Indeed. The Germans, like the rest of Europe, had a mass army. Every boy went into the army when he reached military age, and when he finished his time with the colors was discharged into the Reserves and continued to train on weekends and summers with other men his age. These men were aggregated into larger and larger units, so the German army had one battle-ready Reserve corps for every Active corps. The men in the Reserve corps were older than the men in the Active corps, of course.
The Germans were on the offensive at the beginning of the war, with the Active corps leading and the Reserve corps following. When the Reservists reached the battlefield, they found the bodies of the younger men. The Germans called this part of the war the Kindermort -- the Child Killing.
The Germans were on the offensive at the beginning of the war, with the Active corps leading and the Reserve corps following. When the Reservists reached the battlefield, they found the bodies of the younger men. The Germans called this part of the war the Kindermort -- the Child Killing.

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