The 58th Infantry Division (''58. Infanterie-Division'') was a unit of the Imperial German

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 March 6, 1915, and organized over the next two months.58. Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1915/1918)
/ref> It was part of a wave of new infantry divisions formed in the spring of 1915 and was originally formed from troops from the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

and the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

, but became a fully Saxon division by 1916. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

Combat chronicle

The 58th Infantry Division initially fought on the Western Front, seeing action in the

Second Battle of Artois The Second Battle of Artois (french: Deuxième bataille de l'Artois, german: Lorettoschlacht) from 9 May to 18 June 1915, took place on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the First World War. A German-held Salient (military), ...

. In July 1915, it was transferred to the Eastern Front, and participated in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive. In October 1915, it returned to the Western Front and went into the trenchlines in Lorraine. In 1916, it fought in 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 ...

and 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 fought in the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne (french: Bataille du Chemin des Dames or french: Seconde bataille de l'Aisne, 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the Germa ...

, also called the Third Battle of Champagne. In late April 1917, the division went back to the Eastern Front, where it remained until October. After returning to the Western Front, it saw action in the late phases of the Battle of Passchendaele, also called the Third Battle of Ypres. The division remained in the Flanders region until August 1918, when it went to the Somme region, fighting at Monchy-Bapaume and later resisting the Allied offensive between Cambrai and St. Quentin. Allied intelligence rated the division as second class.

Order of battle on formation

The 58th Infantry Division was formed as a

triangular division A triangular division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade head ...

. The order of battle of the division on March 6, 1915, was as follows: *116.Infanterie-Brigade **Königlich Sächsisches 7. Infanterie-Regiment König Georg Nr. 106 **Königlich Sächsisches 8. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Johann Georg Nr. 107 **Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 120 **Radfahrer-Kompanie Nr. 58 *4.Eskadron/Königlich Sächsisches 2. Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 18 *58. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Königlich Sächsisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 115 **Königlich Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 116 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 58 *Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 115 *Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 116

Order of battle on January 1, 1918

The Württemberg elements of the division were transferred out and the division became fully Saxon by the end of 1916. Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of artillery and signals commands and the expansion of combat engineer support to a full pioneer battalion. The order of battle on January 1, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *116.Infanterie-Brigade **Königlich Sächsisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 103 **Königlich Sächsisches 7. Infanterie-Regiment König Georg Nr. 106 **Königlich Sächsisches 8. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Johann Georg Nr. 107 *4.Eskadron/Königlich Sächsisches 2. Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 18 *Königlich Sächsischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 57 **Königlich Sächsisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 115 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 97 (from June 19, 1918) *Königlich Sächsisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 375 **Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 115 **Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 116 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 58 *Königlich Sächsischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 58

References

58. Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1915/1918) - Der erste Weltkrieg
* 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 1825-1939.'' (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)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:58th Infantry Division (German Empire) Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1915 establishments in Germany