Armeeabteilung A (Deutsches Kaiserreich) Explained

Unit Name:	Falkenhausen A Army Detachment A
Dates:	17 September 1914 – post 11 November 1918
Type:	Army
Battles:	World War I

Falkenhausen / A (Army Detachment A) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It served on the left (southern) wing of the Western Front throughout its existence.

History

Falkenhausen was set up in the southern part of the Western Front in Alsace-Lorraine on 17 September 1914 from the parts of 6th Army that remained in Lorraine after it marched north to participate in the Race to the Sea. The Staff of the dissolved Ersatz Corps under General der Infanterie Ludwig von Falkenhausen took command. It was established as A on 15 April 1916. It was still in existence when the war ended, serving on the Western Front as part of Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg.

Order of Battle on formation

The following Orders of Battle illustrate the progression of the during the war.

Organization of Falkenhausen on 10 December 1914
Army	Corps	Division
ROWSPAN=9	Falkenhausen	ROWSPAN=6	Former Ersatz Corps	10th Ersatz Division
Guards Ersatz Division
8th Ersatz Division
61st Reserve Infantry Brigade
1st Bavarian Landwehr Division
19th Ersatz Division
ROWSPAN=2	XV Reserve Corps	30th Reserve Division
39th Reserve Division
ROWSPAN=1	Under Army command	2 Landwehr Brigades

Order of Battle, 30 October 1918

By the end of the war, the majority of the units assigned were lower quality Reserve and Landwehr Divisions indicative of the relatively quiet sector that the was operating in.

Organization of A on 30 October 1918
Army	Corps	Division
ROWSPAN=9	A	ROWSPAN=3	59th Corps (z.b.V.)	96th Division
21st Landwehr Division
75th Reserve Division
ROWSPAN=2	VII Corps	82nd Composite Reserve Infantry Brigade
301st Division
ROWSPAN=2	XV Bavarian Reserve Corps	39th Bavarian Reserve Division
61st Landwehr Brigade
ROWSPAN=2	IX Corps (Austria-Hungary)	37th Division (Austria-Hungary)
4th Landwehr Division

Commanders

A had the following commanders during its existence:

Falkenhausen / A! From !! Commander !! Previously !! Subsequently

17 September 1914			High Command of Coastal Defence
24 December 1914	Generaloberst Ludwig von Falkenhausen
17 April 1916			Retired status^[1]
4 January 1917			1st Army
9 June 1918	vacant^[2]
6 August 1918			1 Armeekorps from 20 December 1918^[3]

Glossary

• or Army Detachment in the sense of "something detached from an Army". It is not under the command of an Army so is in itself a small Army.
• Armee-Gruppe or Army Group in the sense of a group within an Army and under its command, generally formed as a temporary measure for a specific task.
• Heeresgruppe or Army Group in the sense of a number of armies under a single commander.

See also

• Ersatz Corps
• German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)

Bibliography

• Book: Cron, Hermann . 2002 . Imperial German Army 1914–18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937] . Helion & Co . 1-874622-70-1.
• Book: Ellis . John . Cox . Michael . 1993 . The World War I Databook . Aurum Press Ltd . 1-85410-766-6.

Notes and References

1. http://home.comcast.net/~jcviser/aok/delsa.htm The Prussian Machine
2. Whilst von Mudra assumed temporary command of 1st Army, von Eben remained with 9th Army as its new commander, General der Infanterie Fritz von Below, had contracted pneumonia.
3. http://home.comcast.net/~jcviser/aok/eben.htm The Prussian Machine