III Royal Bavarian Corps

III Royal Bavarian Army Corps III. Königlich Bayerische Armee-Korps
Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918)
Active	1 April 1900 (1900-04-01)–1919 (1919)
Country	Bavaria /  German Empire
Type	Corps
Size	Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914)
Garrison/HQ	Nuremberg/Jakob Platz 6
Patron	King of Bavaria
Engagements	World War I Battle of the Frontiers Battle of Caporetto
Insignia
Abbreviation	III Bavarian AK

The III Royal Bavarian Army Corps / III Bavarian AK (German: III. Königlich Bayerisches Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the Imperial German Army, before and during World War I.^[a]

As the German and Bavarian Armies expanded in the latter part of the 19th century, the III Royal Bavarian Army Corps of the Bavarian Army was set up on 1 April 1900 in Nuremberg as the Generalkommando (headquarters) for Middle Franconia, the Upper Palatinate and parts of Upper Franconia, Lower Bavaria and Upper Bavaria. Like all Bavarian formations, it was assigned to the IV Army Inspectorate^[1] which became the 6th Army at the start of the First World War. The Corps was disbanded at the end of the War.

Peacetime organisation

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.^[2] 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:

V, VI, VII, IX and XIV Corps each had a 5th infantry brigade (so 10 infantry regiments)

II, XIII, XVIII and XXI Corps had a 9th infantry regiment

I, VI and XVI Corps had a 3rd cavalry brigade (so 6 cavalry regiments)

the Guards Corps had 11 infantry regiments (in 5 brigades) and 8 cavalry regiments (in 4 brigades).^[3]

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

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 5th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the Bavarian Cavalry Division^[5] and the 6th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, III Bavarian Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 8 machine gun companies (48 machine guns), 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, III Royal Bavarian Corps was assigned to the predominantly Bavarian 6th Army forming part of the left wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914.

Commanders

The III Royal Bavarian Corps had the following commanders during its existence:^[9][10][11]

See also

• German Army order of battle (1914)
• List of Imperial German infantry regiments
• List of Imperial German artillery regiments
• List of Imperial German cavalry regiments
• Grafenwoehr Training Area

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Cron, Hermann (2002). Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937]. 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.
• 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.
• 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.