# IV Corps (German Empire)

The IV Army Corps / IV AK (German: IV. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th Century to World War I.
It was established on 3 October 1815 as the General Command in the Duchy of Saxony (Generalkommando im Herzogtum Sachsen) and became the IV Army Corps on 30 August 1818. Its headquarters was in Magdeburg and its catchment area included the Prussian Province of Saxony and the adjacent Saxon Duchies (Saxe-Altenburg, Anhalt) and Principalities (Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Junior Line).
In peacetime, the Corps was assigned to the VI Army Inspectorate but joined the 1st 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.

## Austro-Prussian War

The IV Corps formed part of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia's 1st Army and fought in the Austro-Prussian War against Austria in 1866, including the Battle of Königgrätz.

## Franco-Prussian War

In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the Corps formed part of the 2nd Army that was commanded by Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia. It saw action in the battles of Beaumont and 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 |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 13th Infantry Brigade | 26th (1st Magdeburg) Infantry "Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau" | Magdeburg |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 13th Infantry Brigade | 66th (3rd Magdeburg) Infantry | Magdeburg |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 14th Infantry Brigade | 27th (2nd Magdeburg) Infantry "Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia" | Halberstadt |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 14th Infantry Brigade | 165th (5th Hannover) Infantry | Quedlinburg, II Bn at Blankenburg |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 7th Field Artillery Brigade | 4th (Magdeburg) Field Artillery "Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria" | Magdeburg |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 7th Field Artillery Brigade | 40th (Altmark) Field Artillery | Burg |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 7th Cavalry Brigade | 10th (Magdeburg) Hussars | Stendal |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 7th Cavalry Brigade | 16th (Altmark) Uhlans "Hennigs von Treffenfeld" | Salzwedel, Gardelegen |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 15th Infantry Brigade | 36th (Magdeburg) Fusiliers "General Field Marshal Count Blumenthal" | Halle, II Bn at Bernburg |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 15th Infantry Brigade | 93rd (Anhalt) Infantry | Dessau, II Bn at Zerbst |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 16th Infantry Brigade | 72nd (4th Thuringian) Infantry | Torgau, III Bn at Eilenburg |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 16th Infantry Brigade | 153rd (8th Thuringian) Infantry | Altenburg, III Bn at Merseburg |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 8th Field Artillery Brigade | 74th (Torgau) Field Artillery | Torgau, Wittenberg |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 8th Field Artillery Brigade | 75th (Mansfeld) Field Artillery | Halle |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 8th Cavalry Brigade | 7th (Magdeburg) Cuirassiers "von Seydlitz" | Halberstadt, Quedlinburg |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 8th Cavalry Brigade | 12th (Thuringian) Hussars | Torgau |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | 4th (Magdeburg) Jäger Battalion "von Neumann" | Naumburg (Saale) |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | 4th (Magdeburg) Foot Artillery "Encke" | Magdeburg |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | 4th (Magdeburg) Pioneer Battalion | Magdeburg |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | 4th (Magdeburg) Train Battalion | Magdeburg |
| IV Corps | Halle an der Saale Defence Command (Landwehr-Inspektion) | | | Halle |

## World War I
### Organisation on mobilisation

On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 8th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 7th Cavalry Brigade was broken up: the 10th Hussar Regiment was raised to a strength of 6 squadrons before being split into two half-regiments of 3 squadrons each and the half-regiments were assigned as divisional cavalry to 7th and 8th Divisions; the 16th Uhlan Regiment was likewise assigned as two half-regiments to 13th and 14th Divisions of VII Corps. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from the Corps headquarters. In summary, IV 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 |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 13th Infantry Brigade | 26th Infantry Regiment |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 13th Infantry Brigade | 66th Infantry Regiment |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 14th Infantry Brigade | 27th Infantry Regiment |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 14th Infantry Brigade | 165th Infantry Regiment |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 7th Field Artillery Brigade | 4th Field Artillery Regiment |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | 7th Field Artillery Brigade | 40th Field Artillery Regiment |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | | staff and half of 10th Hussar Regiment |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | | 2nd Company, 4th Pioneer Battalion |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | | 3rd Company, 4th Pioneer Battalion |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | | 7th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| IV Corps | 7th Division | | 2nd Medical Company |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 15th Infantry Brigade | 36th Fusilier Regiment |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 15th Infantry Brigade | 93rd Infantry Regiment |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 15th Infantry Brigade | 4th Jäger Battalion |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 16th Infantry Brigade | 72nd Infantry Regiment |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 16th Infantry Brigade | 153rd Infantry Regiment |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 8th Field Artillery Brigade | 74th Field Artillery Regiment |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | 8th Field Artillery Brigade | 75th Field Artillery Regiment |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | | half of 10th Hussar Regiment |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | | 1st Company, 4th Pioneer Battalion |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | | 8th Divisional Pontoon Train |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | | 1st Medical Company |
| IV Corps | 8th Division | | 3rd Medical Company |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | I Battalion, 4th Foot Artillery Regiment |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | 9th Aviation Detachment |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | 4th Corps Pontoon Train |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | 4th Telephone Detachment |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | 4th Pioneer Searchlight Section |
| IV Corps | Corps Troops | | Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |

### Combat chronicle

On mobilisation, IV Corps was assigned to the 1st Army on the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front. It participated in the Battle of Mons and the First Battle of the Marne which marked the end of the German advances in 1914. Later, it participated in the Battle of the Somme, particularly the Battle of Delville Wood and the Battle of Pozières.
It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 6th Army, Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht on the Western Front.

### 49th Landwehr Brigade

During the war, the 49th Landwehr Brigade joined the corps; it had originally been part of 4th Army. It had its headquarters at Bois de Lord farm on the River Aisne for most of the First World War. From 1915 the 49th Landwehr Brigade was commanded by Lt. General Hans von Blumenthal, who had retired in 1910 after disagreements with his commanding officer General Maximilian von Prittwitz. On the outbreak of war he had returned to active service, first to command 60th Landwehr Brigade.

## Commanders

The IV Corps had the following commanders during its existence:
| From | Rank | Name |
| 3 October 1815 | General der Infanterie | Friedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf |
| 5 March 1821 | General der Infanterie | Friedrich Wilhelm von Jagow |
| 4 September 1830 | Generalleutnant | Georg Leopold Graf von Hake |
| 30 March 1836 | Generalleutnant | Prince Charles of Prussia |
| 5 March 1848 | Generalleutnant | August Georg von Hedemann |
| 19 February 1852 | General der Kavallerie | Wilhelm Fürst von Radziwill |
| 3 January 1858 | General der Infanterie | Hans Wilhelm von Schack |
| 30 October 1866 | General der Infanterie | Gustav von Alvensleben |
| 2 October 1871 | General der Infanterie | Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal |
| 17 April 1888 | General der Infanterie | Wilhelm von Grolmann |
| 22 March 1889 | General der Kavallerie | Carl von Hänisch |
| 1 September 1897 | General der Infanterie | Richard von Klitzing |
| 27 January 1903 | General der Infanterie | Paul von Hindenburg |
| 20 March 1911 | General der Infanterie | Friedrich Sixt von Armin |
| 25 February 1917 | Generalleutnant | Richard von Kraewel |
| 20 December 1918 | General der Infanterie | Kuno von Steuben |
| 30 January 1919 | Generalleutnant | Johannes von Malachowski |
| 10 February 1919 | Generalleutnant | Alfred von Kleist |