XVI Corps (German Empire)


The XVI Army Corps / XVI AK was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.
It was assigned to the VII Army Inspectorate, which became the 5th Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 3rd Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.

Formation

By a law of 27 January 1890, it was decided to separate Alsace-Lorraine provinces in military affairs. It stipulated that from 1 April 1890 the entire power of the Army of the German Empire should be twenty army corps. The All-highest Cabinet Order of 1 February 1890 authorised the formation of the XVI and XVII Army Corps.
The XVI Army Corps was set up on 1 April 1890 in Metz as the Generalkommando for Lorraine. Its headquarters was in the fortress of Metz. It took command of 33rd Division and 34th Division formed on the same date. It was assigned to the VII Army Inspectorate but joined the 5th 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
XVI Corps33rd Division66th Infantry Brigade98th InfantryMetz
130th InfantryMetz---
67th Infantry Brigade135th InfantryDiedenhofen--
144th InfantryMetz---
33rd Field Artillery Brigade33rd Field ArtilleryMetz--
34th Field ArtilleryMetz---
33rd Cavalry Brigade9th Dragoons "King Charles I of Rumania"Metz--
13th DragoonsMetz---
34th Division68th Infantry Brigade67th InfantryMetz-
145th King’s InfantryMetz---
86th Infantry Brigade30th Infantry "Count Werder"Saarlouis--
173rd InfantrySt. Avold, III Bn at Metz---
34th Field Artillery Brigade69th Field ArtillerySt. Avold--
70th Field ArtilleryMetz, Saarlouis---
34th Cavalry Brigade14th UhlansSt. Avold, Mörchingen--
12th Jäger zu PferdeSt. Avold---
45th Cavalry Brigade13th Hussars "King Umberto of Italy"Diedenhofen--
13th Jäger zu PferdeSaarlouis---
Corps Troops11th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungDiedenhofen-
12th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungMetz---
13th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungMetz---
14th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungMetz---
15th Fortress Machine Gun AbteilungMetz---
8th Foot ArtilleryMetz---
12th Foot ArtilleryMetz---
16th Foot ArtilleryMetz, Diedenhofen---
16th Pioneer BattalionMetz---
20th Pioneer BattalionMetz---
3rd Telephone CompanyMetz---
16th Train BattalionSaarlouis---
Metz Defence Command
Metz-

World War I

Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 33rd and 45th Cavalry Brigades were withdrawn to form part of the 6th Cavalry Division and the 34th 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, XVI 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
XVI Corps33rd Division66th Infantry Brigade98th Infantry Regiment
130th Infantry Regiment---
67th Infantry Brigade135th Infantry Regiment--
144th Infantry Regiment---
33rd Field Artillery Brigade33rd Field Artillery Regiment--
34th Field Artillery Regiment---
12th Jäger zu Pferde Regiment--
1st Company, 16th Pioneer Battalion---
33rd Divisional Pontoon Train---
1st Medical Company---
3rd Medical Company---
34th Division68th Infantry Brigade67th Infantry Regiment-
145th King's Infantry Regiment---
86th Infantry Brigade30th Infantry Regiment--
173rd Infantry Regiment---
34th Field Artillery Brigade69th Field Artillery Regiment--
70th Field Artillery Regiment---
14th Uhlan Regiment--
2nd Company, 16th Pioneer Battalion---
3rd Company, 16th Pioneer Battalion---
34th Divisional Pontoon Train---
2nd Medical Company---
Corps TroopsI Battalion, 10th Foot Artillery Regiment-
2nd Aviation Detachment---
16th Corps Pontoon Train---
16th Telephone Detachment---
16th Pioneer Searchlight Section---
Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps---

Combat chronicle

At the outbreak of World War I, the Corps was assigned to the 5th Army. It fought on the Western Front in Lorraine. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 3rd Army, Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz on the Western Front.

Commanders

The XVI Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
DatesRankName
24 March 1890 to 17 May 1903General der KavallerieGottlieb Graf von Haeseler
18 May 1903 to 23 April 1906General der InfanterieLouis Stoetzer
24 April 1906 to 28 February 1913General der InfanterieMaximilian von Prittwitz und Gaffron
1 March 1913 to 28 October 1916General der InfanterieBruno von Mudra
29 October 1916 to end of the warGeneralleutnantAdolf Wild von Hohenborn