# XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps

The XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Army Corps / XIX AK (German: XIX. (II. Königlich Sächsisches) Armee-Korps) was a Saxon corps level command of the German Army, before and during World War I.
As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, the XIX Army Corps was set up on 1 April 1899 in Leipzig as the Generalkommando (headquarters) for the western part of the Kingdom of Saxony (districts of Leipzig, Chemnitz and Zwickau). It took over command of 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division from XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps and the newly formed 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division.
It was assigned to the II Army Inspectorate which formed 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 19th Army, Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg on the Western Front.

## 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 |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 47th (3rd Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade | 139th (11th Royal Saxon) Infantry | Döbeln |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 47th (3rd Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade | 179th (14th Royal Saxon) Infantry | Wurzen, Leisnig |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 48th (4th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade | 106th (7th Royal Saxon) Infantry "King George" | Leipzig |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 48th (4th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade | 107th (8th Royal Saxon) Infantry "Prince John George" | Leipzig |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Field Artillery Brigade | 77th (7th Royal Saxon) Field Artillery | Leipzig |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Field Artillery Brigade | 78th (8th Royal Saxon) Field Artillery | Wurzen |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Cavalry Brigade | 19th (2nd Royal Saxon) Hussars "Queen Carola" | Grimma |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Cavalry Brigade | 18th (2nd Royal Saxon) Uhlans | Leipzig |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 88th (7th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade | 104th (5th Royal Saxon) Infantry "Crown Prince" | Chemnitz |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 88th (7th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade | 181st (15th Royal Saxon) Infantry | Chemnitz, III Bn Glauchau |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 89th (8th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade | 133rd (9th Royal Saxon) Infantry | Zwickau |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 89th (8th Royal Saxon) Infantry Brigade | 134th (10th Royal Saxon) Infantry | Plauen |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Field Artillery Brigade | 32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Field Artillery | Riesa |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Field Artillery Brigade | 68th (6th Royal Saxon) Field Artillery | Riesa |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Cavalry Brigade | Carabiniers (2nd Royal Saxon Heavy Cavalry) | Borna |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Cavalry Brigade | 21st (3rd Royal Saxon) Uhlans | Chemnitz |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | 8th (Royal Saxon) Machine Gun Abteilung | Leipzig |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | 22nd (2nd Royal Saxon) Pioneer Battalion | Riesa |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | 19th (2nd Royal Saxon) Train Battalion | Leipzig |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Chemnitz Defence Command (Landwehr-Inspektion) | | | Chemnitz |

## World War I
### Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 40th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 8th Cavalry Division and the 24th 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, XIX 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 |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 47th Infantry Brigade | 139th Infantry Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 47th Infantry Brigade | 179th Infantry Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 47th Infantry Brigade | 13th Jäger Battalion |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 48th Infantry Brigade | 106th Infantry Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 48th Infantry Brigade | 107th Infantry Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 24th Field Artillery Brigade | 77th Field Artillery Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | 24th Field Artillery Brigade | 78th Field Artillery Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | | 18th Uhlan Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | | 1st Company, 22nd Pioneer Battalion |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | | 24th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | | 1st Medical Company |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 24th (2nd Royal Saxon) Division | | 3rd Medical Company |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 88th Infantry Brigade | 104th Infantry Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 88th Infantry Brigade | 181st Infantry Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 89th Infantry Brigade | 133rd Infantry Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 89th Infantry Brigade | 134th Infantry Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 40th Field Artillery Brigade | 32nd Field Artillery Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | 40th Field Artillery Brigade | 68th Field Artillery Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | | 19th Hussar Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | | 2nd Company, 22nd Pioneer Battalion |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | | 3rd Company, 22nd Pioneer Battalion |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | | 40th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | 40th (4th Royal Saxon) Division | | 2nd Medical Company |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | II Battalion, 19th Foot Artillery Regiment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | 24th Aviation Detachment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | 19th Corps Pontoon Train |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | 19th Telephone Detachment |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | 22nd Pioneer Searchlight Section |
| XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps | Corps Troops | | Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |

### Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, XIX Corps was assigned to the predominantly Saxon 3rd Army forming part of the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. It spent the entire war on the Western Front. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 19th Army, Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg.

## Commanders

The XIX Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
| Dates | Rank | Name |
| 25 March 1899 to 21 April 1904 | General der Infanterie | Heinrich Leo von Treitschke |
| 22 April 1904 to 26 November 1907 | General der Infanterie | Alexander Graf Vitzthum von Eckstädt |
| 27 November 1907 to 27 November 1913 | General der Artillerie | Hans von Kirchbach |
| 30 November 1913 to 20 July 1917 | General der Kavallerie | Maximilian von Laffert |
| 8 August 1917 to 8 August 1918 | General der Infanterie | Adolph von Carlowitz |
| 9 August 1918 to end of the war | Generalleutnant | Karl Lucius |