The 4th Division (''4. Division'') was a unit of the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. It was formed in

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on September 5, 1818. The headquarters moved to Stargard (now Stargard Szczeciński,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) in 1820, where it stayed until 1852. In 1852, the headquarters moved to its final destination, Bromberg (now

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with mor ...

). From the corps' formation in 1820, the division was subordinated in peacetime to the II Army Corps (''II. Armeekorps''). The 4th Division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The 4th Division and its regiments fought in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

against

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in 1866, including the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königg ...

. The division then fought in the Franco-Prussian War against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1870-71. It saw action in the

Battle of Gravelotte The Battle of Gravelotte (or Battle of Gravelotte–St. Privat) on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle of the Franco-Prussian War. Named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine, it was fought about west of Metz, where on the previous day, h ...

, the siege of Metz, and the siege of Paris, among other actions.Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' In World War I, the 4th Division served initially on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

, seeing action in the invasion of Belgium, the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

and the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...

. The division was then transferred to the Eastern Front, where it fought in several campaigns, including the recapture of

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

in 1915. It then returned to the Western Front, where it saw action in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. After Verdun, it occupied various positions on the line on the Western Front. In 1918, it took part in the German spring offensive, including the Battle of Picardy and the Battle of the Lys (also known as the Lys Offensive or the Fourth Battle of Ypres).

1870 organization

During wartime, the 4th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 4th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *7. Infanterie-Brigade: **Colbergsches-Grenadier-Regiment (2. Pommersches) Nr. 9 **6. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 49 *8. Infanterie-Brigade: **4. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 21 **8. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 61 *Dragoner-Regiment von Wedel (Pommersches) Nr. 11

Pre–World War I organization

Many regiments were renamed and assigned to different divisions during the period from 1871 to 1914. Among other changes, the 3rd and 4th Divisions swapped the Colberg Grenadiers and the 14th Infantry Regiment, and the regiments of the 8th Infantry Brigade joined the newly formed 35. Division in 1890. In 1914, the peacetime organization of the 4th Division was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 58-59 *7. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment Graf Schwerin (3. Pommersches) Nr. 14 **6. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 149 *8. Infanterie-Brigade: **6. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 49 **4. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 140 *4. Kavallerie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment zu Pferde Freiherr von Derfflinger (Neumärkisches) Nr. 3 **Dragoner-Regiment von Arnim (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 12 *4. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **2. Pommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 17 **Hinterpommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 53

August 1914 organization

On mobilization in August 1914 at the beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, most divisional cavalry, including brigade headquarters, was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from their higher headquarters. The 4th Division was again renamed the 4th Infantry Division. The 4th Infantry Division's initial wartime organization was as follows: *7. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment Graf Schwerin (3. Pommersches) Nr. 14 **6. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 149 *8. Infanterie-Brigade: **6. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 49 **4. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 140 *Dragoner-Regiment von Arnim (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 12 *4. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **2. Pommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 17 **Hinterpommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 53 *2. Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2 *3. Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2

Late World War I organization

Divisions underwent many changes during the war, with regiments moving from division to division, and some being destroyed and rebuilt. During the war, most divisions became

triangular A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- collinea ...

- one infantry brigade with three infantry regiments rather than two infantry brigades of two regiments (a "

square division A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four "maneuver," i.e., infantry regimental elements. Other types of regiments, such as artillery ...

"). An artillery commander replaced the artillery brigade headquarters, the cavalry was further reduced, the engineer contingent was increased, and a divisional signals command was created. The 4th Infantry Division's order of battle on January 26, 1918, was as follows: *8. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment Graf Schwerin (3. Pommersches) Nr. 14 **6. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 49 **4. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 140 **MG-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 9 *2.Eskadron/Grenadier-Regiment zu Pferde Freiherr von Derfflinger (Neumärkisches) Nr. 3 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 4: **Hinterpommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 53 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 48 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 114: **2./Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2 **5./Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 4 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 4

References

* Claus von Bredow, bearb., ''Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deutschen Heeres'' (1905) * Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * A. Niemann, ''Der französische Feldzug 1870-1871'' (Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Hildburghausen, 1871) * Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939'', Bd. 1 (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993) * ''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914) * ''Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914–1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919'' (1920)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:4th Division (German Empire) Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1818 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Bydgoszcz