XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps


The XII Army Corps / XII AK was a Saxon corps level command of the Saxon and German Armies before and during World War I.
The Corps was formed as the Royal Saxon Corps on 1 April 1867 and headquartered in Dresden. Initially, it commanded the 1st Royal Saxon Infantry Division in Dresden and the 2nd Royal Saxon Infantry Division in Leipzig. After the XIX Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 as the headquarters for the western part of the Kingdom of Saxony, XII Corps was made responsible for the eastern part of the Kingdom.
The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

Franco-Prussian War

During the Franco-Prussian War, the corps fought in the Battle of Gravelotte, the Battle of Sedan and the Siege of Paris.

Order of Battle during the Franco-Prussian War

The organization of the XII Corps on 18 August 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows:
Commander: General Crown Prince Albert of Saxony
Chief of the General Staff: Lt. Col. Friedrich von Zezschwitz
On 1 April 1887 another Saxon division was formed and assigned to the Corps.
As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th Century, the XIX Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 in Leipzig as the Generalkommando for the western part of the Kingdom of Saxony. It took over command of 24th Division and the newly formed 40th Division. Thereafter, XII Corps was responsible for the eastern part of the Kingdom.
The Corps was assigned to the II Army Inspectorate which formed the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army at the start of the First World War.

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
XII Corps23rd Division45th Infantry Brigade100th Life GrenadiersDresden
101st Grenadiers "Emperor William, King of Prussia"Dresden---
46th Infantry Brigade108th Schützen "Prince George"Dresden--
182nd InfantryFreiberg---
23rd Field Artillery Brigade12th Field ArtilleryDresden, Königsbrück--
48th Field ArtilleryDresden---
23rd Cavalry Brigade1st Royal Saxon Guards Heavy CavalryDresden--
17th Uhlans "Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, King of Hungary"Oschatz---
32nd Division63rd Infantry Brigade102nd Infantry "King Ludwig III of Bavaria"Zittau-
103rd InfantryBautzen---
64th Infantry Brigade177th InfantryDresden--
178th InfantryKamenz---
32nd Field Artillery Brigade28th Field ArtilleryBautzen--
64th Field ArtilleryPirna---
32nd Cavalry Brigade18th Hussars "King Albert"Großenhain--
20th HussarsBautzen---
Corps Troops12th Jäger BattalionFreiberg-
13th Jäger BattalionDresden---
19th Foot ArtilleryDresden---
12th Pioneer BattalionPirna---
12th Train BattalionDresden, Bischofswerda---
7th Telegraph BattalionDresden---
Dresden Defence Command
Dresden-

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 23rd Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 8th Cavalry Division and the 32nd 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, XII Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies, 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries, 4 heavy artillery batteries, 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
CorpsDivisionBrigadeUnits
XII Corps23rd Division45th Infantry Brigade100th Life- Grenadier Regiment
101st Grenadier Regiment---
46th Infantry Brigade108th Schützen Regiment--
182nd Infantry Regiment---
23rd Field Artillery Brigade12th Field Artillery Regiment--
48th Field Artillery Regiment---
20th Hussar Regiment--
1st Company, 12th Pioneer Battalion---
23rd Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
32nd Division63rd Infantry Brigade102nd Infantry Regiment-
103rd Infantry Regiment---
12th Jäger Battalion---
64th Infantry Brigade177th Infantry Regiment--
178th Infantry Regiment---
32nd Field Artillery Brigade28th Field Artillery Regiment--
64th Field Artillery Regiment---
18th Hussar Regiment--
2nd Company, 12th Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 12th Pioneer Battalion---
32nd Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsI Battalion, 19th Foot Artillery Regiment-
29th Aviation Detachment---
12th Corps Pontoon Train---
12th Telephone Detachment---
12th Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps---

Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XII Corps was assigned to the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army forming part of the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. It was transferred to the 2nd Army on 14 September 1914 and to the 7th Army one day later. It would later serve under the 5th Army and the 3rd Army again. It was still in existence at the end of the war in Armee-Abteilung B, Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg at the extreme southern end of the Western Front.

Commanders

The XII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
FromRankName
23 February 1867General der InfanterieCrown Prince Albert of Saxony
19 August 1870General der InfanteriePrince Georg of Saxony
22 March 1900GeneralleutnantMax von Hausen
26 August 1902General der InfanterieCrown Prince Friedrich Augustus of Saxony
18 October 1904GeneralleutnantHermann von Broizem
26 September 1910General der InfanterieKarl Ludwig d'Elsa
17 April 1916GeneralleutnantHorst Edler von der Planitz
8 September 1917General der KavallerieHans Krug von Nidda
24 July 1918GeneralleutnantMax Leuthold

Glossary