The 14th Division (''14. 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 November 1816 in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

as a troop brigade and became the 14th Division on September 5, 1818, also relocating its headquarters to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the VII Army Corps (''VII. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was recruited in the Prussian

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

and the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

, primarily in the densely populated Lower Rhine region.

Combat chronicle

The 14th 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, seeing action in 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 and engagements, including the

Battle of Spicheren The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the ''Battle of Forbach'', was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz. The Battle of Spicheren, on 6 August, was the second of ...

, the

Battle of Borny-Colombey A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

(also called the Battle of Colombey-Nouilly), and 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, ha ...

(also called the Battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat), as well as the Siege of Metz. During

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 participated in the initial German drive through Belgium and France, including the

Battle of Liège The Battle of Liège (5–16 August 1914) was the opening engagement of the German invasion of Belgium and the first battle of the First World War. The city of Liège was protected by a ring of modern fortresses, one of several fortified cities ...

and culminating in the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by oc ...

. After a period of trench warfare in various parts of the line, the division went to Verdun in 1916. During the 1918

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

, the division fought in the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne () was part of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in French Third Republic, France. It w ...

. Allied intelligence rated it a second class division, noted for tenacity on the defense.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 14th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 14th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *27. Infanterie Brigade ** Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 39 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 74 *28. Infanterie Brigade ** Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 53 ** Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 77 *Husaren-Regiment Nr. 15

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. The organization of the 14th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 76-77. *27. Infanterie Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Freiherr von Sparr (3. Westfälisches) Nr. 16 **5. Westfälisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 53 *28. Infanterie Brigade **Niederrheinisches Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 39 **8. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 159 *79. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Vogel von Falckenstein (7. Westfälisches) Nr. 56 **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Ferdinand von Braunschweig (8. Westfälisches) Nr. 57 *14. Kavallerie-Brigade **2. Westfälisches Husaren-Regiment Nr. 11 **Westfälisches Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 5 *14. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Westfälisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 7 **Clevesches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 43 *Landwehr-Inspektion Düsseldorf

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 14th Division was again renamed the 14th Infantry Division and sent its 28th Infantry Brigade to the 14th Reserve Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *27. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment Freiherr von Sparr (3. Westfälisches) Nr. 16 **5. Westfälisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 53 *79. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment Vogel von Falckenstein (7. Westfälisches) Nr. 56 **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Ferdinand von Braunschweig (8. Westfälisches) Nr. 57 *3.Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment Hennigs von Treffenfeld (Altmärkisches) Nr. 16 *14. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **1. Westfälisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 7 **Klevesches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 43 *2. Kompanie/Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7 *3. Kompanie/Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7

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 14th Infantry Division's order of battle on February 19, 1918, was as follows: *79. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment Freiherr von Sparr (3. Westfälisches) Nr. 16 **Infanterie-Regiment Vogel von Falkenstein (7. Westfälisches) Nr. 56 **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Ferdinand von Braunschweig (8. Westfälisches) Nr. 57 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 23 *5.Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment Hennigs von Treffenfeld (Altmärkisches) Nr. 16 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 14: **Klevesches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 43 **I. Bataillon/Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 21 (from 09.04.1918) *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 124 **3./Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7 **5./Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 14 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 14

References

Sources

14. Infanterie-Division - Der erste Weltkrieg
* Claus von Bredow, bearb., ''Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deutschen Heeres'' (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) {{DEFAULTSORT:14 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1818 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1818 establishments in the German Confederation 1919 disestablishments in Germany