The 96th Infantry Division (96. Infanterie-Division) was a formation of the
Imperial German Army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
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, ...
.
History
The 96th was formed on May 3rd, 1917 on the
Eastern Front where it served there until February 1918 and was transferred to 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 ...
where it fought in
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
and
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...
until the end of the war. Once the war ended, the division was sent back to Germany out of occupied territories where it was demobilized and disbanded in January 1919.
Order of Battle in 1917-18
*177th Infantry Brigade
**Replacement Infantry Regiment No. 40
**Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 102
**Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 244
**4th Squadron / 1st Royal Saxon Hussar Regiment "King Albert" No. 18
*Artillery Commander No. 140
**Reserve Field Regiment No. 53
*Engineer Battalion No. 96
*Division News Commander No. 96
Command
The sole commander of the division was major general Friedrich von der Decken.
References
96. Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1915/1918) - Der erste Weltkrieg* Franz Bettag, ''Die Eroberung von Nowo Georgiewsk''. Schlachten des Weltkrieges, Bd. 8 (Oldenburg, 1926)
* Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935)
* Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937)
* Erich von Falkenhayn, ''Der Feldzug der 9. Armee gegen die Rumänen und Russen, 1916/17'' (Berlin, 1921)
* Oberstleutnant a. D. Dr. Curt Treitschke, ''Der Rückmarsch aus Rumänien. Mit der Mackensen-Armee vom Sereth durch Siebenbürgen nach Sachsen'' (Dresden 1938)
* 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)
{{German Empire Armies, aaa=y
Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I