II Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps

II Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps
II. Königlich Bayerisches Reserve-Korps
Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918)
Active December 1914 - 7 July 1915
Country  Bavaria /  German Empire
Type Corps
Engagements World War I

The II Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps / II Bavarian RK (German: II. Königlich Bayerisches Reserve-Korps) was a corps level command of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army during World War I.[lower-alpha 1] The corps only existed for a few months before the Staff was used to form a new Staff for the South Army on the Eastern Front.[1]

History

In peacetime, the German Army only conscripted about half of those eligible to serve, as the population was too numerous for its establishment.[lower-alpha 2] The remainder were posted to the Landsturm or the Ersatz Reserve.[2]

At the outbreak of the War, a large number of volunteers flocked to the colours. In October 1914, these formed the XXII - XXVII Reserve Corps (43rd - 54th Reserve Divisions) plus the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division). Similarly, in December 1914, a second wave of corps (XXXVIII - XXXXI[lower-alpha 3] Reserve Corps) and divisions (75th - 82nd Reserve Divisions along with 8th Bavarian Reserve Division) was formed. The personnel predominantly comprised kriegsfreiwillige (wartime volunteers) who did not wait to be called up.[3]

In keeping with the then normal practice of two divisions forming a corps, the II Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps was formed in December 1914. It was commanded by General der Infanterie Felix Graf von Bothmer, who was brought out of retirement.[4] The Corps was renamed as Corps Bothmer on 22 March 1915. The Corps had a relatively brief existence: on 7 July 1915, the headquarters was upgraded to that of South Army on the Eastern Front[5] when the original command was transformed into the Army of the Bug.

Commanders

II Bavarian Reserve Corps was commanded throughout its existence by General der Infanterie Felix Graf von Bothmer.[6][7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ From the late 1800s, the Prussian Army was effectively the German Army as, during the period of German unification (1866-1871), the states of the German Empire entered into conventions with Prussia regarding their armies. Only the Bavarian Army remained fully autonomous and came under Prussian control only during wartime.
  2. ↑ The peacetime German Army was limited by law to 1% of the population, about 65 million in 1910.
  3. ↑ In German military nomenclature, "40" was rendered as "XXXX" in Roman numerals rather than the more conventional "XL".

References

  1. ↑ Cron 2002, p. 88
  2. ↑ Haythornthwaite 1996, p. 192
  3. ↑ Cron 2002, p. 97
  4. ↑ "Felix Graf von Bothmer". The Prussian Machine. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  5. ↑ Cron 2002, p. 82
  6. ↑ "German War History". Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Armee-Reserve-Korps". The Prussian Machine. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2012.

Bibliography

  • Cron, Hermann (2002). Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937]. Helion & Co. ISBN 1-874622-70-1.
  • Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.
  • Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-351-7.
  • Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919. The London Stamp Exchange Ltd (1989). 1920. ISBN 0-948130-87-3.
  • The German Forces in the Field; 7th Revision, 11th November 1918; Compiled by the General Staff, War Office. Imperial War Museum, London and The Battery Press, Inc (1995). 1918. ISBN 1-870423-95-X.

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