| XII (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps XII. (I. Königlich Sächsisches) Armee-Korps | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918) | |
| Active | 1 April 1867 (1867-04-01)–1919 (1919) |
| Country |  Kingdom of Saxony German Empire |
| Type | Corps |
| Size | Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914) |
| Garrison/HQ | Dresden/Große Klostergasse 4 |
| Patron | King of Saxony |
| Shoulder strap piping | White |
| Engagements | Franco-Prussian War |
TheXII (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps / XII AK (German:XII. (I. Königlich Sächsisches) Armee-Korps) was aSaxoncorps level command of theSaxon andGermanArmies before and duringWorld War I.
The Corps was formed as theRoyal Saxon Corps on 1 April 1867 and headquartered inDresden. Initially, it commanded the1st Royal Saxon Infantry Division in Dresden and the2nd Royal Saxon Infantry Division inLeipzig. After theXIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 as theheadquarters for the western part of theKingdom 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 afterWorld War I.
During theFranco-Prussian War, the corps fought in theBattle of Gravelotte, theBattle of Sedan and theSiege of Paris.[1]
The organization of the XII (Royal Saxon) Corps on 18 August 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows:[2]
Commander: General Crown PrinceAlbert of Saxony
Chief of the General Staff: Lt. Col. Friedrich von Zezschwitz
On 1 April 1887 another Saxon division was formed (32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Infantry Division headquartered inBautzen[3][4]) and assigned to the Corps.
As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th Century, theXIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 inLeipzig as theGeneralkommando (headquarters) for the western part of theKingdom of Saxony (districts of Leipzig,Chemnitz andZwickau).[5] It took over command of24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division and the newly formed40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division. Thereafter, XII Corps was responsible for the eastern part of the Kingdom.
The Corps was assigned to theII Army Inspectorate[6] which formed the predominantly Saxon3rd Army at the start of theFirst World War.
The 25 peacetimeCorps of the German Army (Guards, I - XXI, I - III Bavarian) had a reasonably standardised organisation. Each consisted of twodivisions with usually two infantry brigades, one field artillery brigade and a cavalry brigade each.[7] 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
On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 23rd Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the8th Cavalry Division[11] 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 (54 machine guns), 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
| Corps | Division | Brigade | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps | 23rd (1st Royal Saxon) Division | 45th Infantry Brigade | 100th Life- Grenadier Regiment |
| 101st Grenadier Regiment | |||
| 46th Infantry Brigade | 108th Schützen Regiment | ||
| 182nd Infantry Regiment | |||
| 23rd Field Artillery Brigade | 12th 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 (3rd Royal Saxon) Division | 63rd Infantry Brigade | 102nd Infantry Regiment | |
| 103rd Infantry Regiment | |||
| 12th Jäger Battalion[13] | |||
| 64th Infantry Brigade | 177th Infantry Regiment | ||
| 178th Infantry Regiment | |||
| 32nd Field Artillery Brigade | 28th 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 Troops | I Battalion, 19th Foot Artillery Regiment[14] | ||
| 29th Aviation Detachment | |||
| 12th Corps Pontoon Train | |||
| 12th Telephone Detachment | |||
| 12th Pioneer Searchlight Section | |||
| Munition Trains and Columns corresponding toII Corps |
On mobilisation, XII Corps was assigned to the predominantly Saxon3rd Army forming part of the right wing of the forces for theSchlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on theWestern Front. It was transferred to the2nd Army on 14 September 1914 and to the7th Army one day later. It would later serve under the5th Army and the 3rd Army again.[15] It was still in existence at the end of the war[16] inArmee-Abteilung B,Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg at the extreme southern end of theWestern Front.[17]
The XII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:[18][19][20]
| From | Rank | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 23 February 1867 | General der Infanterie | Crown PrinceAlbert of Saxony |
| 19 August 1870 | General der Infanterie | PrinceGeorg of Saxony |
| 22 March 1900 | Generalleutnant | Max von Hausen |
| 26 August 1902 | General der Infanterie | Crown PrinceFriedrich Augustus of Saxony |
| 18 October 1904 | Generalleutnant | Hermann von Broizem |
| 26 September 1910 | General der Infanterie | Karl Ludwig d'Elsa |
| 17 April 1916 | Generalleutnant | Horst Edler von der Planitz |
| 8 September 1917 | General der Kavallerie | Hans Krug von Nidda |
| 24 July 1918 | Generalleutnant | Max Leuthold |
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