II Corps (German Empire)

II Army Corps
II. Armee-Korps
Flag of the Staff of a Generalkommando (1871–1918)
Active3 April 1820 (1820-04-03)–10 January 1915 (1915-01-10)
Country Prussia /  German Empire
TypeCorps
SizeApproximately 44,000 (on mobilisation in 1914)
Garrison/HQStettin (now Szczecin, Poland)/ Königsplatz 2
Shoulder strap pipingWhite
EngagementsAustro-Prussian War
Battle of Königgrätz

Franco-Prussian War

Battle of Gravelotte
Battle of Villiers
Siege of Metz
Siege of Paris

World War I

Battle of the Frontiers
Battle of Mons
First Battle of the Marne
Race to the Sea
First Battle of Ypres
Insignia
AbbreviationII AK

The II Army Corps / II AK (German: II. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the Prussian and then the Imperial German Armies from the 19th Century to World War I.

It was established on 3 April 1820 with headquarters initially in Berlin. From 1837, the headquarters moved to Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), back to Berlin in 1863, before finally settling in Stettin from 1870. The Corps catchment area included the Province of Pomerania, the district (Regierungsbezirk) of Bromberg from the Province of Posen and the Province of West Prussia.[1] Later, the West Prussian districts were transferred to the new XVII Corps District.

In peacetime, the Corps was assigned to the VIII Army Inspectorate, which became the 1st Army at the start of the First World War.[2] The Corps headquarters was upgraded to form the headquarters of the South Army on 10 January 1915.[3]

The Corps was reformed post-war, before being finally disbanded in 1919.

  1. ^ German Administrative History Accessed: 4 June 2012
  2. ^ Cron 2002, p. 392
  3. ^ Cron 2002, p. 88