The 29th Division (''29. 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 ...

, almost entirely made up of troops from the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. It was formed in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

on 1 July 1871. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XIV Army Corps (''XIV. Armeekorps''). The 29th 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, along with the other division of the XIV Army Corps, the 28th Division, was formed in the Grand Duchy of Baden, a member state of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. Both divisions grew out of the Grand Ducal Baden Division (''Großherzoglich Badische Division''), the army of the grand duchy. The Grand Ducal Baden Division had fought against Prussia 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 ...

, but after Prussia's victory Baden and most other German states had entered into conventions subordinating their armies to Prussia's. The Grand Ducal Baden Division served 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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1870-71, where its regiments saw action in the

Siege of Strasbourg The siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870. After the German victory at Wörth, troops from the Grand Duchy of Baden under Prussian General ...

and the

Battle of the Lisaine The Battle of the Lisaine, also known as the Battle of Héricourt, was fought from 15 January to 17 January 1871 between German and French forces. The French were led by Charles Denis Bourbaki, and were attempting to relieve the Siege of Belf ...

. In peacetime, the 29th Division was stationed in southern Baden (the 28th covered northern Baden), with garrisons in southern Baden and across the Rhine in Alsace. In World War I, the division served on the Western Front, seeing action at 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 moving north during 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 participated in some of the more well-known battles and campaigns of the Western Front, including 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 ...

, the later phases of 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 ...

, the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne ( or , 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a French Third Republic, Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the German Empire, German armies in France. The Entente ...

(also known as the Third Battle of Champagne and to the Germans as the Double Battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne), and against the Allied

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 ...

Pre-World War I organization

Before World War I, the division was larger than most, having three rather than two infantry brigades. The structure in 1914 was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 93-94. *57. Infanterie-Brigade: **5. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 113 **6. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Friedrich III Nr. 114 *58. Infanterie-Brigade: **4. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Wilhelm Nr. 112 **7. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 142 *84. Infanterie-Brigade: **8. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 169 **9. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 170 *29. Kavallerie-Brigade: **3. Badisches Dragoner-Regiment Prinz Karl Nr. 22 **Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 5 *29. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **2. Badisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 30 **5. Badisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 76

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 (the 29th Cavalry Brigade headquarters was dissolved and its two regiments divided among divisions). Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from their higher headquarters. The 29th Division was renamed the 29th Infantry Division. It kept all three infantry brigades and was thus much larger than most infantry divisions. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *57. Infanterie-Brigade: **5. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 113 **6. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Friedrich III Nr. 114 *58. Infanterie-Brigade: **4. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Wilhelm Nr. 112 **7. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 142 *84. Infanterie-Brigade: **8. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 169 **9. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 170 *3. Badisches Dragoner-Regiment Prinz Karl Nr. 22 *29. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **2. Badisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 30 **5. Badisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 76 *1./Badisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 14

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 ...

"). The 84th Infantry Brigade was detached to form the core of the 52nd Infantry Division in March 1915. The 57th Infantry Brigade headquarters and the 114th Infantry Regiment were detached to form the infantry base of the 212th Infantry Division in September 1916. 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 29th Infantry Division's order of battle on 1 January 1918 was as follows: *58. Infanterie-Brigade: **4. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Wilhelm Nr. 112 **5. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 113 **7. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 142 *4. Eskadron/Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 5 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 67: **2. Badisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 30 **II. Bataillon/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 9 (from 15.VI.1918) *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 130: *1./Badisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 14 *5./Badisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 14 *Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 29 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 29

References

29. Infanterie-Division
* Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937). English translation: ''Imperial German Army, 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders of Battle''. Helion & Company, 2007. , 9781874622291, 414 pages.

External links

Source book: operations of the 29th Division east of the Meuse river, October 8th to 30th, 1918
(1922)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:29 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1871 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1871 establishments in Germany 1919 disestablishments in Germany