6. Armee 6th Army
Flag of the Staff of an Armee Oberkommando (1871–1918)
Active	2 August 1914 – 29 January 1919
Country	German Empire
Branch	Imperial German Army
Type	Army
Engagements	World War I Western Front Battle of the Frontiers Battle of Lorraine Battle of Grand Couronné Race to the Sea Battle of Albert (1914) Battle of Arras (1914) First Battle of Ypres Battle of Festubert Third Battle of Artois Battle of Arras (1917) Battle of Hill 70 Battle of Vimy Ridge Spring Offensive Battle of the Lys (1918)
Insignia
Abbreviation	A.O.K. 6

The6th Army (German:6. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 6 / A.O.K. 6) was anarmy level command of theGerman Army inWorld War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 from theIV Army Inspectorate.^[1] The army was disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.^[2]

At the outbreak of World War I, command of the army was given toRupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria (Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern). The 6th Army initially consisted of the units of theBavarian Army (which had retained military sovereignty after theunification of Germany), with some additional Prussian units. During the execution ofPlan XVII, the 6th Army was stationed in the Central sector, coveringLorraine.

In August 1914, in theBattle of Lorraine, Rupprecht's 6th Army managed to hold against the French offensive, using a feigned withdrawal to lure the advancing armies onto prepared defensive positions.

After theWestern Front turned to stalemate and the opposing forces formed lines oftrenches, the 6th Army was based in Northern France. Most of the Bavarian units were gradually dispersed to other commands, with units from outside Bavaria joining the 6th Army. Nevertheless, command of the 6th Army remained with the Bavarian Crown Prince, who would eventually come to be regarded as one of Germany's most able generals.

On 24 September 1915 the 6th Army was the target for theBritish Army's firstchlorinegas attack of the war. Despite the horrific casualties inflicted, the British offensive became bogged down after several days.

Rupprecht was promoted to the rank offield marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) in July 1916 and assumed command of Army Group Rupprecht on 28 August that year, consisting of the1st,2nd, 6th and7th Armies. Following Rupprecht's promotion, command of the 6th Army was given to GeneralLudwig von Falkenhausen.

In March 1917 the 6th Army was the target for the assault of the Canadian and British forces at theBattle of Vimy Ridge. The 6th Army under von Falkenhausen suffered over 20,000 casualties in the ensuing fighting and were pushed back from the ridge by theCanadian Corps.

At the end of the war it was serving as part ofHeeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht.^[3]

For theBattle of Lorraine in August 1914, the 6th Army had the following composition:^[4]

By the end of the war, the 6th Army was organised as:

The 6th Army had the following commanders during its existence.^[6]

• Armee-Abteilung or Army Detachment in the sense of "something detached from an Army". It is not under the command of an Army so is in itself a small Army.^[7]
• Armee-Gruppe or Army Group in the sense of a group within an Army and under its command, generally formed as a temporary measure for a specific task.
• Heeresgruppe orArmy Group in the sense of a number of armies under a single commander.

• 6th Army (Wehrmacht) for the equivalent formation inWorld War II
• German Army order of battle (1914)
• German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)
• Schlieffen Plan

• 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.

• Field armies of Germany in World War I
• Military units and formations established in 1914
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1919

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