The 18th Division (''18. Division'') was a unit of the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. It was formed on October 11, 1866, and was headquartered in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the IX Army Corps (''IX. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The division was recruited primarily in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

Combat chronicle

In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the 18th Infantry Division saw action in the battles of Colombey and

Gravelotte Gravelotte (; german: Gravelotte) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019). From 1871 u ...

and in the Siege of Metz. After the

Battle of Noiseville The Battle of Noisseville on 31 August 1870 was fought during the Franco-Prussian War and ended in a Prussian victory. Traveling from Metz, the French forces under Marshal François Achille Bazaine attempted to break through the investing line o ...

, the division entered the Loire campaign, fighting in the battles of 2nd Orléans, Beaugency-Cravant, and

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

. During the opening phases of World War I, the 18th Infantry Division participated in the

Battle of Liège A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, the Allied

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...

, the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

, and the

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated aft ...

. In 1916, it saw action in the Somme, and in 1917 it was involved in the Battles of

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

and Passchendaele. In 1918, it participated in the German spring offensive 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 Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

. Allied intelligence rated it a first class division.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 18th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 18th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *35. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 25 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 84 *36. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 11 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 85 *Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 9 *Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 6

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. The organization of the 18th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 83–84. *35. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Manstein (Schleswigsches) Nr. 84 **Füsilier-Regiment Königin (Schleswig-Holsteinisches) Nr. 86 *36. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Graf Bose (1. Thüringisches) Nr. 31 **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog von Holstein (Holsteinisches) Nr. 85 *18. Kavallerie-Brigade: **Husaren-Regiment Königin Wilhelmina der Niederlande (Hannoversches) Nr. 15 **Husaren-Regiment Kaiser Franz Joseph von Österreich, König von Ungarn (Schleswig-Holsteinisches) Nr. 16 *18. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **Feldartillerie-Regiment General-Feldmarschall Graf Waldersee (Schleswigsches) Nr. 9 **Lauenburgisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 45 *Landwehr-Inspektion Altona

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. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from their higher headquarters. The 18th Division was again renamed the 18th Infantry Division. The 18th Infantry Division's initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *35. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Manstein (Schleswigsches) Nr. 84 **Füsilier-Regiment Königin (Schleswig-Holsteinisches) Nr. 86 *36. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Graf Bose (1. Thüringisches) Nr. 31 **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog von Holstein (Holsteinisches) Nr. 85 *3. Eskadron/2. Hannoversches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 16 *18. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **Feldartillerie-Regiment General-Feldmarschall Graf Waldersee (Schleswigsches) Nr. 9 **Lauenburgisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 45 *2. Kompanie/Schleswig-Holsteinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 9 *3. Kompanie/Schleswig-Holsteinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 9

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 edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- collinea ...

- 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 artillery, ...

"). 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 18th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 8, 1918, was as follows: *36. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Graf Bose (1. Thüringisches) Nr. 31 **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog von Holstein (Holsteinisches) Nr. 85 **Füsilier-Regiment Königin (Schleswig-Holsteinisches) Nr. 86 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 48 *2.Eskadron/2. Hannoversches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 16 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 18 **Lauenburgisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 45 **II.Bataillon/Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 28 *Stab Schleswig-Holsteinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 9 **2. Kompanie/Schleswig-Holsteinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 9 **3. Kompanie/Schleswig-Holsteinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 9 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 18 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 18

References

18. 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:18 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1866 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1866 establishments in Prussia