The 4th Cavalry Division (''4. Kavallerie-Division'') was a unit of the

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 ...

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 formed on the mobilization of the German Army in August 1914. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

Combat chronicle

It was initially assigned to II Cavalry Corps, which preceded the 1st and 2nd Armies on the Western Front. In November 1914, it was transferred to Russia. In March 1918, it returned to the Western Front, where it served in Alsace until the end of the war. It was dismounted in October 1916 and restructured to form the 4th Cavalry ''Schützen'' Division. By the end of the war, it was serving under 64th Corps (z.b.V.),

Armee-Abteilung B Armee-Abteilung Gaede / Armee-Abteilung B (Army Detachment B) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It served on the Western Front throughout its existence and formed the extreme left wing (up against the Swiss Border). ...

, ''Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg'' on the Western Front. A more detailed combat chronicle can be found at the German-language version of this article.

Order of Battle on mobilisation

On formation, in August 1914, the component units of the division were: *3rd Cavalry Brigade (from II Army Corps District) ** 2nd (Pomeranian) Cuirassiers “Queen” **

9th (2nd Pomeranian) Uhlans 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

*17th Cavalry Brigade (from

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial Germ ...

District) **

17th (1st Grand Ducal Mecklenburgian) Dragoons 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...

18th (2nd Grand Ducal Mecklenburgian) Dragoons 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

*18th Cavalry Brigade (from IX Army Corps District) ** 15th (Hannover) Hussars "Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands" ** 16th (Schleswig-Holstein) Hussars "Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, King of Hungary" *Horse Artillery ''

Abteilung ''Abteilung'' (; abbrv. ''Abt.'') is a German word that is often used for German or Swiss military formations and depending on its usage could mean detachment, department or battalion; it can also refer to a military division. In German, it ...

'' of the 3rd (1st Brandenburg) Field Artillery "General-Feldzeugmeister" Regiment *2nd Guards Machine Gun Detachment *Pioneer Detachment *Signals Detachment **Heavy Wireless Station 18 **Heavy Wireless Station 19 **Light Wireless Station 10 **Light Wireless Station 12 *Cavalry Motorised Vehicle Column 4 See: Table of Organisation and Equipment

4th Cavalry ''Schützen'' Division

Bundesarchiv Bild 136-B0560, Frankreich, Kavalleristen im Schützengraben

The 4th Cavalry Division was extensively reorganised in the course of the war, culminating in its conversion to a Cavalry ''Schützen'' Division, that is to say, dismounted cavalry. Here, the cavalry brigades were renamed Cavalry ''Schützen'' Commands and performed a similar role to that of an infantry regiment command. Likewise, the cavalry regiments became Cavalry ''Schützen'' Regiments and allocated the role of an infantry battalion (and their squadrons acted as infantry companies). However, these units were much weaker than normal infantry formations (for example, a Schützen squadron had a strength of just 4 officers and 109 NCOs and other ranks, considerably less than that of an infantry company). *3rd Cavalry Brigade became independent on 30 November 1914 *17th Cavalry Brigade became independent on 1 February 1917 *18th Cavalry Brigade transferred to 1st Cavalry Division on 12 December 1916 *28th Cavalry Brigade joined from 6th Cavalry Division on 1 February 1917. Transferred to 7th Cavalry Division on 17 May 1918 *39th Cavalry Brigade reconstituted on 28 September 1914 (original brigade had been broken up on mobilisation). Transferred to 8th Cavalry Division on 1 February 1917. Rejoined from 8th Cavalry Division on 6 April 1918 *45th Cavalry Brigade (previously independent) joined on 1 February 1917. Transferred to 6th Cavalry Division on 1 May 1918

Late World War I organization

Allied Intelligence rated this division as 4th Class (of 4 classes). It's late war organisation made it more akin to a ''Landwehr'' Division and was: *39th Cavalry Brigade ***Saxon Reserve Uhlans (''Schützen'') ***9th Reserve Uhlans (''Schützen'') ***87th Cavalry (''Schützen'') **38th ''Landwehr'' Infantry Regiment **40th ''Landwehr'' Infantry Regiment *2nd Guards Machine Gun Detachment *6th Machine Gun Detachment *Artillery Command **Horse Artillery ''

'' of the 8th (von Holtzendorff) (1st Rhenish) Field Artillery Regiment **Horse Artillery ''

'' of the 10th (von Scharnhorst) (1st Hannover) Field Artillery Regiment **1400th Light Ammunition Column **1405th Light Ammunition Column *Pioneer Battalion **4th Cavalry Pioneer Detachment **145th Light Searchlight Section *Signal Command **934th Telephone Detachment *Medical and Veterinary **21st? Ambulance Company **573rd Ambulance Company **191st Field Hospital **Vet. Hospital *Attached **''Landsturm'' Infantry Battalion 1 Torgau (IV/15)''Landsturm'' Infantry Battalion 1 Torgau (IV/15) was the 15th ''Landsturm'' Infantry Battalion raised in the IV Corps District. It was the first one to be raised in the town of

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

References

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