The 31st Division (''31. 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 on March 20, 1871, and was headquartered in

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(now Strasbourg, France) until 1912, and then in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XV Army Corps (''XV. Armeekorps'') until 1912, and then to the

XXI Army Corps 21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22. The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar. Mathematics Twenty-one is the fifth distinct semiprime, and the second of the form 3 \times q whe ...

(''XXI. 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 recruited primarily in the southern part of the Rhine Province, but during

also drew replacements from Westphalia.

Combat chronicle

The division began World War I on the Western Front. It saw action 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 in the

Race for 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 advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and ...

. In January 1915, it was transferred to the Eastern Front, where it remained until December 1917. It fought in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive in 1915. After returning to the Western Front, it participated 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 ...

, including the Battle of the Lys. In September 1918, it faced an American/French offensive in the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12 to 15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States again ...

. The division was rated as third class by Allied intelligence.

Pre-World War I organization

The organization of the 31st Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows: *32. Infanterie-Brigade **8. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 70 **10. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 174 *62. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Markgraf Carl (7. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 60 **2. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 137 **Infanterie-Regiment Hessen-Homburg Nr. 166 *31. Kavallerie-Brigade **Westfälisches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 7 **Ulanen-Regiment Großherzog Friedrich von Baden (Rheinisches) Nr. 7 *31. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Unter-Elsässisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 31 **2. Unter-Elsässisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 67 *Landwehr-Inpsektion Saarbrücken

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 31st Division was redesignated the 31st Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows: *32. Infanterie-Brigade **8. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 70 **10. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 174 *62. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Markgraf Carl (7. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 60 **2. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 137 **Infanterie-Regiment Hessen-Homburg Nr. 166 *Ulanen-Regiment Großherzog Friedrich von Baden (Rheinisches) Nr. 7 *31. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Unter-Elsässisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 31 **2. Unter-Elsässisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 67 *1.Kompanie/2. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 27

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 31st Infantry Division's order of battle on January 1, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *32. Infanterie-Brigade **8. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 70 **Infanterie-Regiment Hessen-Homburg Nr. 166 **10. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 174 *5.Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment Großherzog Friedrich von Baden (Rheinisches) Nr. 7 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 31: **1. Unter-Elsässisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 31 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 44 (from June 22, 1918) *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 93: **1.Kompanie/2. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 27 **3.Reserve-Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 32 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 31 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 31

References

31. Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1914/1918) - 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)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:31 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