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20th Army Corps (Russian Empire)

Field	Value
unit_name	20th Army Corps
dates	1899–1917
country	Russian Empire
branch	Russian Empire Imperial Russian Army
garrison	Riga
battles	World War I
disbanded	1917
notable_commanders	See "Commanders" section

Eastern Front
- Battle of Tannenberg
- Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes The Twentieth Army Corps () was a formation of the Imperial Russian Army that was first raised in 1899, and most famous for fighting on the Eastern Front in World War I, most notably during the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes. Before World War I, the 20th Corps was stationed in the Vilna Military District with its headquarters in Riga. At the outbreak of the war, the corps consisted of two infantry divisions and a number of independent battalions and brigades. Many Lithuanians served in this unit with the 28th Division having particularly many Lithuanians, especially in the 109th and 111th Infantry Regiments. Some regiments in this Corps were 80% Latvian. The corps was demobilized in April 1917.

Formation

In 1899, the corps was formed from the 29th and 45th Infantry Divisions. It was under the command of Lieutenant general Richard Troyanovich Meves. [[File:Ostfront 18021915.jpg|180px|thumb|left|Actions during the winter battle at the Masurian Lakes.]]

World War I

During the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, the 20th Army Corps was led by General Pavel Illyich Bulgakov. On February 7, in the middle of a snowstorm, Fritz von Below's German Eighth Army launched a surprise attack, advancing 70 mi within one week. They inflicted severe casualties on the Imperial Russian Army, resulting in its disorderly withdrawal with many of its soldiers being imprisoned. The greatest loss came when the 20th Army Corps was surrounded by the German Tenth Army in the Augustów Forest. Although many fought their way out, the Corps' remnants surrendered on February 21. A large number of Latvian soldiers were killed, wounded or captured during this battle. This influenced the decision of the Imperial Russian Army to establish the Latvian Riflemen.

Composition

Shortly before the outbreak of World War I, on 1 January 1913, the 20th Army Corps comprised the following units:

Division	Brigade	Regiment	Battalion
[28th Infantry Division](28th-infantry-division-russian-empire)	1st Brigade
2nd Brigade
28th Artillery Brigade
[29th Infantry Division](29th-infantry-division-russian-empire)	1st Brigade	[113th Infantry Regiment](113th-infantry-regiment-russian-empire)
2nd Brigade
29th Artillery Brigade
—
—			20th Howitzer Artillery Battalion
1st Heavy Artillery Battalion
20th Sapper Battalion
1st Pontoon Battalion
2nd Pontoon Battalion
2nd Cadre Supply-Train Battalion
1st Siege Engineer Park

At different times during the war, the 20th Corps was part of several different field armies, including the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 10th.

Commanders

The 20th corps was led by the following commanders throughout its existence:

Appointed	Commander	Dismissed
1899	Lieutenant General Richard Troyanovich Meves	22 February 1901
? 1901	Cavalry General Semyon Vasilyevich Kakhanov	? 1904
12 January 1905	Lieutenant General Woldemar von Boeckmann	11 June 1906
28 June 1908	Infantry General Vladimir Vasilyevich Smirnov	December 1914
December 1914	Lieutenant General Pavel Bulgakov	February 1915
March 1915	Infantry General Alexander Ievreinov	April 1917
April 1917	Lieutenant General Alexander Yakovich Elshin	April 1917?

Citations

Notes

References

Pociūnas, Arvydas. (2008). "Kauno tvirtovės gynyba 1915 metais". [[General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania]].
Mangulis, Visvaldis. (1983). "Latvia in the wars of the 20th century". Cognition Books.
"20-й армейский корпус".
[http://mentalfloss.com/article/61535/wwi-centennial-winter-battle-masurian-lakes WWI Centennial: Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes] Posted 9 February 2015.

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