# V Corps (German Empire)

The V Army Corps / V AK (German: V. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th century to World War I.
Originating in 1815 as the General Command for the Grand Duchy of Posen (later called the Province of Posen) with headquarters in Posen. Its catchment area included the Regierungsbezirk (administrative district) Posen and Regierungsbezirk Liegnitz from the Province of Silesia.
The Corps served in the Austro-Prussian War. During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 3rd Army.
In peacetime the Corps was assigned to the VIII Army Inspectorate but joined the 5th Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war in Armee-Abteilung C, Heeresgruppe Gallwitz on the Western Front. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

## Austro-Prussian War

V Corps fought in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, seeing action in the Battle of Königgrätz.

## Franco-Prussian War

During the Franco-Prussian War the Corps joined the 3rd Army. It saw action in the opening battles of Weissenburg and Wörth, in the Battle of 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. 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).
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
Peacetime organization of the Corps :
| Corps | Division | Brigade | Units | Garrison |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 17th Infantry Brigade | 19th (2nd Posen) Infantry "von Coubière" | Görlitz, II Bn at Lauban |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 17th Infantry Brigade | 58th (3rd Posen) Infantry | Glogau, III Bn at Fraustadt |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 18th Infantry Brigade | 7th (2nd West Prussian) Grenadiers "King William I" | Liegnitz |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 18th Infantry Brigade | 154th (5th Lower Silesian) Infantry | Jauer, III Bn at Striegau |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 9th Field Artillery Brigade | 5th (1st Lower Silesian) Field Artillery "von Podbielski" | Sprottau, Sagan |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 9th Field Artillery Brigade | 41st (2nd Lower Silesian) Field Artillery | Glogau |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 9th Cavalry Brigade | 4th (1st Silesian) Dragoons "von Bredow" | Lüben |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 9th Cavalry Brigade | 10th (Posen) Uhlans "Prince August of Württemberg" | Züllichau |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 19th Infantry Brigade | 6th (1st West Prussian) Grenadiers "Count Kleist von Nollendorf" | Posen |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 19th Infantry Brigade | 46th (1st Lower Silesian) Infantry "Count Kirchbach" | Posen, III Bn at Wreschen |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 20th Infantry Brigade | 47th (2nd Lower Silesian) Infantry "King Ludwig III of Bavaria" | Posen, II Bn at Schrimm |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 20th Infantry Brigade | 50th (3rd Lower Silesian) Infantry | Rawitsch, III Bn at Lissa |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 77th Infantry Brigade | 37th (West Prussian) Fusiliers "von Steinmetz" | Krotoschin |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 77th Infantry Brigade | 155th (7th West Prussian) Infantry | Ostrowo, III Bn at Pleschen |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 10th Field Artillery Brigade | 20th (1st Posen) Field Artillery | Posen |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 10th Field Artillery Brigade | 56th (2nd Posen) Field Artillery | Lissa |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 10th Cavalry Brigade | 1st (West Prussian) Uhlans "Emperor Alexander III of Russia" | Militsch, Ostrowo |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 10th Cavalry Brigade | 1st Jäger zu Pferde | Posen |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 5th (1st Silesian) Jäger Battalion "von Neumann" | Hirschberg |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Posen |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 5th (Lower Silesian) Foot Artillery | Posen |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 5th (Lower Silesian) Pioneer Battalion | Glogau |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 29th (Posen) (Fortress-) Pioneer Battalion | Posen |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 8th Fortress Telephone Company | Posen |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 2nd Flying Battalion | Posen, Graudenz, Königsberg |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 5th (Lower Silesian) Train Battalion | Posen |
| V Corps | Posen Defence Command (Landwehr-Inspektion) | | | Posen |

## World War I
### Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 9th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 5th Cavalry Division and the 10th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. 77th Infantry Brigade was assigned to the 10th Reserve Division with the V Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, V 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.
Initial wartime organization of the Corps :
| Corps | Division | Brigade | Units |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 17th Infantry Brigade | 19th Infantry Regiment |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 17th Infantry Brigade | 58th Infantry Regiment |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 18th Infantry Brigade | 7th Grenadier Regiment |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 18th Infantry Brigade | 154th Infantry Regiment |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 18th Infantry Brigade | 5th Jäger Battalion |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 9th Field Artillery Brigade | 5th Field Artillery Regiment |
| V Corps | 9th Division | 9th Field Artillery Brigade | 41st Field Artillery Regiment |
| V Corps | 9th Division | | 1st Uhlan Regiment |
| V Corps | 9th Division | | 1st Company, 5th Pioneer Battalion |
| V Corps | 9th Division | | 9th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| V Corps | 9th Division | | 1st Medical Company |
| V Corps | 9th Division | | 3rd Medical Company |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 19th Infantry Brigade | 6th Grenadier Regiment |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 19th Infantry Brigade | 46th Infantry Regiment |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 20th Infantry Brigade | 47th Infantry Regiment |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 20th Infantry Brigade | 50th Infantry Regiment |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 10th Field Artillery Brigade | 20th Field Artillery Regiment |
| V Corps | 10th Division | 10th Field Artillery Brigade | 56th Field Artillery Regiment |
| V Corps | 10th Division | | 1st Jäger zu Pferde |
| V Corps | 10th Division | | 2nd Company, 5th Pioneer Battalion |
| V Corps | 10th Division | | 3rd Company, 5th Pioneer Battalion |
| V Corps | 10th Division | | 10th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| V Corps | 10th Division | | 2nd Medical Company |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | I Battalion, 5th Foot Artillery Regiment |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 19th Aviation Detachment |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 5th Corps Pontoon Train |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 5th Telephone Detachment |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | 5th Pioneer Searchlight Section |
| V Corps | Corps Troops | | Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |

### Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, V Corps was assigned to the 5th Army forming part of centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front.
It was still in existence at the end of the war in Armee-Abteilung C, Heeresgruppe Gallwitz on the Western Front.

## Commanders

The V Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
| From | Rank | Name |
| 15 Match 1815 | | Heinrich Ludwig von Thümen |
| 3 April 1820 | | Friedrich von Roeder |
| 30 March 1832 | General der Infanterie | Karl von Grolman |
| 21 September 1843 | General der Kavallerie | Friedrich August Peter von Colomb |
| 13 May 1848 | | Friedrich Wilhelm von Brünneck |
| 4 November 1851 | | Wilhelm von Tietzen und Hennig |
| 15 August 1856 | General der Kavallerie | Franz Graf von Waldersee |
| 15 August 1864 | General der Infanterie | Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz |
| 18 July 1870 | General der Infanterie | Hugo von Kirchbach |
| 3 February 1880 | General der Infanterie | Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape |
| 18 October 1881 | General der Infanterie | Gustav von Stiehle |
| 22 March 1886 | General der Kavallerie | Gustav Hermann von Alvensleben |
| 23 November 1886 | Generalleutnant | Oskar Freiherr von Meerscheidt-Hüllessem |
| 19 September 1888 | Generalleutnant | Franz Freiherr von Hilgers |
| 27 January 1890 | Generalleutnant | Richard von Seeckt |
| 27 January 1897 | General der Infanterie | August von Bomsdorff |
| 4 April 1899 | General der Infanterie | Ferdinand von Stülpnagel |
| 13 June 1906 | General der Infanterie | Alexander von Kluck |
| 11 September 1907 | General der Infanterie | Günther von Kirchbach |
| 3 April 1911 | General der Infanterie | Hermann von Strantz |
| 1 September 1914 | Generalleutnant | Robert Kosch (deputising for von Strantz) |
| 9 October 1914 | | Adolf von Oven (deputising for von Strantz) |
| 13 May 1915 | | Eduard von Below (deputising for von Strantz) |
| 2 February 1917 | General der Infanterie | Eduard von Below |
| 2 January 1919 | General der Infanterie | Georg Wichura |