The 5th Division (''5. 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 **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 Crossen in 1816 as a brigade, moved to

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

in 1817, and became the 5th Division on September 5, 1818. The headquarters moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1840 and back to Frankfurt in 1845. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the III Army Corps (''III. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was recruited in the

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg (german: Provinz Brandenburg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg ...

. The 10th Brigade of the 5th Division fought in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

of 1864, including the key Battle of Dybbøl, or Düppeler Heights. The division then fought in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

in 1866, including the battles of Gitschin and Königgrätz.Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935); Wegner, p.319 In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the division saw action in the battles of

Spicheren Spicheren (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is located on the German border, lying next to the city of Saarbrücken. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of ...

, Mars-la-Tour,

Gravelotte Gravelotte (; german: Gravelotte) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019). From 1871 ...

Beaune-la-Rolande Beaune-la-Rolande () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. History On 28 November 1870 it was the site of a battle during the Franco-Prussian War, in which French impressionist painter Frédéric Bazille was killed. D ...

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

, and in the Siege of Metz. The division was mobilized as the 5th Infantry Division in August 1914 and sent to the

west West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

for the opening campaigns of the war. In 1914 it fought in the Battle of the Marne 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 ...

. It then settled into positional warfare in the trenches along the Somme. It fought in 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 ...

and 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 ...

in 1916 and 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 1917. In mid-1917, it was sent to the Eastern Front in response to the Russian Kerensky Offensive. In October 1917, the division was transferred to the Italian Front, where it fought in the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...

. It returned to the Western Front in December 1917, and remained there until war's end, participating in the German spring offensive and the Allied offensives that followed. Until being bloodied in the offensives of 1918, the division was rated a first-class division by Allied intelligence.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 5th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 5th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *9. Infanterie-Brigade **Leibgrenadier-Regiment Nr. 8 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 48 *10. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 12 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 52 *Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 3 *Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 12

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. The 5th Division was no exception, but unlike many divisions, there were no changes in the division's core infantry regiments. The organization of the division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 60-61. *9. Infanterie-Brigade **Leib-Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm III (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 8 **Infanterie-Regiment von Stülpnagel (5. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 48 *10. Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment Prinz Karl von Preußen (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 12 **Infanterie-Regiment von Alvensleben (6. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 52 *5. Kavallerie-Brigade **1. Brandenburgisches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 2 **Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexander II von Rußland (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 *5. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Feldartillerie-Regiment General-Feldzeugmeister (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 18 **Neumärkisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 54

Order of battle on mobilization

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 5th Division was again renamed the 5th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *9.Infanterie-Brigade: **Leib-Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm III (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 8 **Infanterie-Regiment von Stülpnagel (5. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 48 *10.Infanterie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment Prinz Karl von Preußen (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 12 **Infanterie-Regiment von Alvensleben (6. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 52 **Brandenburgisches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 3 *"1/2" Husaren-Regiment von Zieten (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 *5.Feldartillerie-Brigade: **Feldartillerie-Regiment General-Feldzeugmeister (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 18 **Neumärkisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 54 *1./Pionier-Bataillon von Rauch (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 *3./Pionier-Bataillon von Rauch (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3

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 5th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 9, 1918, was as follows: *10.Infanterie-Brigade: **Leib-Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm III (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 8 **Grenadier-Regiment Prinz Karl von Preußen (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 12 **Infanterie-Regiment von Alvensleben (6. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 52 **Machinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 13 *3.Eskadron/ Husaren-Regiment von Zieten (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 142: **Feldartillerie-Regiment General-Feldzeugmeister (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 18 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 67 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 116: **1./Pionier-Bataillon von Rauch (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 **3./Pionier-Bataillon von Rauch (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 5 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 5

References

5. Infanterie-Division - 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)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:5th 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