# VI Corps (German Empire)

The VI Army Corps / VI AK (German: VI. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th Century to World War I.
VI AK originated in 1815 as the General Command for the Province of Silesia, with headquarters in Breslau.
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 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

VI 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 was initially held back in Silesia against the possibility of intervention by Austria-Hungary. It only moved up to join the 3rd Army in August 1870. It then participated in the Siege of Paris and the Battle of Chevilly.

## 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 |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 21st Infantry Brigade | 10th (1st Silesian) Grenadiers "King Frederick William II" | Schweidnitz |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 21st Infantry Brigade | 38th (Silesian) Fusiliers "General Field Marshal Count Moltke" | Glatz |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 22nd Infantry Brigade | 11th (2nd Silesian) Grenadiers "King Frederick III" | Breslau |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 22nd Infantry Brigade | 51st (4th Lower Silesian) Infantry | Breslau |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 11th Field Artillery Brigade | 6th (1st Silesian) Field Artillery "von Peucker" | Breslau |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 11th Field Artillery Brigade | 42nd (2nd Silesian) Field Artillery | Schweidnitz |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 11th Cavalry Brigade | 1st (Silesian) Life Cuirassiers "Great Elector" | Breslau |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 11th Cavalry Brigade | 8th (2nd Silesian) Dragoons "King Frederick III" | Öls, Kreuzburg, Bernstadt an der Weide, Namslau |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 23rd Infantry Brigade | 22nd (1st Upper Silesian) Infantry "Keith" | Gleiwitz, III Bn at Kattowitz |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 23rd Infantry Brigade | 156th (3rd Silesian) Infantry | Beuthen, III Bn at Tarnowitz |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 24th Infantry Brigade | 23rd (2nd Upper Silesian) Infantry "von Winterfeldt" | Neiße |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 24th Infantry Brigade | 62nd (3rd Upper Silesian) Infantry | Cosel, III Bn at Ratibor |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 78th Infantry Brigade | 63rd (4th Upper Silesian) Infantry | Oppeln, III Bn at Lublinitz |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 78th Infantry Brigade | 157th (4th Silesian) Infantry | Brieg |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 12th Field Artillery Brigade | 21st (1st Upper Silesian) Field Artillery "von Clausewitz" | Neiße, Grottkau |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 12th Field Artillery Brigade | 57th (2nd Upper Silesian) Field Artillery | Neustadt/Oberschlesien, Gleiwitz |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 12th Cavalry Brigade | 4th (1st Silesian) Hussars "von Schill" | Ohlau |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 12th Cavalry Brigade | 6th (2nd Silesian) Hussars "Count Götzen" | Leobschütz, Ratibor |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 44th Cavalry Brigade | 2nd (Silesian) Uhlans of Katzler | Gleiwitz, Pless |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 44th Cavalry Brigade | 11th Jäger zu Pferde | Tarnowitz, Lublinitz |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th (2nd Silesian) Jäger Battalion | Öls |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 1st Machine Gun Abteilung | Breslau |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th (Silesian) Foot Artillery "von Dieskau" | Neiße, Glogau |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th (Silesian) Pioneer Battalion | Neiße |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th (Silesian) Train Battalion | Breslau |
| VI Corps | Breslau Defence Command (Landwehr-Inspektion) | | | Breslau |

## World War I
### Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization, on 2 August 1914, the Corps was restructured. The 11th and 12th Cavalry Brigades were withdrawn to form part of the 5th Cavalry Division and the 44th Cavalry Brigade was broken up and its regiments assigned to the divisions as reconnaissance units. The 23rd Infantry Brigade was assigned to the 11th Reserve Division with VI Reserve Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, VI 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 |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 21st Infantry Brigade | 10th Grenadier Regiment |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 21st Infantry Brigade | 38th Fusilier Regiment |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 22nd Infantry Brigade | 11th Infantry Regiment |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 22nd Infantry Brigade | 51st Infantry Regiment |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 22nd Infantry Brigade | 6th Jäger Battalion |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 11th Field Artillery Brigade | 6th Field Artillery Regiment |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | 11th Field Artillery Brigade | 42nd Field Artillery Regiment |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | | 11th Jäger zu Pferde |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | | 1st Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | | 11th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | | 1st Medical Company |
| VI Corps | 11th Division | | 3rd Medical Company |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 24th Infantry Brigade | 23rd Infantry Regiment |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 24th Infantry Brigade | 62nd Infantry Regiment |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 78th Infantry Brigade | 63rd Infantry Regiment |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 78th Infantry Brigade | 157th Infantry Regiment |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 12th Field Artillery Brigade | 21st Field Artillery Regiment |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | 12th Field Artillery Brigade | 57th Field Artillery Regiment |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | | 2nd Uhlan Regiment |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | | 2nd Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | | 3rd Company, 6th Pioneer Battalion |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | | 12th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| VI Corps | 12th Division | | 2nd Medical Company |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | II Battalion, 6th Foot Artillery Regiment |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 13th Aviation Detachment |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th Corps Pontoon Train |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th Telephone Detachment |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th Pioneer Searchlight Section |
| VI Corps | Corps Troops | | Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |

### Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, VI Corps was assigned to the 4th 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.

## Commanders

The VI Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
| From | Rank | Name |
| 15 April 1815 | | Friedrich Heinrich von Hünerbein |
| 11 February 1819 | | Wieprecht Graf von Zieten |
| 29 November 1839 | Generalleutnant | Friedrich Wilhelm, Count Brandenburg |
| 10 September 1849 | | Karl Friedrich von Lindheim |
| 10 May 1862 | General der Kavallerie | Louis Wilhelm Franz von Mutius |
| 30 October 1866 | General der Kavallerie | Wilhelm von Tümpling |
| 27 November 1883 | Generalleutnant | Karl Otto von Wichmann |
| 23 November 1886 | Generalleutnant | Oktavio von Boehn |
| 12 January 1889 | General der Artillerie | Eduard von Lewinski |
| 21 February 1895 | General der Infanterie | Erbprinz Bernhard von Sachsen-Meiningen |
| 29 May 1903 | Generalleutnant | Remus von Woyrsch |
| 2 February 1911 | General der Infanterie | Kurt von Pritzelwitz |
| 7 November 1915 | General der Kavallerie | Georg von der Marwitz |
| 17 December 1916 | General der Infanterie | Julius Riemann |
| 23 November 1917 | Generalleutnant | Konstanz von Heineccius |
| 15 December 1918 | General der Infanterie | Kurt von dem Borne |
| 25 June 1919 | Generalleutnant | Friedrich von Friedeburg |