The 22nd Division (''22. 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 ...

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 on October 11, 1866, and was headquartered in Kassel. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XI Army Corps (''XI. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after

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 ...

Recruitment

The division was recruited in the formerly independent

Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (german: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was a landgraviate whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by Napoleon. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, its p ...

(''Kurhessen''), which had been incorporated into Prussia after the Austro-Prussian War, in the

Principality of Waldeck The County of Waldeck (later the Principality of Waldeck and Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and in 1 ...

, and in the

Thuringian states The Thuringian states (german: Thüringische Staaten) refers to the following German federal states within the German Reich: *The Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, officially the Grand Duchy of Saxony (''Großherzogtum Sachsen'') from 1903 *Th ...

. Until 1899, including during the Franco-Prussian War, it was predominantly from Thuringia, but many Thuringian units went to the 38th Division when that division was formed in 1899.

Combat chronicle

During the Franco-Prussian War, as the 22nd Infantry Division it fought in the opening battle of Woerth and the major battle of Sedan. It then participated in the Siege of Paris. Subsequently, it saw action in the Loire campaign, including the battles of 1st Orléans, Loigny-Poupry, 2nd Orléans, and Le Mans. In World War I, again as the 22nd Infantry Division, it fought initially on the Western Front, including in the

Battle of Liège A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

. It was soon sent to the Eastern Front, where it remained until October 1917. It fought in the

First Battle of the Masurian Lakes The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes was a German offensive in the Eastern Front 2–16 September 1914, during the second month of World War I. It took place only days after the Battle of Tannenberg where the German Eighth Army encircled a ...

and the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive, as well as the Brusilov Offensive and Kerensky Offensive. After returning to the Western Front, it saw action in the 1918 German spring offensive, including the

Second Battle of the Somme The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to th ...

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 noted that the division had good morale, but in 1918 rated it third class, albeit better on the defensive.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

During wartime, the 22nd Division, like other regular German divisions, was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 22nd Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *43. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 95 *44. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 83 **Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 94 *Husaren-Regiment Nr. 13 The 32nd, 94th and 95th Infantry Regiments were from the Thuringian states, while the 83rd Infantry Regiment was from the

and included a battalion from Waldeck.

Pre-World War I organization

German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco-Prussian War. With the creation of the 38th Division, most Thuringian elements were transferred to the new division and replaced with the

units (the 167th Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment, despite its name, was recruited in the

and Prussian Saxony). The organization of the 22nd Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee'' (1914), pp. 89-90. *43. Infanterie-Brigade **2. Kurhessisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82 **Infanterie-Regiment von Wittich (3. Kurhessisches) Nr. 83 *44.Infanterie-Brigade **2. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32 **1. Ober-Elsässiches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 167 *22. Kavallerie-Brigade **Dragoner-Regiment Freiherr von Manteuffel (Rheinisches) Nr. 5 **Husaren-Regiment Landgraf Friedrich II. von Hessen-Homburg (2. Kurhessisches) Nr. 14 *22. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Kurhessisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 11 **2. Kurhessisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 47

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 22nd Division was again renamed the 22nd Infantry Division and its initial wartime organization was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *43. Infanterie-Brigade **2. Kurhessisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82 **Infanterie-Regiment von Wittich (3. Kurhessisches) Nr. 83 *44.Infanterie-Brigade **2. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32 **1. Ober-Elsässiches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 167 **Kurhessisches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 11 *1.Halbregiment/Kürassier-Regiment Kaiser Nikolas I. von Rußland (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 6 *22. Feldartillerie-Brigade **1. Kurhessisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 11 **2. Kurhessisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 47 *1.Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11

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 22nd Infantry Division's order of battle on May 29, 1918, was as follows: *43. Infanterie-Brigade **2. Kurhessisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82 **Infanterie-Regiment von Wittich (3. Kurhessisches) Nr. 83 **1. Ober-Elsässiches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 167 *6.Eskadron/Kürassier-Regiment Kaiser Nikolas I. von Rußland (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 6 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 22 **1. Kurhessisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 11 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 50 *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 128 **1.Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 **2.Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 22 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 22

References

22. Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1914/1918) - 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:22 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1866 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1866 establishments in Prussia