8th Army (German Empire)

The 8th Army (German: 8. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 8 /

8. Armee
A.O.K. 8) was an army level command of the German Army in
World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 from 8th Army
the I Army Inspectorate.[1] The army was dissolved on 29
September 1915, but reformed on 30 December 1915.[2] It was
finally disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.

Contents
History
Dissolved and reformed
Commanders Flag of the Staff of an Armee
Glossary Oberkommando (1871–1918)
See also Active 2 August 1914 –
References 29 September
1915
Bibliography
30 December 1915
– 21 January 1919
History Country German
Empire
On mobilisation in August 1914, the 8th Army Headquarters was Type Army
formed in Posen to command troops stationed in East Prussia to
defend against the expected Russian attack, Plan XIX. Initially, Engagements World War I
the Army commanded the following formations:[3] Eastern Front

Battle of
I Corps (Generalleutnant Hermann von François
based on Königsberg) Stallupönen

XVII Corps (General der Kavallerie August von Battle of

Mackensen based on Danzig) Gumbinnen
XX Corps (General der Infanterie Friedrich von Battle of
Scholtz based on Allenstein) Tannenberg
I Reserve Corps (Generalleutnant Otto von Below
First Battle
formed on mobilisation)
of the
Landwehr Corps (General der Infanterie Remus von
Masurian
Woyrsch formed on mobilisation)[4]
Lakes
3rd Reserve Division (Generalleutnant Kurt von
Morgen, formed on mobilisation) Second
1st Cavalry Division (Generalleutnant Hermann Battle of the
Brecht, formed on mobilisation) Masurian
Lakes
Concerned by the defeat at Gumbinnen and the continued Insignia
advance of the Russian Second Army from the south, Prittwitz Abbreviation A.O.K. 8
ordered a retreat to the Vistula, effectively abandoning East
Prussia. When he heard of this, Helmuth von Moltke, the German
Army Chief of Staff, recalled Prittwitz and his deputy to Berlin. They were replaced by Paul von
Hindenburg, called out of retirement, with Erich Ludendorff as his chief of staff. Under its new command,
the Army was responsible for the victories at the Battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes.

Dissolved and reformed

The Army of the Niemen was formed on 26 May 1915 to control the troops in Courland.[5] The
commander of the 8th Army, General der Infanterie Otto von Below, along with his chief of staff,
Generalmajor von Böckmann, assumed command. In the meantime, the 8th Army got a deputy
commander, General der Artillerie Friedrich von Scholtz, who was simultaneously commander of XX
Corps. 8th Army was dissolved on 29 September 1915.[6] On 30 December 1915 the Army of the Niemen
was renamed as the 8th Army with von Below still in command.[7]

Commanders
The original 8th Army had the following commanders from mobilisation until it was dissolved 29
September 1915.[8]

8th Army
From Commander Previously Subsequently,
Generaloberst Maximilian von I Army Inspectorate (I. Armee-
2 August 1914 Retired
Prittwitz Inspektion)
23 August 1914 Generaloberst Paul von Hindenburg Brought out of retirement 9th Army
XXVII Reserve
18 September General der Artillerie Richard von Corps
XIV Reserve Corps
1914 Schubert from 27 October
1914

XXXXI Reserve
General der Infanterie Hermann von Corps
9 October 1914 I Corps
François from 24 December
1914

7 November General der Infanterie Otto von Army of the

I Reserve Corps
1914 Below Niemen
General der Artillerie Friedrich von Simultaneously commander of XX
26 May 1915 XX Corps
Scholtz Corps

A "new" 8th Army was formed by renaming the Army of the Niemen on 30 December 1915. It was
dissolved after the end of the war on 21 January 1919.
 "New" 8th Army
From Commander Previously Subsequently,
30
General der Infanterie Otto von Army of the
December Heeresgruppe Below
Below Niemen
1915
5 October General der Infanterie Max von
12th Army Died 16 December 1916
1916 Fabeck
22 October General der Infanterie Bruno von
XVI Corps Armee-Abteilung A
1916 Mudra
2 January General der Artillerie Friedrich von Armee-Abteilung
Heeresgruppe Scholtz
1917 Scholtz Scholtz
22 April General der Infanterie Oskar von Armee-Abteilung 18th Army
1917 Hutier D from 27 December 1917

12
General der Infanterie Günther Graf
December
von Kirchbach Armee-Abteilung
1917 Heeresgruppe Kiev
D
27 January Generaloberst Günther Graf von
1918 Kirchbach
General der Infanterie Hugo von XXIII Reserve Commander of German troops in
31 July 1918
Kathen Corps Lithuania and Estonia

Staff of the 8th Army, Staff of the 8th Army,

First Battle of the autumn 1914,
Masurian Lakes. Imperial Castle in
Poznań.

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.[9]
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 a single
commander.

See also
8th Army (Wehrmacht) for the equivalent formation in World War II
German Army order of battle (1914)
 Order of battle at Tannenberg
Great Retreat (Russian)

References
1. Cron 2002, p. 395
2. Cron 2002, p. 80
3. Cron 2002, pp. 322–326
4. Cron 2002, p. 52 Detached in Silesia. On 4 September 1914 came under the command of
1st Austro-Hungarian Army. Joined 9th Army on 24 September 1914.
5. Cron 2002, pp. 82–83
6. Cron 2002, p. 80
7. Cron 2002, pp. 395–396
8. Cron 2002, p. 395
9. 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.

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