The 26th Division (''26. Division''), formally the 26th Division (1st Royal Württemberg) (''26. Division (1. Königlich Württembergische)''), 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 **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 headquartered in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, the capital of the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the

XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps The XIII (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps / XIII AK (german: XIII. (Königlich Württembergisches) Armee-Korps) was a corps of the Imperial German Army. It was, effectively, also the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which had been integrated in ...

(''XIII. (Königlich Württembergisches) 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 ...

. The division was raised and recruited in the Kingdom of Württemberg.

Evolution of the 26th Division

The 26th Division was formed in 1817 as Württemberg's 1st Infantry Division. It was merged with Württemberg's 2nd Infantry Division on July 27, 1849, to form Württemberg's Infantry Division and was dissolved in 1868.Bredow, p.1124. The division was reestablished after the Franco-Prussian War on December 18, 1871, as the 26th Division (1st Royal Württemberg), taking its new numbering as part of the Prussian Army structure.

Combat chronicle

Although the 26th Division was not formed until 1871, its predecessors saw action 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 against Prussia and in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 on the side of Prussia against France. The Württemberg Infantry Division saw action in the Main campaign in 1866, suffering a reverse at

Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due to its numerous historical b ...

. During the Franco-Prussian War, the Württemberg Field Division fought at the battles of

Wœrth Wœrth or Woerth (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department and Grand Est Regions of France, region of north-eastern France. The town, which lies some north of Strasbourg, is known for being the si ...

and Sedan, and then participated in the Siege of Paris and the

Battle of Villiers The Battle of Villiers, also called the Battle of Champigny, was the largest of the French sorties from besieged Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. Background After news reached Paris of the French defeat at the battle of Le Bourget and th ...

(November 30 and December 2, 1870). During World War I, the division initially served on the Western Front. In 1914, led by Duke Wilhelm von Urach, 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 ...

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 ...

. It was then transferred to the Eastern Front, and fought in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive and the invasion of Serbia. It returned to the Western Front and 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 ...

in 1916 and the Battle of Arras in 1917. In late 1917, it was sent to the Italian Front, and 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 ...

. Returning to the Western Front, the division served in the 1918 German spring offensive and the subsequent Allied counteroffensives, including the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class.

Pre-World War I organization

The organization of the 26th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 1161–1162. *51. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 119 **Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen (7. Württembergisches) Nr. 125 *52. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Alt-Württemberg (3. Württembergisches) Nr. 121 **Füsilier-Regiment Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122 *26. Kavallerie-Brigade **Dragoner-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 25 **Dragoner-Regiment König (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 26 *26. Feldartillerie-Brigade **2. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 29 Prinz-Regent Luitpold von Bayern **4. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 65

Order of battle on mobilization

On mobilization in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I, 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 26th Division was renamed the 26th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *51. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 119 **Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen (7. Württembergisches) Nr. 125 *52. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Alt-Württemberg (3. Württembergisches) Nr. 121 **Füsilier-Regiment Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122 *Ulanen-Regiment König Wilhelm I (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 20 *26. Feldartillerie-Brigade **2. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 29 Prinz-Regent Luitpold von Bayern **4. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 65 *1.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13

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 26th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 20, 1918, was as follows: *51. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 119 **Infanterie-Regiment Alt-Württemberg (3. Württembergisches) Nr. 121 **Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen (7. Württembergisches) Nr. 125 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 40 *2.Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 19 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 58: **Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold von Bayern (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 29 **II./Niederschlesisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 5 *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 143: **1.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 **5.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 26 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 26

References

26. 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:26 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1817 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919