The 41st Division (''41. 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 established on October 1, 1912, in

Deutsch Eylau Deutsch ( , ) or Deutsche ( , ) may refer to: * or : the German language or in particular Standard German, spoken in central European countries and other places *Old High German language refers to Deutsch as a way to define the primary characteris ...

(now Iława, Poland). The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XX Army Corps (''XX. 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 ...

. It was mainly recruited in the Prussian province of

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Pre-World War I organization

The organization of the 37th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows: *72. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Grolmann (1. Posensches) Nr. 18 **Infanterie-Regiment Freiherr Hiller von Gaertringen (4. Posensches) Nr. 59 *74. Infanterie-Brigade **5. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 148 **Deutsch Ordens-Infanterie-Regiment (1. Elsässisches) Nr. 152 *41. Kavallerie-Brigade **Kürassier-Regiment Herzog Friedrich Eugen von Württemberg (Westpreußisches) Nr. 5 **Ulanen-Regiment von Schmidt (1. Pommersches) Nr. 4 *41. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Westpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 35 **3. Ostpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 79

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 41st Division was renamed the 41st Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows: *72. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Grolmann (1. Posensches) Nr. 18 **Infanterie-Regiment Freiherr Hiller von Gaertringen (4. Posensches) Nr. 59 *74. Infanterie-Brigade **5. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 148 **Deutsch Ordens-Infanterie-Regiment (1. Elsässisches) Nr. 152 *Dragoner-Regiment König Albert von Sachsen (Ostpreußisches) Nr. 10 *41. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Westpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 35 **3. Ostpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 79 *2.Kompanie/Masurisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 26 *3.Kompanie/Masurisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 26

Combat chronicle

The 41st Infantry Division began World War I on the Eastern Front. It participated in the battles of Tannenberg and 1st Masurian Lakes. In 1916, it saw action in the

Romanian Campaign The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, before reentering the war on 10 ...

. The division was transferred to the Western Front in February 1917. It occupied the trenchlines in 1917, and participated in 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 called the Third Battle of Champagne. In 1918 participated 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 ...

. In the subsequent Allied counteroffensives, the division fought in the Meuse-Argonne. Allied intelligence rated the division a second class division.

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 41st Infantry Division was triangularized in May 1915. 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 41st Infantry Division's order of battle on March 31, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *74. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Grolmann (1. Posensches) Nr. 18 **5. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 148 **Deutsch Ordens-Infanterie-Regiment (1. Elsässisches) Nr. 152 *4. Eskadron/Dragoner-Regiment König Albert von Sachsen (Ostpreußisches) Nr. 10 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 41: **3. Ostpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 79 **II. Bataillon/2. Pommersches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 15 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 26: **1.Kompanie/Masurisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 26 **2.Kompanie/Masurisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 26 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 41 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 41

References

41.Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1914/1918)
* 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 The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919'' (1920
online

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:41 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1912 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1912 establishments in Germany 1919 disestablishments in Germany