The 12th Division (''12. 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 in Neiße (now

Nysa, Poland Nysa (german: Neisse or ''Neiße'', szl, Nysa) is a town in southwestern Poland on the Eastern Neisse (Polish language, Polish: ''Nysa Kłodzka'') river, situated in the Opole Voivodeship. With 43,849 inhabitants (2019), it is the capital of Ny ...

) on September 5, 1818. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the VI Army Corps (''VI. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was recruited primarily in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

, mainly in the region of

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

Combat chronicle

The 12th Division fought in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

in 1866, including the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrä ...

. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the division fought in several battles and engagements, including the Siege of Paris. In

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 served initially on the Western Front. It spent most of this period in various parts of the trenches and suffered heavily in the 1916

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. At the end of December 1916, it was sent to the Eastern Front, where it did not participate in any major actions. The division returned to the Western Front in May–June 1917. At the end of September 1917, it was sent to the Italian Front, where it fought in the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...

. After returning to the Western Front, the division saw action in the German spring offensive of 1918, including the Battle of the Lys, and the subsequent Allied counteroffensives, including the 1918 Battle of Cambrai.12. Infanterie-Division
/ref>''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), pp. 211-214. The division was rated as a good second-class division by Allied intelligence.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 12th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 12th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *23. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 22 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 62 *24. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 23 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 63 *Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 15

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. The organization of the 12th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 72-73. *23. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Keith (1. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 22 **3. Schlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 156 *24. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Winterfeldt (2. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 23 **3. Oberschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 62 *78. Infanterie-Brigade **4. Oberschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 63 **4. Schlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 157 *12. Kavallerie-Brigade **Husaren-Regiment von Schill (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 4 **Husaren-Regiment Graf Goetzen (2. Schlesisches) Nr. 6 *44. Kavallerie-Brigade **Ulanen-Regiment von Katzler (Schlesisches) Nr. 2 **Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 11 *12. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Clausewitz (1. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 21 **2. Oberschlesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 57

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 12th Division was again renamed the 12th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *24. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment von Winterfeldt (2. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 23 **3. Oberschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 62 *78. Infanterie-Brigade: **4. Oberschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.63 **4. Schlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 157 *Ulanen-Regiment von Katzler (Schlesisches) Nr. 2 *12. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Clausewitz (1. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 21 **2. Oberschlesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 57 *2. Kompanie/Schlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 6 *3. Kompanie/Schlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 6

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 12th Infantry Division's order of battle in 1918 was as follows: *24. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment von Winterfeldt (2. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 23 **3. Oberschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 62 **4. Oberschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 63 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 20 *4. Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment von Katzler (Schlesisches) Nr. 2 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 12: **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Clausewitz (1. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 21 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 88 *Schlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 6 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 12

References

12. Infanterie-Division - 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:12 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1818 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919