The 55th Infantry Division (french: 55e Division d'Infanterie, 55e DI) was a
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
formation during
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 ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
World War I
During World War I, the division comprised:
*204th Infantry Regiment (to September 1918)
*231st Infantry Regiment (to May 1916)
*246th Infantry Regiment (to September 1918)
*276th Infantry Regiment (to March 1916)
*282nd Infantry Regiment (to May 1916)
*289th Infantry Regiment (to September 1918)
*67th Territorial Infantry Regiment (to September 1918)
It was part of the French
1st,
2nd,
4th,
5th,
7th
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
,
11th,
15th,
16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
,
17th,
18th
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. ...
,
30th,
31st,
33rd,
35th,
37th,
1st Colonial,
1st Cavalry Corps during which it participated in 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 ...
, the
First Battle of the Aisne
The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated aft ...
, the
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and
Third Battle of Artois
The Third Battle of Artois (25 September – 4 November 1915, also the Loos–Artois Offensive), was fought by the French Tenth Army against the German 6th Army on the Western Front of the First World War. The battle included the Battle of Lo ...
, 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 ...
, the First Battle of Noyon, the
Third Battle of the Aisne
The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...
and the Second Battle of Noyon. The Division was dissolved on 10 September 1918.
At various times, it was part of the
French Second Army
The Second Army (french: IIe Armée) was a field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II. The Army became famous for fighting the Battle of Verdun in 1916 under Generals Philippe Pétain and Robert Nivelle.
Commanders
World ...
,
French Third Army The Third Army (french: IIIe Armée) was a Field army of the French Army, which fought during World War I and World War II.
Commanders World War I
*General Ruffey (Mobilization – 30 August 1914)
*General Sarrail (30 August 1914 – 22 July 1915 ...
,
French Fourth Army,
French Fifth Army
The Fifth Army (french: Ve Armée) was a fighting force that participated in World War I. Under its commander, Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, it led the attacks which resulted in the victory at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914.
World War I C ...
,
French Sixth Army
The Sixth Army (french: 6eme Armée) was a field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II.
World War I
The Sixth Army was formed 26 August 1914, composed of troops from various disparate French armies: two active army corps, th ...
and
French Tenth Army
The Tenth Army (french: Xe Armée) was a Field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II.
World War I
The Tenth Army, first called ''détachement d'armée Maud'huy'', was formed on 1 October 1914 during the Race to the Sea.
It ...
.
World War II
During the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
in May 1940 the division contained the following units:
*213th Infantry Regiment,
*295th Infantry Regiment,
*331at Infantry Regiment,
*11th Machine Gun Battalion,
*64th Reconnaissance Battalion,
*45th Artillery Regiment
It was a Series B Reserve
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
containing older
reservist
A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...
s.
References
Infantry Division, 55th
Infantry Division, 55
Infantry divisions of France
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