The Twentieth Army Corps of the Imperial Russian Army

Imperial Russian Army

The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...

 was a World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 corps that fought on the Eastern theatre of war

Eastern Front (World War I)

The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...

.

Before World War I 20th Corps was stationed in the Vilno Military District

Vilno Military District (Russian Empire)

Vilno Military District was a Russian military district of the Imperial Russian Army.In the Russian Empire, military districts were first formed by Dmitry Milyutin in 1862–64 to replace the pre-existing Military Inspectorates...

, with corps headquarters in Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

.

History

This unit fought in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes

Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes

The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, also known as the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes, was the northern part of the Central Powers' offensive on the Eastern Front in the winter of 1915...

 under General Bulgakov. On the February 7, in the middle of a snowstorm, Fritz von Below

Fritz von Below

Fritz Wilhelm Theodor Karl von Below was a Prussian general in the German Army during the First World War.-Biography:...

's German Eighth Army had launched a surprise attack, advancing 70 miles (112.7 km) within one week. Severe casualties were inflicted on the Russians, resulting in a disorderly withdrawal with many Russians taken prisoner. The greatest loss came when the 20th Army Corps was surrounded by the German Tenth Army in the Augustow Forest, although many broke out, the remnants surrendered on February 21 the entire corps

Corps

A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...

 surrendered. A large number of Latvian soldiers were killed, wounded or captured during this battle. This influenced the decision of the Imperial Russian Army

Imperial Russian Army

The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...

 to establish the Latvian Rifles.

28th Infantry Division

1st Brigade

• 109th Infantry Regiment Volzhsky
  Volzhsky
  Volzhsky , Volzhskaya , or Volzhskoye may refer to:*Volzhsky District, name of several districts and city districts in Russia...
  
  
• 110th Infantry Regiment Kamsky

2nd Brigade

• 111th Infantry Regiment Donskoi
• 112th Infantry Regiment of the Urals

28th Artillery Brigade

29th Infantry Division

1st Brigade

• 113th Infantry Regiment Old
• 114 th Infantry Regiment Novotorzhsky

2nd Brigade

• 115th Infantry Regiment Vyazemsky
  Vyazemsky
  Vyazemsky is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located southwest of Khabarovsk close to the Ussuri River and the border with China. Population: -History:...
  
  
• 116th Infantry Regiment Maloyaroslavsky

29th Artillery Brigade

• 1st Separate Cavalry Brigade
• 20th Howitzer Artillery Battalion
• 1st Heavy Artillery Battalion
• 20th Sapper Battalion, 1st Pontoon Battalion
• 2nd Pontoon Battalion
• 2nd Cadre Supply-Train Battalion
• 1st Siege Engineer Park.

Commanders

• 1899-1901 - Lieutenant-General Richard Troyanovich Meves
  Richard Troyanovich Meves
  Richard Troyanovich Meves was a Lieutenant-General in the Imperial Russian Army, involved in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878....
  
  .
• 28.07.1908-12.1914 - General of Infantry Vladimir Smirnov.
• 12.1914-02.1915 - Lieutenant-General Pavel Ilich Bulgakov.
• 03.1915-04.1917 - Alexander Iosafovich Ievreinov.
• 04.1917-? 04.1917-? - A. Y. Elshin.