The 26th Division (''26. Division''), formally the 26th Division (1st Royal Württemberg) (''26. Division (1. Königlich Württembergische)''), 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 headquartered in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, the capital of the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the

XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps The XIII (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps / XIII AK () was a corps of the Imperial German Army. It was, effectively, also the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which had been integrated in 1871 into the Prussian Army command structure, as had th ...

(''XIII. (Königlich Württembergisches) Armeekorps''). The 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 division was raised and recruited in the Kingdom of Württemberg.

Evolution of the 26th Division

The 26th Division was formed in 1817 as Württemberg's 1st Infantry Division. It was merged with Württemberg's 2nd Infantry Division on July 27, 1849, to form Württemberg's Infantry Division and was dissolved in 1868.Bredow, p.1124. The division was reestablished after the Franco-Prussian War on December 18, 1871, as the 26th Division (1st Royal Württemberg), taking its new numbering as part of the Prussian Army structure.

Combat chronicle

Although the 26th Division was not formed until 1871, its predecessors saw action 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 ...

of 1866 against Prussia and in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 on the side of Prussia against France. The Württemberg Infantry Division saw action in the Main campaign in 1866, suffering a reverse at

Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim () is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber (district), Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due t ...

. During the Franco-Prussian War, the Württemberg Field Division fought at the battles of

Wœrth Wœrth or Woerth (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The town, which lies some north of Strasbourg, is known for being the site of the Battle of Wörth, which took place on 6 August 187 ...

and Sedan, and then participated in the Siege of Paris and the

Battle of Villiers The Battle of Villiers, also called the Battle of Champigny, was the largest of the French sorties from besieged Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. Background After news reached Paris of the French defeat at the battle of Le Bourget and th ...

(November 30 and December 2, 1870). During World War I, the division initially served on the Western Front. In 1914, led by Duke Wilhelm von Urach, it fought in the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (; ; ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of French Third Republic, France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategy, milita ...

and then participated in the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from 17 September to 19 October 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German Empire, German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of ...

. It was then transferred to the Eastern Front, and fought in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive and the invasion of Serbia. It returned to the Western Front and fought in the

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 ...

in 1916 and the Battle of Arras in 1917. In late 1917, it was sent to the Italian Front, and fought in the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Kobarid (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto or the Battle of Karfreit) took place on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central P ...

. Returning to the Western Front, the division served in 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 ...

and the subsequent Allied counteroffensives, including the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class.

Pre-World War I organization

The organization of the 26th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 1161–1162. *51. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 119 **Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen (7. Württembergisches) Nr. 125 *52. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Alt-Württemberg (3. Württembergisches) Nr. 121 **Füsilier-Regiment Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122 *26. Kavallerie-Brigade **Dragoner-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 25 **Dragoner-Regiment König (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 26 *26. Feldartillerie-Brigade **2. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 29 Prinz-Regent Luitpold von Bayern **4. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 65

Order of battle on mobilization

On mobilization in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I, 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 26th Division was renamed the 26th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *51. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 119 **Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen (7. Württembergisches) Nr. 125 *52. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Alt-Württemberg (3. Württembergisches) Nr. 121 **Füsilier-Regiment Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122 *Ulanen-Regiment König Wilhelm I (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 20 *26. Feldartillerie-Brigade **2. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 29 Prinz-Regent Luitpold von Bayern **4. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 65 *1.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13

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 26th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 20, 1918, was as follows: *51. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 119 **Infanterie-Regiment Alt-Württemberg (3. Württembergisches) Nr. 121 **Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen (7. Württembergisches) Nr. 125 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 40 *2.Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 19 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 58: **Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold von Bayern (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 29 **II./Niederschlesisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 5 *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 143: **1.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 **5.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 26 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 26

References

26. Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1914/1918) – Der erste Weltkrieg (cached at the Internet Archive)
* Claus von Bredow, bearb., ''Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deutschen Heeres'' (1905) * ''Die 26. Infanterie-Division (1. Kgl. Württ.) im Krieg 1914 - 1918. Zusammengestellt im Divisonsstab'' (Stähle & Friedel, Stuttgart 1919) * 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:26 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1817 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919