The 9th Division (''9. Division'') was a unit of the

Prussian 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 e ...

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 Glogau (now Głogów, Poland) in November 1816 as a brigade, became the 10th Division on September 5, 1818, and was renumbered the 9th Division on February 28, 1820. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the V Army Corps (''V. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was recruited primarily in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

, primarily in Lower Silesia.

Combat chronicle

The division 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

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königg ...

. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the division saw action in the opening battles of Weissenburg and Wörth, in the

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...

, and in the Siege of Paris. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the division served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

. It initially occupied the

Woëvre The Woëvre () (German: ''Waberland'') is a natural region of Lorraine in northeastern France. It forms part of Lorraine plateau and lies largely in the department of Meuse. Along with the Côtes de Moselle, the Woëvre is one of the areas in ...

region of France and later fought in the

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

in 1916. In 1918, it participated in the German spring offensive, seeing action in 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 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 ...

. Allied intelligence rated it a first class division.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 9th Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 9th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *17. Infanterie Brigade ** Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 58 ** Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 59 *18. Infanterie Brigade ** Königsgrenadier-Regiment Nr. 7 ** Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 47 *Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 5 *Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 4

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. The 9th Division lost all of its original infantry regiments to other divisions and received replacement regiments. The organization of the 9th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 67-68. *17. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Courbière (2. Posensches) Nr. 19 **3. Posensches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 58 *18.Infanterie-Brigade **Grenadier-Regiment König Wilhelm I (2. Westpreußisches) Nr. 7 **5. Niederschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 154 *9. Kavallerie-Brigade **Dragoner-Regiment von Bredow (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 4 **Ulanen-Regiment Prinz August von Württemberg (Posensches) Nr. 10 *9. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Podbielski (1. Niederschlesisches) Nr. 5 **2. Niederschlesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 41

Order of battle on mobilization

On mobilization in August 1914 at the beginning of

, 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 9th Division was again renamed the 9th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *17. Infanterie-Brigade: **Infanterie-Regiment von Courbière (2. Posensches) Nr. 19 **3. Posensches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 58 *18.Infanterie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment König Wilhelm I (2. Westpreußisches) Nr. 7 **5. Niederschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 154 *Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexander III von Rußland (Westpreußisches) Nr.1 *9. Feldartillerie-Brigade **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Podbielski (1. Niederschlesisches) Nr. 5 **2. Niederschlesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 41 *1./Niederschlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 5

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 9th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 11, 1918, was as follows: *18.Infanterie-Brigade: **Grenadier-Regiment König Wilhelm I (2. Westpreußisches) Nr. 7 **Infanterie-Regiment von Courbière (2. Posensches) Nr. 19 **5. Niederschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 154 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 16 *2.Eskadron/ Regiment Königs-Jäger zu Pferde Nr. 1 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 9: **Feldartillerie-Regiment von Podbielski (1. Niederschlesisches) Nr. 5 **II.Bataillon/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 6 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 120: **1./Niederschlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 5 **2./Niederschlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 5 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 9 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 9

References

9. 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:9th 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