The 1st Division (''1. Division'') was a unit of the

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

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

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

in March 1816 as a Troop Brigade (''Truppen-Brigade''). It became the 1st Division on September 5, 1818. From the corps' formation in 1820, the division was subordinated in peacetime to I Army Corps (''I. Armeekorps''). The 1st Division was disbanded in 1919, during the demobilization of the German Army after

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 1st Division and its regiments 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 ...

against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 1866, including the Battle of Königgrätz. The division then fought 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 ...

against France in 1870–71. Its regiments saw action in the

Battle of Noisseville The Battle of Noisseville on 31 August 1870 was fought during the Franco-Prussian War and ended in a Prussian victory. Traveling from Metz, the French forces under Marshal François Achille Bazaine attempted to break through the investing line of ...

, 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 ...

, the Siege of Metz, the Battle of Amiens, the Battle of Hallue, and the Battle of St. Quentin, among other actions.Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' In World War I, the division initially served on the Eastern Front, seeing action at the battles of

Stallupönen Nesterov (), until 1938 known by its German language, German name (; ) and in 1938-1946 as Ebenrode, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Nesterovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, locate ...

Gumbinnen Gusev (; ; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border with Poland and Lithuania, east of Chernyakhovsk. It is p ...

, and Tannenberg, and the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. The division then fought in the Battle of Łódź and in the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive of 1915. In March 1916, the 1st Infantry Division was transferred to the Western Front. One month later, it entered the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. After several months' hard fighting around

Fort Vaux Fort Vaux (), in Vaux-Devant-Damloup, Meuse (department), Meuse, France, was a polygonal fort forming part of the ring of 19 large defensive works intended to protect the city of Verdun. Built from 1881 to 1884 for 1,500,000 francs, it housed ...

, the division was withdrawn from the line and returned to the Eastern Front, where it arrived in August 1916. It then participated in the invasion of Romania, which had entered the war in 1916 on the Allied side. The division returned to Verdun at the end of 1917. In 1918, it took part in the

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 ...

, which the Germans referred to as the ''Kaiserschlacht'', the Second Battle of the Marne, and the Battle of the Hindenburg Line.

1870 organization

During wartime, the 1st Division, like other German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 1st Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: * 1st Infantry Brigade (''1. Infanterie-Brigade'') ** 1st Grenadier Regiment "Crown Prince" (1st East Prussian) (''Grenadier-Regiment Kronprinz (1. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 1'') ** 5th East Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 41 (''5. Ostpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 41'') * 2nd Infantry Brigade (''2. Infanterie-Brigade'') ** 2nd East Prussian Grenadier Regiment No. 3 (''2. Ostpreußisches Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3'') ** 6th East Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 43 (''6. Ostpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 43'') * 1st Dragoon Regiment (''Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 1'') * 1st Jäger Battalion (''Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 1'')

Pre-World War I organization

Many regiments were renamed and assigned to different divisions during the period from 1871 to 1914. In 1914, the peacetime organization of the 1st Division was as follows: * 1st Infantry Brigade (''1. Infanterie-Brigade'') ** 1st Grenadier Regiment "Crown Prince" (1st East Prussian) (''Grenadier-Regiment Kronprinz (1. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 1'') ** 41st Infantry Regiment "von Boyen" (5th East Prussian) (''Infanterie-Regiment von Boyen (5. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 41'') * 2nd Infantry Brigade (''2. Infanterie-Brigade'') ** 3rd Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm I" (2nd East Prussian) (''Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm I (2. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 3'') ** 43rd Infantry Regiment "Duke Karl of Mecklenburg" (6th East Prussian) (''Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Karl von Mecklenburg (6. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 43'') * 1st Cavalry Brigade (''1. Kavallerie-Brigade'') ** 3rd Cuirassier Regiment "Count Wrangel" (East Prussian) (''3. Kürassier-Regiment Graf Wrangel (Ostpreuß.)'' ** 1st Lithuanian Dragoon Regiment "Prince Albrecht of Prussia" (''Dragoner-Regiment Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (Litthau.) Nr. 1'')Despite the name, a Prussian unit. * 1st Field Artillery Brigade (''1. Feldartillerie-Brigade'') ** 16th Field Artillery Regiment (1st East Prussian) (''Feldartillerie-Regiment (1. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 16'') ** 52nd Field Artillery Regiment (2nd East Prussian) (''Feldartillerie-Regiment (2. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 52'')

August 1914 organization

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 1st Division was again renamed the 1st Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization (major units) was as follows: * 1st Infantry Brigade (''1. Infanterie-Brigade'') ** 1st Grenadier Regiment "Crown Prince" (1st East Prussian) (''Grenadier-Regiment Kronprinz (1. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 1'') ** 41st Infantry Regiment "von Boyen" (5th East Prussian) (''Infanterie-Regiment von Boyen (5. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 41'') * 2nd Infantry Brigade (''2. Infanterie-Brigade'') ** 3rd Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm I" (2nd East Prussian) (''Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm I (2. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 3'') ** 43rd Infantry Regiment "Duke Karl of Mecklenburg" (6th East Prussian) (''Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Karl von Mecklenburg (6. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 43'') * 8th Uhlan Regiment "Count zu Dohna" (East Prussian) (''Ulanen-Regiment Graf zu Dohna (Ostpreußisches) Nr. 8'') * 1st Field Artillery Brigade (''1. Feldartillerie-Brigade'') ** 16th Field Artillery Regiment (1st East Prussian) (''Feldartillerie-Regiment (1. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 16'') ** 52nd Field Artillery Regiment (2nd East Prussian) (''Feldartillerie-Regiment (2. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 52'') * 1st Company, 1st Engineer Battalion "Prince Radziwill" (East Prussian) (''1./Pionier-Bataillon Prinz Radziwill (Ostpreuß.) Nr. 1'')

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 - 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 1st Infantry Division's order of battle on February 19, 1918, was as follows: * 1st Infantry Brigade (''1. Infanterie-Brigade'') ** 1st Grenadier Regiment "Crown Prince" (1st East Prussian) (''Grenadier-Regiment Kronprinz (1. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 1'') ** 3rd Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm I" (2nd East Prussian) (''Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm I (2. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 3'') ** 43rd Infantry Regiment "Duke Karl of Mecklenburg" (6th East Prussian) (''Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Karl von Mecklenburg (6. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 43'') ** 31st Machine Gun Sharpshooter Detachment (''MG-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 31'') * 3rd Squadron, 8th Uhlan Regiment "Count zu Dohna" (East Prussian) (''3.Esk./Ulanen-Regiment Graf zu Dohna (Ostpreußisches) Nr. 8'') * Artillery Commander No. 1 (''Artillerie-Kommandeur 1'') ** 16th Field Artillery Regiment (1st East Prussian) (''Feldartillerie-Regiment (1. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 16'') ** 1st Battalion, 10th Lower Saxon Foot Artillery Regiment (''I.Bataillon/Niedersächsiches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 10'') * Staff, 110th Engineer Battalion (''Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 110'') ** 3rd Company, 1st Engineer Battalion "Prince Radziwill" (East Prussian) (''2./Pionier-Bataillon Prinz Radziwill (Ostpreuß.) Nr. 1'') ** 271st Engineer Company (''Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 271'') ** 1st Mortar Company (''Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 1'') * Divisional Signals Commander No. 1 (''Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 1'')

Notable commanders

* August Wilhelm Graf von Kanitz (1839–1842) - later Prussian Minister of War (1848) * August von Stockhausen (1848) - later Prussian Minister of War (1850–1851) * Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz (1857–1863) - later a

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...

* Julius von Verdy du Vernois (1883–1887) - military theorist, Prussian Minister of War (1889–1890)

References

1.Infanterie-Division
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1914–1918.info
* 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:1st 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