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Cavalry Corps Schmettow 65th Corps (z.b.V.)
Austro-Hungarian cavalry entering Bucharest on 6 December 1916
Active	August 1916-1919
Disbanded	1919
Country	German Empire
Allegiance	Imperial German Army
Branch	Cavalry
Type	Corps
Size	2-4 divisions
Engagements	World War I Romanian campaign Battle of Transylvania Battle of Bucharest Battle of the Argeș Western Front Second Battle of the Aisne Third Battle of the Aisne Second Battle of the Marne
Commanders
Notable commanders	Eberhard Graf von Schmettow

Cavalry Corps Schmettow was a formation of the German Army in World War I.

Cavalry Corps Schmettow

By August 1916, the four existing Cavalry Commanders (I, III, V and VI Cavalry Corps) had been assigned sectors of the Eastern Front and thus took on the functions similar to a normal Corps and had been reorganised in a similar fashion. Therefore, for the Romanian Campaign, none of the existing Cavalry Corps were brought in. Instead, a new temporary Cavalry Corps was set up in Transylvannia - Cavalry Corps "Schmettow" - under the command of Generalleutnant Eberhard Graf von Schmettow. It was formed with:

• 51st Honvéd Infantry Division (Austria-Hungary)
• 3rd Cavalry Division
• 1st Cavalry Division (Austria-Hungary)

Redesignated 11 January 1917 as 65th Corps (z.b.V.).

65th Corps

65th Corps (z.b.V.) was formed on 11 January 1917 by the redesignation of Cavalry Corps "Schmettow". As the need for large mounted cavalry formations diminished as the war went on, the existing Cavalry Corps increasingly took on the characteristics of a normal Corps Command. This culminated in them being redesignated as "General Commands for Special Use" Generalkommandos zur besonderen Verwendung (Genkdo z.b.V.).

By the end of the war, the Corps was serving on the Western Front as part of the 7th Army with the following composition:

• 5th Division
• 4th Guards Division
• 216th Division
• 50th Division

Commanders

Cavalry Corps Schmettow / 65th Corps was commanded throughout its existence by Generalleutnant Eberhard Graf von Schmettow.

See also

• German Army (German Empire)
• German Army order of battle, Western Front (1918)
• German cavalry in World War I

References

1. Cron 2002, p. 95
2. Ellis & Cox 1993, p. 194
3. General Commands for Special Use Generalkommandos zur besonderen Verwendung (Genkdo z.b.V.)
4. Cron 2002, p. 89
5. Note that Corps (z.b.V.) were designated with Arabic, not Roman, numerals.
6. Cron 2002, p. 89
7. Ellis & Cox 1993, p. 187
8. The Prussian Machine, GenKdo Archived April 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Accessed: 20 May 2012
9. German War History Accessed: 20 May 2012

Bibliography

• Cron, Hermann (2002). Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle . Helion & Co. ISBN 1-874622-70-1.
• Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.

• Corps of Germany in World War I
• Cavalry corps of Germany
• Military units and formations established in 1916
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1919