Alpenkorps (German Empire)

The Alpenkorps was a provisional mountain formation of division size formed by the Imperial German Army during World War I.

Although Germany and Italy were not at war until 1916, the Alpenkorps was immediately dispatched to reinforce the thinly occupied front line in the Dolomite mountains.

The Infanterie-Leib-Regiment suffered a number of losses in the mountain fighting in Romania, including one of its most prominent members, Prince Heinrich of Bavaria, a major and battalion commander.

In August 1917, the Alpenkorps returned to Romania and participated in the final battles there in the wake of the Kerensky Offensive.

In September 1917, the Alpenkorps was sent once more to the Italian Front to reinforce the Austro-Hungarian Army for the upcoming 12th Battle of the Isonzo.

By this point, the Royal Württemberg mountain battalion ("Königlich Württembergisches Gebirgsbataillon") had been attached to the division, and one of its members, the later-Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, would distinguish himself at Caporetto in November.

Another company commander who distinguished himself at Caporetto, the Infanterie-Leib-Regiment's Ferdinand Schörner, would also rise to Field Marshal in World War II.

The Alpenkorps was dissolved after the end of hostilities, but the traditions of its constituent regular units were carried on in the Reichswehr and then the Wehrmacht.