The 20th Division (''20. 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

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

. 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, Brunswick 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 the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

Combat chronicle

During the Franco-Prussian War, the 20th 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 u ...

, 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 ...

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and 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 ...

. In World War I in 1914, the 20th Infantry Division fought in 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 ...

, including the Battle of St. Quentin and 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 ...

. It was sent to the Eastern Front in 1915 and again twice more, 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 Battle of Passchendaele and the German 1918 Spring Offensive. The division was rated a first class division by Allied intelligence.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 20th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 20th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *39. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 17 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 56 *40. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 70 **Braunschweigisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 92 *Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 10 *Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 16

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. As noted above, the 20th Division was reorganized to become primarily a Hannover/Brunswick unit. The organization of the 20th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 86-87. *39. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Voigts-Rhetz (3. Hannoversches) Nr. 79 **4. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 164 *40.Infanterie-Brigade **2. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 77 **Braunschweigisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 92 *20.Kavallerie-Brigade **2. Hannoversches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 16 **Braunschweigisches Husaren-Regiment Nr. 17 *20. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Scharnhorst (1. Hannoversches) Nr. 10 **Niedersächsisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 46 *Landwehr-Inspektion Hannover

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 20th Division was again renamed the 20th Infantry Division and its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *39. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Voigts-Rhetz (3. Hannoversches) Nr. 79 **4. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 164 **Hannoversches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 10 *40.Infanterie-Brigade **2. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 77 **Braunschweigisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 92 *Stab und "1/2"-Regiment/Braunschweigisches Husaren-Regiment Nr. 17 *20. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Scharnhorst (1. Hannoversches) Nr. 10 **Niedersächsisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 46 *2.Kompanie/Hannoversches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 10 *3.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 20th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 20, 1918, was as follows: *40. Infanterie-Brigade **2. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 77 **Infanterie-Regiment von Voigts-Rhetz (3. Hannoversches) Nr. 79 **Braunschweigisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 92 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 32 *5.Eskadron/Braunschweigisches Husaren-Regiment Nr. 17 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 20 **Niedersächsisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 46 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 155 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 10 **2.Kompanie/Hannoversches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 10 **3.Kompanie/Hannoversches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 10 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 20 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 20

References

20. 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:20 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