The XII Army Corps (XII. (1. Königlich Sächsisches) Armeekorps) was a Saxon

Kingdom of Saxony

The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...

 corps of the Imperial German Army

German Army (German Empire)

The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...

. It was formed on April 1, 1867 and was headquartered in Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

, Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

.

During the Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

, the corps fought in the Battle of Gravelotte

Battle of Gravelotte

The Battle of Gravelotte was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier.-Terrain and armies:...

, the Battle of Sedan

Battle of Sedan

The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...

,and the Siege of Paris

Siege of Paris

The Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 – January 28, 1871, and the consequent capture of the city by Prussian forces led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the establishment of the German Empire as well as the Paris Commune....

.

During 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...

, the corps served on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

. It was initially part of the 3rd Army, but was transferred to the 2nd Army on September 14, 1914 and to the 7th Army one day later. It would later serve under the 5th Army and the 3rd Army.

Order of Battle during the Franco-Prussian War

The organization of the XII (Royal Saxon) Corps on August 18, 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows:

Commander: General Crown Prince Albert of Saxony

Albert of Saxony

Albert of Saxony may refer to:* Albert of Saxony * Albert I, Duke of Saxony * Albert, Duke of Saxony * Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen * Albert of Saxony...

Chief of the General Staff: Lt. Col. Friedrich von Zezschwitz

• 23rd Infantry Division (1st Royal Saxon)
  23rd Division (German Empire)
  The 23rd Division , also known as the 1st Division No. 23 was a unit of the Saxon and then Imperial German Army. The division was headquartered in Dresden. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XII Army Corps .The 1st Division No...
  
   - Lt. General Prince George of Saxony
  George of Saxony
  -Life:George was born in the Saxon capital Dresden. He was the second son of King John of Saxony and his wife Princess Amelia of Bavaria , daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria ....
  
  
• 24th Infantry Division (2nd Royal Saxon)
  24th Division (German Empire)
  The 24th Division , also known as the 2nd Division No. 24 was a unit of the Saxon and then Imperial German Army. The division was headquartered in Leipzig. Until 1899, the division was subordinated in peacetime to the XII Army Corps The 24th Division (24. Division), also known as the 2nd...
  
   - Maj. General Erwin Nehrhoff von Holderberg
• Saxon Cavalry Division - Major General Franz Graf und Edler Herr zur Lippe-Weißenfeld
• 12th Field Artillery Regiment (Royal Saxon) - Col. Bernhard Oskar von Funcke
• 12th Pioneer Battalion (Royal Saxon) - Lt. Col. Karl Hugo Klemm
• 12th Train Battalion (Royal Saxon) - Lt. Col. Edmund Schmalz

Peacetime structure (1914)

The organization of the XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:

• 23rd Division (1st Royal Saxon)
  23rd Division (German Empire)
  The 23rd Division , also known as the 1st Division No. 23 was a unit of the Saxon and then Imperial German Army. The division was headquartered in Dresden. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XII Army Corps .The 1st Division No...
  
  
• 32nd Division (3rd Royal Saxon)
  32nd Division (German Empire)
  The 32nd Division , formally the 3rd Division No. 32 was a unit of the Saxon Army, a component of the Imperial German Army. The division was formed on April 1, 1887 and was headquartered in Bautzen. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XII Army Corps...
  
  
• 2nd Royal Saxon Foot Artillery Regiment No. 19
• 1st Royal Saxon Pioneer Battalion No. 12
• 1st Royal Saxon Train Battalion No. 12
• Telegraph Battalion No. 7