The 3rd Division (''3. 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 ...

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 formed in Stettin (now Szczecin,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) in May 1816 as a Troop Brigade (''Truppen-Brigade''). It became the 3rd Division on September 5, 1818. From the corps' formation in 1820, the division was subordinated in peacetime to the II Army Corps (''II. Armeekorps''). The 3rd Division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The 3rd Division and its regiments fought in the Austro-Prussian War against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1866, distinguishing itself at the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königg ...

. The division then fought in the Franco-Prussian War against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1870-71. It saw action in the Battle of Gravelotte, the siege of Metz, and the siege of Paris, among other actions.Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' In World War I, the 3rd Division served initially on the Western Front, seeing action in the invasion of Belgium, 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 ...

and 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 ...

. The division was then transferred to the Eastern Front, and remained there until the end of the war with Russia. It then served in occupation duty in Russia until October 1918, when it returned to the Western Front for the final few weeks of the war.

1870 organization

During wartime, the 3rd Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 3rd Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *5th Infantry Brigade (''5. Infanterie-Brigade'') **2nd Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm IV" (1st Pomeranian) (''Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1. Pomm.) Nr. 2'') **42nd Infantry Regiment (5th Pomeranian) (''5. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 42'') *6th Infantry Brigade (''5. Infanterie-Brigade'') **14th Infantry Regiment (3rd Pomeranian) (''3. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 14'') **54th Infantry Regiment (7th Pomeranian) (''7. Pommersches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 54'') *2nd Jäger Battalion (''Jäger Bataillon Nr. 2'') *3rd Dragoon Regiment (''Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 3'')

Pre-World War I organization

Many regiments were renamed and assigned to different divisions during the period from 1871 to 1914. Among other changes, the 3rd and 4th Divisions swapped the Colberg Grenadiers and the 14th Infantry Regiment. In 1914, the peacetime organization of the 3rd Division was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 57-58 *5th Infantry Brigade (''5. Infanterie-Brigade'') **2nd Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm IV" (1st Pomeranian) (''Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1. Pomm.) Nr. 2'') **9th Colberg Grenadier Regiment "Graf Gneisenau" (2nd Pomeranian) (''Colbergsches Grenadier-Regiment Graf Gneisenau (2. Pomm.) Nr. 9'') **54th Infantry Regiment "von der Goltz" (7th Pomeranian) (''Infanterie-Regiment von der Goltz (7. Pomm.) Nr. 54'') *6th Infantry Brigade (''5. Infanterie-Brigade'') **34th Fusilier Regiment "Queen Victoria of Sweden" (Pomeranian) (''Füsilier-Regiment Königin Viktoria von Schweden (Pomm.) Nr. 34'') **42nd Infantry Regiment "Prince Moritz of Anhalt-Dessau" (5th Pomeranian) (''Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau (5. Pomm.) Nr. 42'') *3rd Cavalry Brigade (''3. Kavallerie-Brigade'') ** 2nd

Cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...

Regiment "Queen" (Pomeranian) (''Kürassier-Regiment Königin (Pomm.) Nr. 2'') **9th

Uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

Regiment (2nd Pomeranian) (''2. Pommersches Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 9'') *3rd Field Artillery Brigade (''3. Feldartillerie-Brigade'') **2nd Field Artillery Regiment (''1. Pommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 2'') **38th

Hither Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

n Field Artillery Regiment (''Vorpommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 38'')

August 1914 organization

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 3rd Division was again renamed the 3rd Infantry Division and the 54th Infantry was transferred to the 36th Reserve Division. The 3rd Infantry Division's initial wartime organization was as follows: *5.Infanterie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1. Pommersches) Nr. 2 **Colbergsches-Grenadier-Regiment Graf Gneisenau (2. Pommersches) Nr. 9 *6.Infanterie-Brigade: **Füsilier-Regiment Königin Viktoria von Schweden (1. Pommersches) Nr. 34 **Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau (5. Pommersches) Nr. 42 *Grenadier-Regiment zu Pferde Freiherr von Derfflinger (Neumärkisches) Nr. 3 *3.Feldartillerie-Brigade: **1. Pommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 2 **Vorpommersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 38 *1./Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2

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 3rd Infantry Division was heavily reorganized by 1918, losing all of its prewar infantry regiments. These were replaced by lower grade infantry and ''Landwehr'' infantry regiments. The division was also weaker in artillery and engineers than most other divisions. These changes reflected the division's primary role as occupation troops late in the war. Its order of battle on January 10, 1918, was as follows: *6.Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 425 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 428 **Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 4 *3.Eskadron/Grenadier-Regiment zu Pferde Freiherr von Derfflinger (Neumärkisches) Nr. 3 *Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 87 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 112: **1.Landwehr-Kompanie/Schlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 6 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 3 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 3

References

;Sources
3.Infanterie-Division
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1914-18.info
* Claus von Bredow, bearb., ''Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deutschen Heeres'' (1905) * Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * A. Niemann, ''Der französische Feldzug 1870-1871'' (Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Hildburghausen, 1871) * Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939'', Bd. 1 (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993) * ''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914) * ''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:3rd Division (German Empire) Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1818 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919