The Guard Corps, in Berlin, Potsdam, Charlottenburg, and Spandau (with the exception of the 4th Guard Grenadier Regiment, which is quartered at Coblenz).
| Corps. | District. | Head Quarters. |
|---|---|---|
| I. | East Prussia | Königsberg |
| II. | Pomerania | Stettin |
| III. | Brandenburg | Berlin |
| IV. | Province of Saxony | Magdeburg |
| V. | Posen | Posen |
| VI. | Silesia | Breslau |
| VII. | Westphalia | Münster |
| VIII. | Rhine Provinces | Coblenz |
| IX. | Schleswig-Holstein | Altona |
| X. | Hanover | Hanover |
| XI. | Hesse-Nassau[16] | Cassel |
| XII. | Kingdom of Saxony | Dresden |
| XIII. | Kingdom of Württemberg | Stuttgart |
| XIV. | Grand Duchy of Baden | Carlsruhe |
| XV. | Alsace | Strasburg |
| XVI. | Lorraine | Metz |
| XVII. | West Prussia | Danzig |
| 1st Bavarian Corps. | Bavaria | Munich |
| 2nd Bavarian Corps. | Bavaria | Würzburg |
The nineteen Territorial Districts of the Army correspond to the nineteen Army Corps Districts. The recruits, however, of the XVth and XVIth Corps districts are not allowed to serve there, but are distributed amongst other corps. The Guard Corps draws its recruits from the different districts of Prussia, and from Alsace-Lorraine.
The main idea which directed the above recent apportioning of troops was to distribute them so as to be immediately available in case of war in any quarter. Formerly, the tendency was to group the forces where they could be most conveniently trained and worked, without reference to the possibilities of war.
Now that the new distribution of Army Corps has placed three Corps (XIVth, XVth, and XVIth) on the western, and four Corps (Ist, IInd, Vth, XVIIth) on the eastern frontier, it will be possible at the first declaration of war with either France or Russia to combine large masses of Cavalry and throw them at once into the enemy’s territory. One or two battalions of Jäger are also to be sent shortly into Alsace, in order to watch the passes over the Vosges.
The peace-strength of the German Army is reckoned at—
- 534 Battalions of Infantry,
- 465 Squadrons of Cavalry,
- 364 Batteries of Artillery with 1,500 fully-horsed guns.
- Total, 19,457 officers and 468,400 men.
In consequence of the extension of the Landwehr and Landsturm, it is difficult to arrive at an exact estimate of the German war-strength.[17] In the event of war, different Army Corps and Cavalry Divisions will be combined into Armies, but their number and strength will necessarily depend on the theatre in which they are to be utilised, on the plan of campaign, and on the strength of the enemy. The resources of the Empire will not, however, come to an end with the 20 Army Corps whose strength we have just been describing. Behind the men doing their seven years of service, who compose the Active Army, come those of the 1st and 2nd Class Landwehr, and behind these again come the Ersatz Reserve and the Landsturm.
Although this tremendous Army of close on two million of well-trained and well-armed men may at first sight appear a menace to the peace of the world, still we must remember that Germany is absolutely obliged, for the preservation of her very existence, to keep up these huge forces, and that she has no intention of using them except for that purpose. As an old national proverb has it: “He who wants to come to grief in war had better try a fall with Germany.”