19th Army (German Empire)

July 2014 April 2026 19. Armee19th Army Stab eines Armeeoberkommandos.svg 200 Flag of the Staff of an Armee Oberkommando (1871–1918) 4 February 1918 – 24 January 1919 German Empire German Army Field army World War I Spring Offensive A.O.K. 19 Abbreviation The 19th Army (de 19. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 19 / A.O.K. 19) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed in France on 4 February 1918 from the former South Army command. It served exclusively on the Western Front and was dissolved on 24 January 1919.Cron 2002 82 History 19th Army was one of three armies (along with 17th Army and 18th Army) formed in late 1917 / early 1918 with forces withdrawn from the Eastern Front. They were in place to take part in Ludendorff's German spring offensive. The Germans had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and matériel resources of the United States could be deployed. They also had the temporary advantage in numbers afforded by nearly 50 divisions freed by the Russian withdrawal from the war (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk). It was still in existence when the war ended,Cron 2002 82 serving on the Western Front as part of Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg.Ellis Cox 1993 187 Order of Battle, 30 October 1918 By the end of World War I, the majority of the units assigned were lower quality Landwehr Divisions indicative of the relatively quiet sector that the Army was operating in. + Organization of 19th Army on 30 October 1918Ellis Cox 1993 187 Army Corps Division 19th Army XIX Corps 84th Landwehr Brigade 48th Landwehr Division 66th Corps (z.b.V.) 2nd Bavarian Landwehr Division 19th Ersatz Division 17th Reserve Division XV Corps 1st Bavarian Landwehr Division 83rd Division Commanders 19th Army had the following commanders:Cron 2002 398 +19th Army From Commander Previously Subsequently, 4 February 1918 General der Infanterie Felix Graf von Bothmer South Army Adviser to the Bavarian Ministry for Military Affairs 9 April 1918 Generaloberst Felix Graf von Bothmer 8 November 1918 General der Infanterie Karl von Fasbender I Bavarian Reserve Corps Active reserve statusThe Prussian Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20140729055524/http://home.comcast.net/~jcviser/aok/fasbender.htm 29 July 2014 Accessed: 6 February 2012 Glossary 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.Cron 2002 84 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 Germany 19th Army (Wehrmacht) for the equivalent formation in World War II German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918) References Bibliography Cron Hermann 2002 Imperial German Army 1914–18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937] Helion & Co 1-874622-70-1 Ellis John Cox Michael 1993 The World War I Databook Aurum Press Ltd 1-85410-766-6 y 19 Category:Military units and formations established in 1918 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1919