The 16th Division (''16. 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 as the 15th Division on September 5, 1818, in

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

from a troop brigade. It became the 16th Division on December 14, 1818, and moved its headquarters to

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the VIII Army Corps (''VIII. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. It was mainly recruited in the densely populated Prussian

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

, mainly along the Rhine and the cities and towns along the Moselle River.

Combat chronicle

The 16th 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, seeing action in 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 the

Battle of Spicheren The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the ''Battle of Forbach'', was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz. The Battle of Spicheren, on 6 August, was the second o ...

, the

Battle of Mars-la-Tour The Battle of Mars-la-Tour (also known as the Battle of Vionville or Battle of Rezonville) was fought on 16 August 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, near the village of Mars-La-Tour in northeast France. One Prussian corps, reinforced by t ...

, the

Battle of Gravelotte The Battle of Gravelotte (or Battle of Gravelotte–St. Privat) on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle of the Franco-Prussian War. Named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine, it was fought about west of Metz, where on the previous day, ha ...

(also called the Battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat) and the Siege of Metz, and then in the battles of

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, Hallue, and St. Quentin. During World War I, the division marched through Luxembourg, Belgium and France, in what became known to the Allies as the

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 ...

, culminating in 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 ...

. In 1916, it fought in the

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 ...

. The division was briefly sent to the Eastern Front in late 1916. It saw action in 1917 in the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. It participated in the 1918 German spring offensive, including the Battle of the Lys, and defended against the Allied counteroffensives, including the

Second Battle of the Somme The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to th ...

. The 16th Infantry Division was a highly regarded division early in the war, known as the Iron Division, but by 1918 Allied intelligence rated it a second class division.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 16th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 16th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *31. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 29 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 69 *32. Infanterie-Brigade **Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 40 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 72 *Husaren-Regiment Nr. 9

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. The 16th Division received a new infantry brigade, the 80th, in 1897. It lost the 32nd Infantry Brigade, whose recruiting area was outside the Rhineland. The 15th Division's 30th Infantry Brigade then went to the 16th Division in exchange for the 80th Infantry Brigade. The organization of the 16th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 80-81. *30. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment von Goeben (2. Rheinisches) Nr. 28 **6. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 68 *31. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment von Horn (3. Rheinisches) Nr. 29 **7. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 69 *16. Kavallerie-Brigade **Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 7 **Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 8 *16. Feldartillerie-Brigade **2. Rheinisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 23 **Triersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 44

Order of battle on mobilization

On mobilization in August 1914 at the beginning of

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 ...

, 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 16th Division was again renamed the 16th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *30. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment von Goeben (2. Rheinisches) Nr. 28 **6. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 68 *31. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment von Horn (3. Rheinisches) Nr. 29 **7. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 69 *Husaren-Regiment König Wilhelm I. (1. Rheinisches) Nr. 7 *16. Feldartillerie-Brigade: **2. Rheinisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 23 **Triersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 44 *2.Kompanie/1. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 8 *3.Kompanie/1. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 8

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 16th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 25, 1918, was as follows: *30. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment von Goeben (2. Rheinisches) Nr. 28 **Infanterie-Regiment von Horn (3. Rheinisches) Nr. 29 **6. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 68 *1.Eskadron/Husaren-Regiment König Wilhelm I. (1. Rheinisches) Nr. 7 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 16: **2. Rheinisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 23 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 32 *Stab/1. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 8 **2.Kompanie/1. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 8 **3.Kompanie/1. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 8 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 169 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 16

References

16. 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:16 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1818 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919