The 86th Infantry Division (''86. Infanterie-Division'') was a formation 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 in November 1914 as the Wernitz Division (''Division Wernitz''), named after its commander General Theodor von Wernitz, and became the 86th Infantry Division in August 1915.86. Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1915/1918)
/ref> The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

Combat chronicle

The 86th Infantry Division initially served on the Eastern Front. It occupied the line by

Mława Mława (; yi, מלאווע ''Mlave'') is a town in north-east Poland with 30,403 inhabitants in 2020. It is the capital of Mława County. It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship. During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the battle of Mława was ...

from November 1914 to July 1915 and then participated in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive, breaking through at

Przasnysz Przasnysz (; yi, פראשניץ, russian: Прасныш) is a town in north-central Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodship, about 110 km north of Warsaw and about 115 km south of Olsztyn, it is the capital of Przasnysz County. It ...

and fighting on the Narew, and then participating in follow-on fighting for the next several months until the line stabilized. In September 1915, it was in the Lithuanian swamps. It was engaged in positional warfare in the Vishnev sector on the Berezina, Olshanka and Krevljanka Rivers from September 1915 to March 1916. It then fought at Lake Narač. It was along the Upper Styr and Stokhod Rivers from July 1916 to December 1917. In January 1918, after the armistice on the Eastern Front, the division was transported to the Western Front. It was in the line in various parts of the front, and fought in the Allied counterattack phase of the

Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack failed when an Allied counterattack, supported by s ...

. It remained in the line until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as fourth class.

Order of battle on formation

The 86th Infantry Division was formed as 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 ...

. The order of battle of the division on July 7, 1915, was as follows: *171. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 341 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 342 *172. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 343 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 344 *Reiter-Regiment Cleinow (Kavallerie-Regiment Nr. 86) *Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 86 *I.Bataillon/2. Westpreußisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 17 *3. Ersatz-Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 26 *1. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie/XVII. Armeekorps

Late-war order of battle

The division underwent a number of organizational changes over the course of the war. It was triangularized in 1916, losing the 171st Infantry Brigade headquarters and the 342nd Infantry Regiment. Cavalry was reduced, artillery and signals commands were formed, and combat engineer support was expanded to a full pioneer battalion. The order of battle on February 3, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *172. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 341 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 343 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 344 **Radfahrer-Kompanie Nr. 86 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 65 **Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 86 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 404 (from July 18, 1918) *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 86 **3. Ersatz-Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 26 **3. Reserve-Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 34 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 86 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 86

References

* 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:86th Infantry Division (German Empire) Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1914 establishments in Germany