The 19th Division (''19. 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 ...

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 **Ge ...

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

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the X Army Corps (''X. 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 ...

Recruitment

During the Franco-Prussian War, the division was a mixed unit, with Hannoverian, Oldenburg and Westphalian elements. It was subsequently reorganized so that it was recruited primarily from the former Kingdom of Hannover, which had become the Prussian

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position ...

after 1866, along with

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

, a grand duchy mostly surrounded by the Prussian province. Among the division's units were several that perpetuated the traditions of the King's German Legion, a British Army unit of the Napoleonic Wars.

Combat chronicle

During the Franco-Prussian War, the 19th Infantry Division fought in the battles of Mars-la-Tour 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 ...

, and then in the Siege of Metz. It then fought in the Loire Campaign, including the battles of

Beaune-la-Rolande Beaune-la-Rolande () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. History On 28 November 1870 it was the site of a battle during the Franco-Prussian War, in which French impressionist painter Frédéric Bazille was killed. D ...

, Beaugency-Cravant, and Le Mans. In World War I, the 19th Infantry Division participated in the 1914

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 for ...

and the subsequent 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 Fro ...

, including 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 a ...

. It was sent to the Eastern Front in 1915 and again in 1916, seeing action in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive and the Russian Brusilov Offensive. It returned to the Western Front and, after a period in the trenches, saw action in the German 1918 Spring Offensive and the subsequent Allied counteroffensives, including the Hundred Days Offensive. The division was rated a first class division and regarded as one of the best German divisions by Allied intelligence.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 19th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 19th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *37. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 78 **Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 91 *38.Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 16 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 57 *Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 9

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. As noted above, the 19th Division was reorganized to become primarily a Hannover/Oldenburg unit. The organization of the 19th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 85-86. *37. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Friedrich Wilhelm von Braunschweig (Ostfriesisches) Nr. 78 **Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 91 *38.Infanterie-Brigade **Füsilier-Regiment Generalfeldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (Hannoversches) Nr. 73 ** 1. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 74 *19. Kavallerie-Brigade **Oldenburgisches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 19 **Königs-Ulanen-Regiment (1. Hannoversches) Nr. 13 *19. Feldartillerie-Brigade **2. Hannoversches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26 **Ostfriesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 62

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 19th Division was again renamed the 19th Infantry Division and its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *37. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Friedrich Wilhelm von Braunschweig (Ostfriesisches) Nr. 78 **Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 91 *38.Infanterie-Brigade **Füsilier Regiment Generalfeldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (Hannoversches) Nr. 73 **1. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 74 *3. Eskadron/Braunschweigisches Husaren-Regiment Nr. 17 *19. Feldartillerie-Brigade **2. Hannoversches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26 **Ostfriesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 62 *1.Kompanie/Hannoversches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 10

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 19th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 8, 1918, was as follows: *37. Infanterie-Brigade **1. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 74 **Infanterie-Regiment Herzog Friedrich Wilhelm von Braunschweig (Ostfriesisches) Nr. 78 **Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 91 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 30 *3.Eskadron/Braunschweigisches Husaren-Regiment Nr. 17 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 19 **2. Hannoversches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 93 *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 127 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 19

References

19. 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:19 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1866 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 19th Division