Wikipedia

9th Army (German Empire)

The 9th Army (German: 9. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 9 / A.O.K. 9) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed in September 1914 in Breslau to command troops on the southern sector of the Eastern Front. The army was dissolved on 30 July 1916, but reformed in Transylvania on 6 September 1916 for the Romanian Campaign. It was transferred to the Western Front on 19 June 1918 where it was finally dissolved on 18 September 1918.[1]

9. Armee
9th Army
Flag of the Staff of an Armee Oberkommando (1871–1918)
Active19 September 1914 – 30 July 1916
6 September 1916 – 18 September 1918
Country German Empire
TypeArmy
EngagementsWorld War I
Insignia
AbbreviationA.O.K. 9

History

edit

First formation

edit

The 9th Army Headquarters was established in Breslau on 19 September 1914 and commanded units drawn from the 8th Army, the Western Front and other units in Upper Silesia.[2] It was originally placed on the southern sector of the Eastern Front on the left flank of the 1st Austro-Hungarian Army.

Organization of the 9th Army on 1 October 1914
Army Corps Division
9th Army
Generaloberst Paul von Hindenburg 		XI Corps
General der Infanterie Otto von Plüskow
from 3rd Army, Western Front 		22nd Infantry Division
38th Infantry Division
XVII Corps
General der Kavallerie August von Mackensen
from 8th Army 		35th Infantry Division
36th Infantry Division
XX Corps
General der Infanterie Friedrich von Scholtz
from 8th Army 		37th Infantry Division
41st Infantry Division
Guards Reserve Corps
General der Artillerie Max von Gallwitz
from 2nd Army, Western Front 		3rd Guards Infantry Division
1st Guards Reserve Division
Landwehr Corps
General der Infanterie Remus von Woyrsch
from 1st Austro-Hungarian Army[3] 		3rd Landwehr Division
4th Landwehr Division
III Cavalry Corps
General der Kavallerie Rudolf Ritter von Frommel
from Western Front 		8th Cavalry Division
Under Army command 35th Reserve Division
in Fortress Thorn
Landwehr Division Bredow
in Posen[4]
4 Landwehr Brigades
Fortresses at Posen, Breslau and Glogau

Second formation

edit

9th Army was reformed for the Romanian Campaign in September 1916. Along with the 1st Austro-Hungarian Army (1st A-H Army) it formed the Siebenburg Sector and had the following units:[5]

  •  
    Romanian invasion of Austria-Hungary, August 1916
  •  
    Central Powers counterattack, September–October 1916
  •  
    Operations in Romania, November 1916 to January 1917

Commanders

edit

The original 9th Army had the following commanders until it was dissolved 30 July 1916:[7]

9th Army
From Commander Previously Subsequently,
18 September 1914 Generaloberst Paul von Hindenburg 8th Army OB East[8]
2 November 1914 General der Kavallerie August von Mackensen XVII Corps 11th Army
17 December 1914 Generaloberst August von Mackensen
17 April 1915 General der Kavallerie Prince Leopold of Bavaria Brought out of retirement Heeresgruppe Leopold
concurrently from 5 August 1915

A "new" 9th Army was formed in Transylvania for the Romanian Campaign on 6 September 1916. It was dissolved on the Western Front on 18 September 1918.[9]

"New" 9th Army
From Commander Previously Subsequently,
6 September 1916 General der Infanterie Erich von Falkenhayn Chief of the General Staff Heeresgruppe F
1 May 1917 General der Infanterie Robert Kosch 52nd Corps (z.b.V.) 52nd Corps (z.b.V.)
10 June 1917 General der Infanterie Johannes von Eben I Corps Armee-Abteilung A
9 June 1918 General der Infanterie Fritz von Below 2nd Army [10]
6 August 1918 General der Infanterie Adolph von Carlowitz XIX Corps 2nd Army

Glossary

edit
  • Armee-Abteilung 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.[11]
  • 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

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Cron 2002, pp. 80–81
  2. ^ Ellis & Cox 1993, p. 188
  3. ^ Cron 2002, p. 52 Formed on mobilisation with 8th Army but detached in Upper Silesia. On 4 September 1914 came under the command of 1st Austro-Hungarian Army. Joined 9th Army on 24 September 1914.
  4. ^ Cron 2002, pp. 101–102 Formed as a temporary division on 5 September 1914. Redesignated 18th Landwehr Division in December 1915.
  5. ^ Ellis & Cox 1993, p. 194
  6. ^ Despite its name, this was a division-sized formation.
  7. ^ Cron 2002, p. 396
  8. ^ Supreme Commander East (German: 'Oberbefehlshaber Ost')
  9. ^ Cron 2002, p. 396
  10. ^ The Prussian Machine Archived 4 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Accessed: 5 February 2012 Below was nominally in command, but contracted pneumonia so von Eben remained in provisional command
  11. ^ Cron 2002, p. 84

Bibliography

edit
  • 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.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=9th_Army_(German_Empire)&oldid=1251913070"