II Corps (German Empire)


The II Army Corps / II AK was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th Century to World War I.
It was established on 3 April 1820 with headquarters initially in Berlin. From 1837, the headquarters moved to Stettin, back to Berlin in 1863, before finally settling in Stettin from 1870. The Corps catchment area included the Province of Pomerania, the district of Bromberg from the Province of Posen and the Province of West Prussia. Later, the West Prussian districts were transferred to the new XVII Corps District.
In peacetime, the Corps was assigned to the VIII Army Inspectorate, which became the 1st Army at the start of the First World War. The Corps headquarters was upgraded to form the headquarters of the South Army on 10 January 1915.
The Corps was reformed post-war, before being finally disbanded in 1919.

Austro-Prussian War

The II Corps formed part of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia's 1st Army and fought in the Austro-Prussian War against Austria in 1866, including the Battle of Königgrätz.

Franco-Prussian War

The Corps fought in the Franco-Prussian War against France in 1870-71 as part of the 2nd Army. It saw action in the Battle of Gravelotte, Battle of Villiers, the Siege of Metz, and the Siege of Paris, among other actions.

Peacetime organisation

The 25 peacetime Corps of the German Army had a reasonably standardised organisation. Each consisted of two divisions 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:
Each Corps also directly controlled a number of other units. This could include one or more
CorpsDivisionBrigadeUnitsGarrison
II Corps3rd Division5th Infantry Brigade2nd Grenadiers "King Frederick William IV"Stettin
9th Colberg Grenadiers "Count Gneisenau"Stargard in Pommern---
54th Infantry "von der Goltz"Kolberg, III Bn at Köslin---
6th Infantry Brigade34th Fusiliers "Queen Victoria of Sweden"Stettin, II Bn at Swinemünde--
42nd Infantry "Prince Maurice of Anhalt-Dessau"Stralsund, III Bn at Greifswald---
3rd Field Artillery Brigade2nd Field ArtilleryKolberg, Belgard--
38th Field ArtilleryStettin---
3rd Cavalry Brigade2nd Cuirassiers “Queen”Pasewalk--
9th UhlansDemmin---
4th Division7th Infantry Brigade14th Infantry "Count Schwerin"Bromberg-
149th InfantrySchneidemühl, III Bn at Deutsch-Krone---
8th Infantry Brigade49th InfantryGnesen--
140th InfantryHohensalza---
4th Field Artillery Brigade17th Field ArtilleryBromberg--
53rd Field ArtilleryBromberg, Hohensalza---
4th Cavalry Brigade3rd Mounted Grenadiers "Baron Derfflinger"Bromberg--
12th Dragoons "von Arnim"Gnesen---
Corps Troops2nd Foot Artillery "von Hindersin"Swinemünde, Emden-
15th Foot ArtilleryBromberg, Graudenz---
2nd Pioneer BattalionStettin---
2nd Train BattalionAltdamm---

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. The 3rd Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 4th Cavalry Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, II Corps mobilised with 24 infantry battalions, 8 machine gun companies, 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries, 4 heavy artillery batteries, 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
CorpsDivisionBrigadeUnits
II Corps3rd Division5th Infantry Brigade2nd Grenadier Regiment
9th Grenadier Regiment---
6th Infantry Brigade34th Fusilier Regiment--
42nd Infantry Regiment---
3rd Field Artillery Brigade2nd Field Artillery Regiment--
38th Field Artillery Regiment---
3rd Horse Grenadier Regiment--
1st Company, 2nd Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
4th Division7th Infantry Brigade14th Infantry Regiment-
149th Infantry Regiment---
8th Infantry Brigade49th Infantry Regiment--
140th Infantry Regiment---
6th Field Artillery Brigade17th Field Artillery Regiment--
53rd Field Artillery Regiment---
12th Dragoon Regiment--
2nd Company, 2nd Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 2nd Pioneer Battalion---
4th Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsI Battalion, 15th Foot Artillery Regiment-
30th Aviation Detachment---
2nd Corps Pontoon Train---
2nd Telephone Detachment---
2nd Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Columns and Train I & II Munition Column Sections
--
I/15th Foot Artillery Munition Section
---
I & II Train Section
---
2 Field Bakery Columns---

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, II Corps was assigned to the 1st Army, which was on the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. It saw action in the invasion of Belgium, the First Battle of the Marne, and the Race to the Sea. Thereafter, the Corps was transferred to the Eastern Front, joining the 9th Army. The Corps headquarters was upgraded to form the headquarters of the South Army on 10 January 1915.

Commanders

The II Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
FromRankName
20 March 1820General der InfanterieCrown Prince Frederick William of Prussia
30 March 1838GeneralleutnantKarl Heinrich von Block
30 March 1839General der KavallerieKarl Friedrich Emil zu Dohna-Schlobitten
7 April 1842GeneralleutnantFriedrich Graf von Wrangel
3 November 1849General der InfanterieFriedrich Wilhelm von Grabow
7 May 1857General der InfanterieJohann Georg von Wussow
29 January 1863General der InfanterieKarl Friedrich von Steinmetz
18 May 1864General der InfanterieCrown Prince Frederick William of Prussia
17 May 1866GeneralleutnantStephan von Schmidt
17 September 1866General der InfanterieCrown Prince Frederick William of Prussia
18 July 1870General der InfanterieEduard von Fransecky
20 March 1871General der KavallerieOtto Hann von Weyhern
14 June 1881General der InfanterieFerdinand von Dannenberg
15 January 1887General der InfanterieErnst von der Burg
28 October 1891General der InfanterieHermann von Blomberg
27 January 1898General der KavallerieArnold von Langenbeck
21 September 1906General der InfanterieJosias von Heeringen
1 September 1909 – 10 January 1915General der InfanterieAlexander von Linsingen
17 December 1918GeneralleutnantRichard von Kraewel
23 June 1919GeneralleutnantErnst von Oven