The 38th Division (''38. 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, 1899, and was headquartered in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XI Army Corps (''XI. 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

The division was recruited primarily in Thuringia: its Prussian elements were from

Prussian Saxony The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merge ...

while its other elements were from the smaller Thuringian states. The 71st Infantry was from Prussian Saxony and the Principality of

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county until 1697. In that year, it became a principality, which ...

. The 94th Infantry was the regiment of the Grand Duchy of

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was rais ...

. The 95th Infantry was from the Duchies of

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-d ...

and

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestin ...

. The 96th Infantry had one battalion from Prussian Saxony, one from the

Reuss principalities Reuss (german: Reuß , ) was the name of several historical states located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. Several lordships of the Holy Roman Empire which arose after 1300 and became Imperial Counties from 1673 and Imperial Principalities in ...

, and one from

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since th ...

Combat chronicle

The division began the war on the Western Front, fighting in Belgium and participating in the capture of the fortifications at Namur. It was soon transferred to the Eastern Front, where it saw action 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 ...

and in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive. It was transferred to the Western Front in October 1915, and after a period of fighting along the Aisne, entered 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 ...

in 1916. It then saw action in the later phases of 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 ...

. It remained along the Somme until 1917, and then fought in the battles of

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

and Passchendaele. In 1918, it fought in various defensive battles against Allied offensives and counteroffensives. Allied intelligence rated the division as a good division and considered it second class by 1918.

Pre-World War I organization

The organization of the 38th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows: *76.Infanterie-Brigade **3. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 71 **6. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 95 *83.Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Großherzhog von Sachsen (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94 **7. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 96 *38. Kavallerie-Brigade ** Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 2 ** Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 6 *38. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Thüringisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 19 **2. Thüringisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 55 *Landwehr-Inspektion Erfurt

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 38th Division was redesignated the 38th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows: *76. Infanterie-Brigade **3. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 71 **6. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 95 *83. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Großherzhog von Sachsen (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94 **7. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 96 *Halbregiment Kürassier-Regiment (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 6 *38. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Thüringisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 19 **2. Thüringisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 55 *2.Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 *3.Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11

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 38th Infantry Division's order of battle on April 20, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *83. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Großherzhog von Sachsen (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94 **6. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 95 **7. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 96 *3.Eskadron/ Kürassier-Regiment (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 6 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 38 **1. Thüringisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 19 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 61 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 135 **3.Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 **Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 284 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 38 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 38

References

38. 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:38 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1899 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1899 establishments in Germany