The 1st Division (1. Division) was a unit of the Prussian/GermanArmy.[1] It was formed in Königsberg in March 1816 as a Troop Brigade (Truppen-Brigade).[2][3] It became the 1st Division on September 5, 1818.[4] From the corps' formation in 1820, the division was subordinated in peacetime to I Army Corps (I. Armeekorps).[5] The 1st Division was disbanded in 1919, during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.
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:[9]
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:[10]
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 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in August 1914, at the beginning of World War I, most divisional cavalry, including brigade headquarters, was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units.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 1st Division was again renamed the 1st Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization (major units) was as follows:[7]
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)
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"). 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:[7]
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)
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
^From the late 1800s, the Prussian Army was effectively the German Army, as during the period of German unification (1866–1871) the states of the German Empire entered into conventions with Prussia regarding their armies and only the Bavarian Army remained fully autonomous.
^Günter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815–1939. (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1, p. 90.
^Claus von Bredow, bearb., Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deutschen Heeres (1905), p.232
