7th Army (German Empire)

The 7th Army (German: 7. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 7 / A.O.K. 7) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 from the II Army Inspection.[1] The army was disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.[2]

7. Armee 7th Army
Flag of the Staff of an Armee Oberkommando (1871–1918)
Active	2 August 1914 – January 1919
Country	German Empire
Type	Army
Engagements	World War I Western Front Battle of the Frontiers Battle of Mulhouse Battle of Lorraine Nivelle Offensive Second Battle of the Aisne Spring Offensive Second Battle of the Marne
Insignia
bbreviation	A.O.K. 7

History

Formed at the outbreak of World War I, 7th Army formed the extreme left (southern) wing of the German Armies on the Western Front. During the execution of the French Plan XVII, the 7th Army covered Alsace, successfully repulsing the French attack in the Battle of Lorraine. It then took part in the Race to the Sea, an attempt by both German and Anglo-French armies to turn each other's flank.

At the end of the war it was serving as part of Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz.[3]

Order of Battle, 30 October 1918

By the end of the war, the 7th Army was organised as:

Organization of 7th Army on 30 October 1918[4]
Army	Corps	Division
7th Army	XVII Corps	24th Reserve Division
		86th Division
		one third of 10th Reserve Division
	III Corps	one third of 10th Reserve Division
		26th Division
		227th Division
		3rd Naval Division
	VIII Reserve Corps	84th Division
		19th Division
		2nd Bavarian Division
		one third of 10th Reserve Division
	65th Corps (z.b.V.)	5th Division
		4th Guards Division
		216th Division
		50th Division
	VII Corps	No units assigned
	Moving to Armee-Abteilung A	24th Division

Commanders

The 7th Army had the following commanders during its existence.[5]

7th Army

From	Commander	Previously	Subsequently,
2 August 1914	Generaloberst Josias von Heeringen	II Army Inspectorate (II. Armee-Inspektion)	High Command of Coastal Defence
28 August 1916	General der Artillerie Richard von Schubert	XXVII Reserve Corps	Placed on inactive reserve status[6]
27 January 1917	Generaloberst Richard von Schubert
11 March 1917	General der Infanterie Max von Boehn	Armee-Abteilung C	Heeresgruppe Boehn
22 March 1918	Generaloberst Max von Boehn
6 August 1918	General der Infanterie Magnus von Eberhardt	X Reserve Corps	1st Army
15 October 1918	Generaloberst Max von Boehn	Heeresgruppe Boehn

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.[7]
• 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 one commander.

See also

• 7th Army (Wehrmacht) for the equivalent formation in World War II
• German Army order of battle (1914)
• German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)
• Schlieffen Plan

References

1. Cron 2002, p. 395
2. Cron 2002, p. 80
3. Ellis & Cox 1993, p. 187
4. Ellis & Cox 1993, p. 187
5. Cron 2002, p. 395
6. The Prussian Machine Accessed: 5 February 2012
7. Cron 2002, p. 84

Bibliography

• Cron, Hermann (2002). Imperial German Army 1914–18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937]. Helion & Co. ISBN 1-874622-70-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)