The 11th Division (''11. Division'') was a unit of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. It was formed in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) in November 1816 as a brigade, and became the 11th Division on September 5, 1818. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the VI Army Corps (''VI. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was recruited primarily in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

, mainly in the region of

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

Combat chronicle

The 11th Division's 21st Infantry Brigade served in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

against Denmark in 1864. The division fought in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

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: Königgrä ...

. In the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870–71, the division fought in several battles, including the Siege of Toul and the Siege of Paris. In

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the division served on the Western Front. It spent most of the war in various parts of the trenches and fought in the 1916

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. Allied intelligence rated it a second class division.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 11th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 11th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *21. Infanterie Brigade ** Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 10 ** Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 18 *22. Infanterie Brigade ** Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 38 ** Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 51 *Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 9 *Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 8

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. The organization of the 11th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 71-72. *21. Infanterie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm II. (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 10 **Füsilier-Regiment General-Feldmarschall Graf Moltke (Schlesisches) Nr. 38 *22. Infanterie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich III. (2. Schlesisches) Nr. 11 **4. Niederschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51 *11. Kavallerie-Brigade **Leib-Kürassier-Regiment Großer Kurfürst (Schlesisches) Nr. 1 **Dragoner-Regiment König Friedrich III. (2. Schlesisches) Nr. 8 *11. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Peucker (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 6 **2. Schlesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 42 *Landwehr-Inspektion Breslau

Order of battle on mobilization

On mobilization in August 1914 at the beginning of

, 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 11th Division was again renamed the 11th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *21. Infanterie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm II. (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 10 **Füsilier-Regiment General-Feldmarschall Graf Moltke (Schlesisches) Nr. 38 *22. Infanterie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich III. (2. Schlesisches) Nr. 11 **4. Niederschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51 *Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 11 *11. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Peucker (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 6 **2. Schlesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 42 *1. Kompanie/Schlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 6

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 corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimensional ...

- 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 artiller ...

"). 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 11th Infantry Division's order of battle in 1918 was as follows: *21. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 10 **Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 38 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51 *2. Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 2 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 11 **Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 42 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 131 *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 122 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 11

References

11. Infanterie-Division - Der erste Weltkrieg
* Claus von Bredow, (1905) * Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937) * Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939.'' (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1 * ''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:11 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1818 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919