The 50th Infantry Division () was a formation of the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army during

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 on March 10, 1915 from units taken from other divisions or newly raised. Its infantry core was from

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

: the 39th Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment, taken from the 14th Reserve Division, the 53rd Westphalian Infantry Regiment, taken from the 14th Infantry Division, and the 158th Lorraine Infantry Regiment, taken from the 13th Infantry Division.50. Infanterie-Division - Der erste Weltkrieg
/ref> The division saw extensive action 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, especially in the fight for

Fort Vaux Fort Vaux (french: Fort de Vaux), in Vaux-Devant-Damloup, Meuse, France, was a polygonal fort forming part of the ring of 19 large defensive works intended to protect the city of Verdun. Built from 1881 to 1884 for 1,500,000 francs, it housed ...

. The division fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also called the Third Battle of Champagne and referred to in German sources as the Dual Battle of Aisne-Champagne (). In 1918, it was involved in the German spring offensive, called the Great Battle in France () or the Kaiser Battle () It was rated by Allied intelligence in 1917 and 1918 as a first class assault division.

Order of battle on March 10, 1915

* 100. Infanterie-Brigade ** Niederrheinisches Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 39 ** 5. Westfälisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 53 ** 7. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 158 ** Radfahrer-Kompanie Nr. 50 * 50.Feldartillerie-Brigade ** Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 99 ** Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 100 ** Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 50 * Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 99 * Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 100

Late World War I organization

The division underwent comparatively fewer organizational changes during the course of the war than most other divisions. The 50th Infantry Division's order of battle on February 22, 1918 was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' * 100. Infanterie-Brigade ** Niederrheinisches Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 39 ** 5. Westfälisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 53 ** 7. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 158 ** MG-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 36 * 1.Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment Hennigs von Treffenfeld (Altmärkisches) Nr. 16 * Artillerie-Kommandeur 50 ** Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 99 ** Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 95 * Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 50 ** Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 99 ** Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 100 ** Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 50 * Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 50

References

50. Infanterie-Division - Der erste Weltkrieg
* Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937) * ''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

{{German Empire Armies, 7th=y Military units and formations established in 1915 1915 establishments in Germany Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations disestablished in 1919