II Royal Bavarian Corps

II Royal Bavarian Army Corps II. Königlich Bayerische Armee-Korps
Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918)
Active	1869 (1869)–1919 (1919)
Country	Bavaria /  German Empire
Type	Corps
Size	Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914)
Garrison/HQ	Würzburg/Ludwig-Straße 25
Patron	King of Bavaria
Engagements	Franco-Prussian War Battle of Wissembourg (1870) Battle of Wörth (1870) Battle of Sedan Siege of Paris World War I Battle of the Frontiers
Insignia
Abbreviation	II Bavarian AK

The II Royal Bavarian Army Corps / II Bavarian AK (German: II. 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 part of the 1868 army reform, the II Royal Bavarian Army Corps of the Bavarian Army was set up in 1869 in Würzburg as the Generalkommando (headquarters) for the northern part of the kingdom. With the formation of the III Royal Bavarian Corps in 1900 it was made responsible for Lower Franconia, parts of Upper Franconia and the Palatinate. 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.

Franco-Prussian War

The II Royal Bavarian Corps (along with the I Royal Bavarian Corps) participated in the Franco-Prussian War as part of the 3rd Army. It saw action in the battles of Wissembourg, Wörth and Sedan, and in the Siege of Paris.

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. 4th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the Bavarian Cavalry Division^[6] and the 3rd 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.

The 8th Bavarian Infantry Brigade (4th and 8th Bavarian Infantry Regiments) remained in Metz as part of the 33rd Reserve Division on mobilisation. It was replaced in 4th Bavarian Division by the 5th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade (5th and 8th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiments).^[7]

In summary, II 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, II 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. It was still in existence at the end of the war^[12] in the 17th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.^[13]

Commanders

The II Royal Bavarian Corps had the following commanders during its existence:^[14][15][16]

See also

• Bavarian Army
• 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

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.