The 1st Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army that served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

. The division was formed on November 27, 1815, as the Infantry Division of the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

General Command (''Infanterie-Division des Generalkommandos München.''). It was called the 1st Army Division between 1822 and 1848, again between 1851 and 1859, and again from 1869 to 1872.Wegner, p. 660. It was called the 1st Infantry Division from 1848 to 1851 (as well as during wartime) and was named the

General Command from 1859 to 1869. From April 1, 1872, until mobilization for World War I, it was the 1st Division. Within Bavaria, it was not generally referred to as a "Royal Bavarian" division, but outside Bavaria, this designation was used for it, and other Bavarian units, to distinguish them from similarly numbered Prussian units. The division was headquartered in Munich from 1815 to 1919. The division was part of the 1st Royal Bavarian Army Corps. The division fought against Prussia 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 ...

of 1866. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the division fought alongside the Prussians. It saw action in battles of Wörth,

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

, and Sedan, the 1st and 2nd battles of Orleans, the battle of Loigny-Poupry, and the siege of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. During World War I, the division served on the Western Front. It fought in the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (, , ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategies of the French Chief of Staff ...

against French forces in the early stages, and then participated in the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...

. Thereafter, it remained on the northern part of the front facing the British Army through 1915 and early 1916. The Infantry Life Regiment was transferred from the division in 1915 to become part of a provisional German mountain division, the

Alpenkorps The Alpenkorps was a provisional mountain formation of division size formed by the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was considered by the Allies to be one of the best in the German Army. Formation After experiencing considerable diffic ...

, sent to the Italian Front. In 1916, the division went into the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. After Verdun, it went to the Somme in that battle's later stages. 1917 was spent mainly occupying the trench lines. In 1918, the division participated in the German spring offensive. The division was generally rated one of the better German divisions by Allied intelligence.

Pre-World War I peacetime organization

In 1914, the peacetime organization of the 1st Royal Bavarian Division was as follows:''Militär-Handbuch des Königreich Bayerns'' (1914), pp. 20-21 *1st Royal Bavarian Infantry Brigade (''1. Königlich Bayerische Infanterie-Brigade'') **

Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment The Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment (') was a household- lifeguard (bodyguard) regiment of the Bavarian kings from the end of the Napoleonic Wars until the fall of the Wittelsbach monarchy and the subsequent disbanding of the Bavaria ...

(''Kgl. Bayer. Infanterie-Leib-Regiment'') ** Royal Bavarian 1st Infantry Regiment "King" (''Kgl. Bayer. 1. Infanterie-Regiment König'') *2nd Royal Bavarian Infantry Brigade (''2. Kgl. Bayer. Infanterie-Brigade'') ** Royal Bavarian 2nd Infantry Regiment "Crown Prince" (''Kgl. Bayer. 2. Infanterie-Regiment Kronprinz'') ** Royal Bavarian 16th Infantry Regiment "Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany" (''Kgl. Bayer. 16. Infanterie-Regiment Großherzog Ferdinand von Toskana'') *1st Royal Bavarian Cavalry Brigade (''1. Kgl. Bayer. Kavallerie-Brigade'') ** 1st Royal Bavarian Heavy Cavalry “Prince Charles of Bavaria” (''Kgl. Bayer. 1. Schweres Reiter-Regiment Prinz Karl von Bayern'') ** 2nd Royal Bavarian Heavy Cavalry "Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria" (''Kgl. Bayer. 2. Schweres Reiter-Regiment Erzherzog Franz-Ferdinand von Österreich-Este) *1st Royal Bavarian Field Artillery Brigade (''1. Kgl. Bayer. Feldartillerie-Brigade'') ** Royal Bavarian 1st Field Artillery Regiment "Prince Regent Luitpold" (''Kgl. Bayer. 1. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold'') ** Royal Bavarian 7th Field Artillery Regiment "Prince Regent Luitpold" (''Kgl. Bayer. 7. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold'')

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 1st Division was renamed the 1st Bavarian Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization (major units) was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *1. Kgl. Bayer. Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayer. Infanterie-Leib-Regiment **Kgl. Bayer. 1. Infanterie-Regiment König *2. Kgl. Bayer. Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayer. 2. Infanterie-Regiment Kronprinz **Kgl. Bayer. 16. Infanterie-Regiment Großherzog Ferdinand von Toskana **Kgl. Bayer. 1. Jäger-Bataillon König *Kgl. Bayer. 8. Chevaulegers-Regiment *1. Kgl. Bayer. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayer. 1. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold **Kgl. Bayer. 7. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold **Kgl. Bayer. 10. Fußartillerie-Bataillon *1.Kompanie/Kgl. Bayer. 1. Pionier-Bataillon *3.Kompanie/Kgl. Bayer. 1. Pionier-Bataillon

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, and the engineer contingent was increased. Divisional signals commanders were established to better control communications, a major problem in coordinating infantry and artillery operations during the war. The division's order of battle on March 21, 1918, was as follows: *1. Kgl. Bayer. Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayer. 1. Infanterie-Regiment König **Kgl. Bayer. 2. Infanterie-Regiment Kronprinz **Kgl. Bayer. 24. Infanterie-Regiment **Kgl. Bayer. 4. MG-Scharfschützen-Abteilung *2.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayer. 8. Chevaulegers-Regiment *Kgl. Bayer. Artillerie-Kommandeur 1 **Kgl. Bayer. 1. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold **Kgl. Bayer. 9. Fußartillerie-Bataillon *Stab Kgl. Bayer. 1. Pionier-Bataillon **Kgl. Bayer. 1. Pionier-Kompanie **Kgl. Bayer. 3. Pionier-Kompanie **Kgl. Bayer. 3. Minenwerfer-Kompanie *Kgl. Bayer. 1. Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur

History

At the beginning of the First World War, the division was mobilized under the command of the 6th Army, on the Western Front.

Notable commanders

Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria ''Leopold Charles Joseph William Louis'' , image_size = , image = Luitpold Wittelsbach cropped.jpg , succession = Prince Regent of Bavaria , reign = 10 June 1886 – 12 December 1912 , reign-type = Tenure , regent = Ludw ...

(1856–1861) *

Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen Ludwig Samson Heinrich Arthur Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen (18 June 181526 April 1881) was a Bavarian general. Early life Born in Darmstadt, on the day of Waterloo, Ludwig was a descendant from the old family of von der Tann, whi ...

(1861–1869) - A senior Bavarian field commander in the Franco-Prussian War *

Prince Leopold of Bavaria Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf; 9 February 1846 – 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825–1864). He ...

(1881–1887) - Later a

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by (the) Rhine (''Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand''; English: ''Robert Maria Leopold Ferdinand''; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last hei ...

(1904–1906) - Later a

* Otto Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein (1906–1910) - Bavarian Minister of War, 1912–1916

References

1.Bayerische-Infanterie-Division
a
1914-18.info
* Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937) * ''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:1st Royal Bavarian Division Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations of Bavaria Military units and formations established in 1815 1815 establishments in Bavaria 1919 disestablishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1919