II Royal Bavarian Corps
The II Royal Bavarian Army Corps (II. Königlich Bayerisches Armee-Korps) was a corps-level command of the Royal Bavarian Army in the German Empire. It was formed in 1869 in Würzburg as the Generalkommando for the kingdom’s northern area, with its headquarters at Würzburg. After 1900 it took responsibility for Lower Franconia, parts of Upper Franconia, and the Palatinate, while the III Royal Bavarian Corps handled other regions. Like other Bavarian formations, it belonged to the IV Army Inspectorate, which became the 6th Army at the start of World War I. The corps was disbanded after World War I.
In the Franco-Prussian War the II Bavarian Corps fought as part of the German 3rd Army, taking part in the battles of Wissembourg, Wörth, and Sedan, and in the Siege of Paris.
Peacetime organization followed the standard German Army pattern: two divisions, each with two infantry brigades, one field artillery brigade and one cavalry brigade. Each brigade usually had two regiments, giving about eight infantry regiments, four field artillery regiments and four cavalry regiments for the whole corps, though some units were controlled directly by the corps.
On mobilization on 2 August 1914, the corps was reorganized. The 4th Cavalry Brigade left to form part of the Bavarian Cavalry Division, and the 3rd Cavalry Brigade was broken up with its regiments used as reconnaissance units. Divisions gained engineer and other support units from the corps staff. The 8th Bavarian Infantry Brigade remained in Metz as part of the 33rd Reserve Division on mobilization, and the 5th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade replaced it in the 4th Bavarian Division.
The corps mobilized with about 25 infantry battalions, eight machine-gun companies (about 48 machine guns), eight cavalry squadrons, 24 field artillery batteries (144 guns), four heavy artillery batteries (16 guns), three pioneer companies and an aviation detachment.
At the start of the war the II Bavarian Corps was assigned to the mainly Bavarian 6th Army on the left wing for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914. It fought on the Western Front for the duration of the war, ending in the 17th Army within Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht.
The corps had several commanders during its existence.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:11 (CET).