| Unit Name: | XV Army Corps XV. Armee-Korps |
| Type: | Corps |
| Size: | Approximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914) |
| Garrison: | Strasbourg/Brandgasse 11 |
| Colors: | Red |
| Colors Label: | Shoulder strap piping |
| Battles: | World War I |
| Identification Symbol: | XV AK |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Abbreviation |
The XV Army Corps / XV AK (de|'''XV. Armee-Korps''') was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I.
XV Corps served on the Western Front from the start of the war with the 7th Army. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 19th Army, Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg on the Western Front.
With the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, the XV Corps was formed in March 1871 with responsibility for the new Imperial provinces. Headquarters was established in Strasbourg with the constituent units drawn from the armies of the various states of the German Empire. The Corps initially covered the entire district of Alsace-Lorraine, but from April 1890 a new XVI Corps was formed in Lorraine and the Corps was restricted to Alsace. It was assigned to the V Army Inspectorate which became the 7th Army at the start of the First World War.
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).[1] 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
| ROWSPAN=28 | XV Corps | ROWSPAN=8 | 30th Division | ROWSPAN=2 | 60th Infantry Brigade | 99th (2nd Upper Rhenish) Infantry | Saverne, III Bn at Phalsbourg |
| 143rd (4th Lower Alsasian) Infantry | Strasbourg, III at Mutzig | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 85th Infantry Brigade | 105th (6th Royal Saxon) Infantry "King William II of Württemberg" | Strasbourg | ||||
| 136th (4th Lotharingian) Infantry | Strasbourg | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 30th Field Artillery Brigade | 51st (2nd Upper Alsatian) Field Artillery | Strasbourg | ||||
| 84th (Strasbourg) Field Artillery | Strasbourg | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 30th Cavalry Brigade | 15th (3rd Silesian) Dragoons | Haguenau | ||||
| 9th (2nd Rhenish) Hussars | Strasbourg | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=8 | 39th Division | ROWSPAN=2 | 61st Infantry Brigade | 126th (8th Württemberg) Infantry "Grand Duke Frederick of Baden" | Strasbourg | ||
| 132nd (1st Lower Alsatian) Infantry | Strasbourg | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 82nd Infantry Brigade | 171st (2nd Upper Alsatian) Infantry | Colmar | ||||
| 172nd (3rd Upper Alsatian) Infantry | Neuf-Brisach | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 39th Field Artillery Brigade | 66th (4th Baden) Field Artillery | Lahr, Neuf-Brisach | ||||
| 80th (3rd Upper Alsatian) Field Artillery | Colmar, Neuf-Brisach | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 39th Cavalry Brigade | 14th (Kurmark) Dragoons | Colmar | ||||
| 3rd Jäger zu Pferde | Colmar | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=12 | Corps Troops | ROWSPAN=12 | 8th (Rhenish) Jäger Battalion | Sélestat | |||
| 14th (Grand Duchy Mecklenburg) Jäger Battalion | Colmar | ||||||
| 9th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Strasbourg | ||||||
| 10th Fortress Machine Gun Abteilung | Mutzig | ||||||
| 10th (Lower Saxony) Foot Artillery | Strasbourg | ||||||
| 13th (Hohenzollern) Foot Artillery | Ulm, Breisach | ||||||
| 14th (Baden) Foot Artillery | Strasbourg | ||||||
| 15th (1st Alsatian) Pioneer Battalion | Strasbourg | ||||||
| 19th (2nd Alsatian) (Fortress-) Pioneer Battalion | Strasbourg | ||||||
| 4th Fortress Telephone Company | Strasbourg | ||||||
| 4th Flying Battalion | Straßburg, Metz, Freiburg im Breisgau | ||||||
| 15th (Alsatian) Train Battalion | Strasbourg |
On mobilization on 2 August 1914 the Corps was restructured. 30th Cavalry Brigade was withdrawn to form part of the 7th Cavalry Division and the 39th 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, XV Corps mobilised with 26 infantry battalions, 10 machine gun companies (60 machine guns), 8 cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), 4 heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), 3 pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
| ROWSPAN=30 | XV Corps | ROWSPAN=11 | 30th Division | ROWSPAN=2 | 60th Infantry Brigade | 99th Infantry Regiment |
| 143rd Infantry Regiment | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 85th Infantry Brigade | 105th Infantry Regiment | ||||
| 136th Infantry Regiment | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 30th Field Artillery Brigade | 51st Field Artillery Regiment | ||||
| 84th Field Artillery Regiment | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=5 | 3rd Jäger zu Pferde Regiment | |||||
| 1st Company, 15th Pioneer Battalion | ||||||
| 30th Divisional Pontoon Train | ||||||
| 1st Medical Company | ||||||
| 3rd Medical Company | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=13 | 39th Division | ROWSPAN=3 | 61st Infantry Brigade | 126th Infantry Regiment | ||
| 132nd Infantry Regiment | ||||||
| 8th Jäger Battalion[2] | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=3 | 82nd Infantry Brigade | 171st Infantry Regiment | ||||
| 172nd Infantry Regiment | ||||||
| 14th Jäger Battalion[3] | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=2 | 39th Field Artillery Brigade | 66th Field Artillery Regiment | ||||
| 80th Field Artillery Regiment | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=5 | 14th Dragoon Regiment | |||||
| 2nd Company, 15th Pioneer Battalion | ||||||
| 3rd Company, 15th Pioneer Battalion | ||||||
| 39th Divisional Pontoon Train | ||||||
| 2nd Medical Company | ||||||
| ROWSPAN=6 | Corps Troops | ROWSPAN=6 | II Battalion, 10th Foot Artillery Regiment[4] | |||
| 3rd Aviation Detachment | ||||||
| 15th Corps Pontoon Train | ||||||
| 15th Telephone Detachment | ||||||
| 15th Pioneer Searchlight Section | ||||||
| Munition Trains and Columns corresponding to II Corps |
At the outbreak of World War I, the Corps was assigned to the 7th Army on the left of the forces that executed the Schlieffen Plan. It fought on the Western Front in Lorraine. It was still in existence at the end of the war in the 19th Army, Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg on the Western Front.
The XV Corps had the following commanders during its existence:[5] [6] [7]
| Dates | Rank | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 March 1871 | Eduard von Fransecky | ||
| 1 November 1879 | Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel | ||
| 16 September 1885 | Wilhelm von Heuduck | ||
| 4 November 1890 | Alfred von Lewinski | ||
| 1 April 1892 | Wilhelm Hermann von Blume | ||
| 4 April 1896 | Kuno Freiherr von Falkenstein | ||
| 22 May 1899 | Emil Freiherr von Meerscheidt-Hüllessem | ||
| 6 June 1900 | Hans Anton Herwarth von Bittenfeld | ||
| 1 April 1903 | Leopold Ritter Hentschel von Gilgenheimb | ||
| 31 January 1910 | Max von Fabeck | ||
| 1 March 1913 | Berthold von Deimling | ||
| 25 May 1917 | Emil Ilse |