The 1st Division was a unit of the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

, the armed forces of Germany during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

Creation

In the Order of 31 July 1920 for the Reduction of the Army (to comply with the upper limits on the size of the military contained in the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

), it was determined that in every ''Wehrkreis'' (

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

) a division would be established by 1 October 1920. The 1st Division was formed in January 1921 out of the Reichswehr-Brigaden 1 and 20, both part of the former ''Übergangsheer'' (Transition Army). It consisted of 3 infantry regiments, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (Prussian) Infantry Regiments (1. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment; 2. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment; 3. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment). It also included the 1st (Prussian) Artillery Regiment (1. (Preußisches) Artillerie-Regiment), an engineering battalion, a signals battalion, a transportation battalion and a medical battalion. It was subordinated to Gruppenkommando 1. The commander of the Wehrkreis I was simultaneously the commander of the 1st Division.
For the leadership of the troops, an ''Infanterieführer'' and an ''Artillerieführer'' were appointed, both subordinated to the commander of the Division.

Organization

* 1. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment * 2. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment * 3. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment * 1. (Preußisches) Artillerie-Regiment * Pioneer Battalion * Signals Battalion * Transportation Battalion * Medical Battalion

Divisional commanders

General of the Infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...

Johannes von Dassel (1 October 1920 - 31 October 1923) *Generaloberst Wilhelm Heye (1 November 1923 - 31 October 1926) *General of the Infantry Friedrich Freiherr von Esebeck (1 November 1926 - 30 September 1929) *General of the Infantry Werner von Blomberg (1 October 1929 - 30 January 1933) *Generalleutnant

Walther von Brauchitsch Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch (4 October 1881 – 18 October 1948) was a German field marshal and the Commander-in-Chief (''Oberbefehlshaber'') of the German Army during World War II. Born into an aristocratic military family, ...

(1 February 1933 - 1 October 1934)

Infanterieführers

*Generalleutnant Johannes Ehrhardt (1 Oct 1920 - 1 Jan 1922) *Generalleutnant Hugo van den Bergh (11 Jan 1922 - 31 Jan 1924) *Generalmajor Robert Bürkner (1 Feb 1924 - 19 Mar 1925) *Generalmajor Hermann Niethammer (19 Mar 1925 - 31 Jan 1928) *Generalmajor Albert Fett (1 Feb 1928 - 31 Jan 1929) *Generalmajor Kurt Fischer (1 Feb 1929 - 31 Oct 1930) *Generalleutnant Karl Held (1 Nov 1930 - 30 Sep 1931) *Generalleutnant Karl von Roques (1 Oct 1931 - 31 Jan 1933) *Generalmajor Günther von Niebelschütz (1 Feb 1933 - 15 Oct 1935)Axis history
/ref> The unit ceased to exist as such after October 1934, and its subordinate units were transferred to the 11, 21 Divisions newly created in that year. The 1. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment provided the personnel for the infantry regiments of the 1st Infantry Division of the new Wehrmacht.

Garrisons

The divisional headquarters was in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

References

Feldgrau.com
{{Divisions of the Reichswehr Infantry divisions of Germany Military units and formations established in 1920 Military units and formations disestablished in 1934