th Revision, 11th November 1918; Compiled by the General Staff, War Office. Imperial War Museum, London and The Battery Press, Inc (1995). 1918. ISBN 1-870423-95-X.
* Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army Which Participated in the War (1914–1918), Compiled from Records of Intelligence Section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919. The London Stamp Exchange Ltd (1989). 1920. ISBN 0-948130-87-3.
* Wegner, Günter (1993). Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815–1939, Bd. 1. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück.

* v
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Army level commands of the Imperial German Army in World War I

Numbered Armies|

* 1st
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4th|

| Naval Corps|

* 1st Naval Division
* 2nd Naval Division
* two thirds 38th Landwehr Division
* one third 3rd Division
* 85th Landwehr Division

|

Guards Reserve Corps|

* 3rd Reserve Division
* two thirds 3rd Division
* 13th Reserve Division
* 16th Bavarian Division
* 36th Reserve Division
* 11th Bavarian Infantry Division
* 4th Division
* one third 38th Landwehr Division
* 16th Reserve Division
* 23rd Division
* 3rd Landwehr Division

Guards Corps|

* 26th Division
* 19th Division
* Guard Ersatz Division
* 207th Division
* 1st Bavarian Reserve Division
* 21st Division
* 52nd Reserve Division
* 6th Cavalry Division

X Reserve Corps|

* 49th Reserve Division
* 23rd Reserve Division
* 11th Reserve Division
* 56th Infantry Division
* 6th Bavarian Reserve Division
* 39th Division
* 40th Division

IV Cavalry Corps|

* 3rd Cavalry Division
* 6th Cavalry Division

IV Cavalry Corps|

* 53rd Reserve Division
* 54th Reserve Division

VI Corps|

* 11th Division
* 12th Division

VIII Corps|

* 15th Division
* 16th Division

IX Corps|

* 5th Reserve Division
* 6th Reserve Division

Armee-Abteilung|

* A (Falkenhausen)
* B (Gaede)
* C (Strantz)
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