The 35th Division (''35. 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 April 1, 1890, and was headquartered initially in Graudenz (now Grudziądz, Poland) and from 1912 in

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

(now Toruń, Poland). The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XVII Army Corps (''XVII. 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 recruited primarily in the southern part of

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

, and included a relatively high percentage of Poles.

Combat chronicle

The 35th Infantry Division began World War I on the Eastern Front. It fought in the battles of

Gumbinnen Gusev (russian: Гу́сев; german: Gumbinnen; lt, Gumbinė; pl, Gąbin) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border ...

and Tannenberg, and in the

First Battle of the Masurian Lakes The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes was a German offensive in the Eastern Front 2–16 September 1914, during the second month of World War I. It took place only days after the Battle of Tannenberg where the German Eighth Army encircled an ...

. In 1915, it participated in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive. In October 1915, it was transferred to the Western Front. 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 ...

. In 1917, it participated in the Battle of Arras and the Battle of Passchendaele. In 1918, the division fought against various Allied offensives and 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 a mediocre division and considered it second class by 1918, mainly due to the losses it had suffered in the war's earlier battles.

Pre-World War I organization

The organization of the 35th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows: *70. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Borcke (4. Pommersches) Nr. 21 **Infanterie-Regiment von der Marwitz (8. Pommersches) Nr. 61 *87. Infanterie-Brigade **Kulmer Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 141 **9. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 176 *35. Kavallerie-Brigade **Husaren-Regiment Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt (Pommersches) Nr. 5 **Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 4 *35. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 71 Großkomtur **Thorner Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 81 *Landwehr-Inspektion Graudenz

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 35th Division was redesignated the 35th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows: *70. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Borcke (4. Pommersches) Nr. 21 **Infanterie-Regiment von der Marwitz (8. Pommersches) Nr. 61 *87. Infanterie-Brigade **Kulmer Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 141 **9. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 176 *Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 4 *35. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 71 Großkomtur **Thorner Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 81 *1.Kompanie/1. Westpreußisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 17

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 35th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 28, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *87. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von der Marwitz (8. Pommersches) Nr. 61 **Kulmer Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 141 **9. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 176 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 46 *2.Eskadron/Husaren-Regiment Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt (Pommersches) Nr. 5 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 35 **Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 71 Großkomtur **I.Bataillon/Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 18 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 133: **1.Kompanie/1. Westpreußisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 17 **2.Kompanie/1. Westpreußisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 17 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 35 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 35

References

35. 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
online

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:35 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1890 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919