8th Army (German Empire)

8. Armee 8th Army
Flag of the Staff of an Armee Oberkommando (1871–1918)
Active	2 August 1914 – 29 September 1915 30 December 1915 – 21 January 1919
Country	German Empire
Type	Army
Engagements	World War I Eastern Front Battle of Stallupönen Battle of Gumbinnen Battle of Tannenberg First Battle of the Masurian Lakes Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes

World War I

The 8th Army (German: 8. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 8 / 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 the I Army Inspectorate. The army was dissolved on 29 September 1915, but reformed on 30 December 1915. It was finally disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.

On mobilisation in August 1914, the 8th Army Headquarters was formed in Posen to command troops stationed in East Prussia to defend against the expected Russian attack, Plan XIX. Initially, the Army commanded the following formations:

Concerned by the defeat at Gumbinnen and the continued advance of the Russian Second Army from the south, Prittwitz 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.

The Army of the Niemen was formed on 26 May 1915 to control the troops in Courland. 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. On 30 December 1915 the Army of the Niemen was renamed as the 8th Army with von Below still in command.