# XI Corps (German Empire)

The XI Army Corps / XI AK (German: XI. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Prussian and German Armies before and during World War I.
XI Corps was one of three formed in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War (the others being IX Corps and X Corps). The Corps was formed in October 1866 with headquarters in Kassel. The catchment area included the newly annexed Province of Hesse-Nassau and the Thuringian principalities (Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Waldeck).
During the Franco-Prussian War it was assigned to the 3rd Army.
The Corps was assigned to the VI Army Inspectorate but joined the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army at the start of the First World War. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 6th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front. The Corps was disbanded with the demobilisation of the German Army after World War I.

## Franco-Prussian War

During the Franco-Prussian War, the corps formed part of the 3rd Army. It participated in the battles of Wissembourg, Wörth and Sedan.

## Between the wars

Initially, the Corps commanded the 21st Division in Frankfurt and the 22nd Division in Kassel. In 1871 they were joined by the Grand Ducal Hessian 25th Division in Darmstadt. As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th Century, a new XVIII Corps was formed on 1 April 1899 and took command of the 21st and 25th Divisions. The 38th Division was formed at Erfurt on the same date and joined the Corps.
The Corps was assigned to the VI Army Inspectorate but joined the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army at the start of the First World War.

### 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 |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 43rd Infantry Brigade | 82nd (2nd Kurhessian) Infantry | Göttingen |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 43rd Infantry Brigade | 83rd (3rd Kurhessian) Infantry "von Wittich" | Kassel, III Bn at Arolsen |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 44th Infantry Brigade | 32nd (2nd Thuringian) Infantry | Meiningen |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 44th Infantry Brigade | 167th (1st Upper Alsatian) Infantry | Kassel, III Bn at Mühlhausen |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 22nd Field Artillery Brigade | 11th (1st Kurhessian) Field Artillery | Kassel, Fritzlar |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 22nd Field Artillery Brigade | 47th (2nd Kurhessian) Field Artillery | Fulda |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 22nd Cavalry Brigade | 5th (Rhenish) Dragoons "Baron Manteuffel" | Hofgeismar |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 22nd Cavalry Brigade | 14th (2nd Kurhessian) Hussars "Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Homburg" | Kassel |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 76th Infantry Brigade | 71st (3rd Thuringian) Infantry | Erfurt, I Bn at Sondershausen |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 76th Infantry Brigade | 95th (6th Thuringian) Infantry | Gotha, II Bn at Hildburghausen, III Bn at Coburg |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 83rd Infantry Brigade | 94th (5th Thuringian) Infantry "Grand Duke of Saxony" | Weimar, II Bn at Eisenach, III Bn at Jena |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 83rd Infantry Brigade | 96th (7th Thuringian) Infantry | Gera, III Bn at Rudolstadt |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 38th Field Artillery Brigade | 19th (1st Thuringian) Field Artillery | Erfurt |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 38th Field Artillery Brigade | 55th (2nd Thuringian) Field Artillery | Naumburg an der Saale |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 38th Cavalry Brigade | 2nd Jäger zu Pferde | Langensalza |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 38th Cavalry Brigade | 6th Jäger zu Pferde | Erfurt |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 11th (Kurhessian) Jäger Battalion | Marburg |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 6th Machine Gun Abteilung | Metz |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 18th (Thuringian) Foot Artillery | Niederzwehren bei Kassel |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 11th (Kurhessian) Pioneer Battalion | Hannoversch Münden |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 11th (Kurhessian) Train Battalion | Kassel |
| XI Corps | Erfurt Defence Command (Landwehr-Inspektion) | | | Erfurt |

## World War I
### Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 38th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 8th Cavalry Division and the 22nd Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 3rd Cavalry Division. The 6th Cuirassiers, formerly of the III Corps, was raised to a strength of 6 squadrons before being split into two half-regiments of 3 squadrons each. The half-regiments were assigned as divisional cavalry to 22nd and 38th Divisions. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, XI Corps mobilised with 25 infantry battalions, 9 machine gun companies (54 machine guns), 6 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 |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 43rd Infantry Brigade | 82nd Infantry Regiment |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 43rd Infantry Brigade | 83rd Infantry Regiment |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 44th Infantry Brigade | 32nd Infantry Regiment |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 44th Infantry Brigade | 167th Infantry Regiment |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 44th Infantry Brigade | 11th Jäger Battalion |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 22nd Field Artillery Brigade | 11th Field Artillery Regiment |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | 22nd Field Artillery Brigade | 47th Field Artillery Regiment |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | | staff and half of 6th Cuirassier Regiment |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | | 1st Company, 11th Pioneer Battalion |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | | 22nd Divisional Pontoon Train |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | | 1st Medical Company |
| XI Corps | 22nd Division | | 3rd Medical Company |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 76th Infantry Brigade | 71st Infantry Regiment |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 76th Infantry Brigade | 95th Infantry Regiment |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 83rd Infantry Brigade | 94th Infantry Regiment |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 83rd Infantry Brigade | 96th Infantry Regiment |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 38th Field Artillery Brigade | 19th Field Artillery Regiment |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | 38th Field Artillery Brigade | 55th Field Artillery Regiment |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | | half of 6th Cuirassier Regiment |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | | 2nd Company, 11th Pioneer Battalion |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | | 3rd Company, 11th Pioneer Battalion |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | | 38th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| XI Corps | 38th Division | | 2nd Medical Company |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | I Battalion, 18th Foot Artillery Regiment |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 28th Aviation Detachment |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 11th Corps Pontoon Train |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 11th Telephone Detachment |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | 11th Pioneer Searchlight Section |
| XI Corps | Corps Troops | | Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |

### Combat chronicle

The Corps was assigned to the VI Army Inspectorate in peacetime but joined the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army at the start of the First World War forming part of the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. It participated in the capture of Namur and was immediately transferred to the Eastern Front to join the 8th Army in time to participate in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. It was then transferred to the 9th Army and took part in the Battle of the Vistula River and then in the Bug–Narew Offensive.
It returned to the Western Front at the end of 1915.
It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 6th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.

## Commanders

The XI Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
| From | Rank | Name |
| 30 October 1866 | General der Infanterie | Heinrich Ludwig von Plonski |
| 18 July 1870 | General der Infanterie | Julius von Bose |
| 6 April 1880 | General der Kavallerie | Ludwig Karl von Schlotheim |
| 22 March 1889 | General der Infanterie | Wilhelm Hermann von Grolman |
| 11 August 1892 | General der Infanterie | Adolf von Wittich |
| 24 April 1904 | General der Infanterie | Wilhelm von Linde-Suden |
| 24 September 1905 | General der Kavallerie | Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg |
| 25 February 1908 | General der Infanterie | Reinhard von Scheffer-Boyadel |
| 1 January 1914 | General der Infanterie | Otto von Plüskow |
| 12 March 1917 | Generalleutnant | Viktor Kühne |
| 27 August 1917 | General der Infanterie | Franz Freiherr von Soden |
| 21 November 1917 | Generalleutnant | Viktor Kühne |