# VIII Corps (German Empire)

The VIII Army Corps / VIII AK (German: VIII. 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 on 21 June 1815 as the General Command for the Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine and established on 3 April 1820 as VIII Corps. The headquarters was in Koblenz and its catchment area was the Rhine Province and the Principality of Birkenfeld of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg.
The Corps served in the Austro-Prussian War. During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 1st Army.
In peacetime the Corps was assigned to the V Army Inspectorate but joined the 4th Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

## Austro-Prussian War

VIII 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 formed part of the 1st Army. Initially involved in the battles around Metz (Battle of Gravelotte) and subsequent siege of the fortress. After the capitulation of Metz in October 1870 it took part in the fighting north of Paris in the Battle of Hallue and the siege of the fortress of Péronne. Subsequent battles followed at Amiens and finally at St. Quentin.

## 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 |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 29th Infantry Brigade | 25th (1st Rhenish) Infantry "von Lützow" | Aachen |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 29th Infantry Brigade | 161st (10th Rhenish) Infantry | Düren, II Bn at Eschweiler, III Bn at Jülich |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 80th Infantry Brigade | 65th (5th Rhenish) Infantry | Cologne |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 80th Infantry Brigade | 160th (9th Rhenish) Infantry | Bonn, I Bn at Diez, III Bn at Euskirchen |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 15th Field Artillery Brigade | 59th (Berg) Field Artillery | Cologne |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 15th Field Artillery Brigade | 83rd (3rd Rhenish) Field Artillery | Bonn, Düren |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 15th Cavalry Brigade | 8th (Rhenish) Cuirassiers "Count Geßler" | Deutz |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 15th Cavalry Brigade | 7th (1st Rhenish) Hussars "King William I" | Bonn |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 30th Infantry Brigade | 28th (2nd Rhenish) Infantry "von Goeben" | Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, II Bn at Koblenz |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 30th Infantry Brigade | 68th (6th Rhenish) Infantry | Koblenz |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 31st Infantry Brigade | 29th (3rd Rhenish) Infantry "von Horn" | Trier |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 31st Infantry Brigade | 69th (7th Rhenish) Infantry | Trier |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 16th Field Artillery Brigade | 23rd (2nd Rhenish) Field Artillery | Koblenz |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 16th Field Artillery Brigade | 44th (Trier) Field Artillery | Trier |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 16th Cavalry Brigade | 7th Jäger zu Pferde | Trier |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 16th Cavalry Brigade | 8th Jäger zu Pferde | Trier |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 2nd Machine Gun Abteilung | Trier |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 7th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Cologne |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 9th (Schleswig-Holstein) Foot Artillery | Ehrenbreitstein Fortress |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 8th (1st Rhenish) Pioneer Battalion | Koblenz |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 30th (3rd Rhenish) (Fortress-)Pioneer Battalion | Ehrenbreitstein Fortress |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 3rd Telegraph Battalion | Koblenz, Darmstadt |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th Fortress Telephone Company | Cologne |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 3rd Airship Battalion | Cologne, Düsseldorf, Darmstadt |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 3rd Flying Battalion | Cologne, Hannover, Darmstadt |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 8th (1st Rhenish) Train Battalion | Koblenz |
| VIII Corps | Cöln Defence Command (Landwehr-Inspektion) | | | Cologne |

## World War I
### Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 16th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 3rd Cavalry Division and the 15th 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, VIII Corps mobilised with 24 infantry battalions, 8 machine gun companies (48 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 |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 29th Infantry Brigade | 25th Infantry Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 29th Infantry Brigade | 161st Infantry Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 80th Infantry Brigade | 65th Infantry Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 80th Infantry Brigade | 161st Infantry Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 15th Field Artillery Brigade | 59th Field Artillery Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | 15th Field Artillery Brigade | 83rd Field Artillery Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | | 8th Cuirassier Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | | 1st Company, 8th Pioneer Battalion |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | | 15th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | | 1st Medical Company |
| VIII Corps | 15th Division | | 3rd Medical Company |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 30th Infantry Brigade | 28th Infantry Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 30th Infantry Brigade | 68th Fusilier Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 31st Infantry Brigade | 29th Infantry Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 31st Infantry Brigade | 69th Infantry Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 16th Field Artillery Brigade | 23rd Field Artillery Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | 16th Field Artillery Brigade | 44th Field Artillery Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | | 7th Hussar Regiment |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | | 2nd Company, 8th Pioneer Battalion |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | | 3rd Company, 8th Pioneer Battalion |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | | 16th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| VIII Corps | 16th Division | | 2nd Medical Company |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | III Battalion, 9th Foot Artillery Regiment |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 10th Aviation Detachment |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 8th Corps Pontoon Train |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 8th Telephone Detachment |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | 8th Pioneer Searchlight Section |
| VIII Corps | Corps Troops | | Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |

### Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, VIII Corps was assigned to the 4th Army forming part of the centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914. It was still in existence at the end of the war.

## Commanders

The VIII Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
| From | Rank | Name |
| 21 June 1815 | General der Infanterie | August Neidhardt von Gneisenau |
| 20 May 1816 | Generalleutnant | Ernst von Hake |
| 3 April 1820 | General der Kavallerie | Johann Adolf Freiherr von Thielmann |
| 18 June 1825 | General der Kavallerie | Karl Ludwig von Borstell |
| 9 May 1840 | Generalleutnant | Adolf Eduard von Thile |
| 5 May 1848 | General der Kavallerie | Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Brandenburg |
| 15 May 1849 | General der Infanterie | Karl Friedrich von Hirschfeld |
| 27 November 1859 | General der Infanterie | Eduard von Bonin |
| 29 June 1865 | General der Infanterie | Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld |
| 18 July 1870 | General der Infanterie | August Karl von Goeben |
| 11 December 1880 | Generalleutnant | Ludwig von Thile |
| 12 January 1884 | General der Kavallerie | Walter Freiherr von Loë |
| 27 January 1895 | General der Kavallerie | Adolf von Bülow |
| 2 January 1896 | General der Infanterie | Maximilian Vogel von Falckenstein |
| 27 January 1897 | General der Infanterie | Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden |
| 18 October 1902 | General der Kavallerie | Adolf von Deines |
| 2 October 1906 | General der Infanterie | Paul von Ploetz |
| 27 January 1912 | Generalleutnant | Erich Tülff von Tschepe und Weidenbach |
| 5 October 1914 | General der Infanterie | Julius Riemann |
| 18 December 1916 | Generalleutnant | Karl Dieffenbach |
| 12 March 1917 | General der Infanterie | Otto von Plüskow |
| 11 May 1917 | Generalleutnant | Roderich von Schoeler |