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The First Army was a Prussian formation during the Austro-Prussian War. Being a wartime organization of the Prussian Army; it afterwards was demobilized.
For the Austro-Prussian War the Prussians organized their forces into three, and eventually four, field armies. Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the Prussian General Staff, assigned four corps to attack the area of the Austria-allied kingdoms of Hanover and Saxony. [1] The command of the First Army was given to Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, a nephew of King William of Prussia. The young General der Kavallerie had served in the First Schleswig War and Second Schleswig War and already received the prestigious Pour le Mérite with oak leaves. [2] Chief of Staff was to be Generalleutnant Konstantin Bernhard von Voigts-Rhetz, who was an intelligent but opinionated officer. [3]
During the war the First Army did not operate effectively in the opinion of the war-directing General Staff. Prince Friedrich Karl's marching orders strained the army's supply lines and prevented a link with Second Army. Fortunately, the First Army was able to link up with the Army of the Elbe, commanded by Karl Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld. On June 28 both armies operated against Mnichovo Hradiště which turned into the Battle of Münchengrätz. The prince then ordered the 3rd Division to march to Jičín. Even though the campaign was successful many men died before reaching the battlefields. The combined operation of two armies worsened the already bad supply situation. [4] [5] When the armies marched separately again the First Army was the first in the Battle of Königgrätz, fighting against the Austrians under Ludwig von Benedek until the Second Army of Crown-Prince Frederick William of Prussia arrived.
The First Army had the following order of battle: [6]
Commanding General: General der Kavallerie Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia
Chief of Staff: Generalleutnant
Konstantin Bernhard von Voigts-Rhetz
Quartermaster General: Generalmajor
Ferdinand von Stülpnagel
Chief of Artillery: Generalmajor
Albert von Lengsfeld
Chief Engineer: Generalmajor
Karl Keiser
Commanding General: Generalleutnant
Stephan von Schmidt
Chief of Staff: Generalmajor
Georg von Kameke
Directly subordinate to the army
Directly subordinate to the army
Commanding General: General der Kavallerie Prince
Albert of Prussia
Chief of Staff: Oberstleutnant
Karl von Witzendorff
The following detached units also belonged to the corps:
This article needs additional citations for
verification. (December 2021) |
The First Army was a Prussian formation during the Austro-Prussian War. Being a wartime organization of the Prussian Army; it afterwards was demobilized.
For the Austro-Prussian War the Prussians organized their forces into three, and eventually four, field armies. Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the Prussian General Staff, assigned four corps to attack the area of the Austria-allied kingdoms of Hanover and Saxony. [1] The command of the First Army was given to Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, a nephew of King William of Prussia. The young General der Kavallerie had served in the First Schleswig War and Second Schleswig War and already received the prestigious Pour le Mérite with oak leaves. [2] Chief of Staff was to be Generalleutnant Konstantin Bernhard von Voigts-Rhetz, who was an intelligent but opinionated officer. [3]
During the war the First Army did not operate effectively in the opinion of the war-directing General Staff. Prince Friedrich Karl's marching orders strained the army's supply lines and prevented a link with Second Army. Fortunately, the First Army was able to link up with the Army of the Elbe, commanded by Karl Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld. On June 28 both armies operated against Mnichovo Hradiště which turned into the Battle of Münchengrätz. The prince then ordered the 3rd Division to march to Jičín. Even though the campaign was successful many men died before reaching the battlefields. The combined operation of two armies worsened the already bad supply situation. [4] [5] When the armies marched separately again the First Army was the first in the Battle of Königgrätz, fighting against the Austrians under Ludwig von Benedek until the Second Army of Crown-Prince Frederick William of Prussia arrived.
The First Army had the following order of battle: [6]
Commanding General: General der Kavallerie Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia
Chief of Staff: Generalleutnant
Konstantin Bernhard von Voigts-Rhetz
Quartermaster General: Generalmajor
Ferdinand von Stülpnagel
Chief of Artillery: Generalmajor
Albert von Lengsfeld
Chief Engineer: Generalmajor
Karl Keiser
Commanding General: Generalleutnant
Stephan von Schmidt
Chief of Staff: Generalmajor
Georg von Kameke
Directly subordinate to the army
Directly subordinate to the army
Commanding General: General der Kavallerie Prince
Albert of Prussia
Chief of Staff: Oberstleutnant
Karl von Witzendorff
The following detached units also belonged to the corps: