108th Division (German Empire)

The 108th Infantry Division was a major unit of the Prussian army in the First World War .

history

The large association had existed since the beginning of May 1915 as the makeshift division "Beckmann" and was budgeted as the 108th division in November of that year. The division was active on the Eastern Front until December 1917 and was relocated to the Western Front after the local armistice . Here it was disbanded on September 19, 1918 after heavy losses.

Battle calendar

1915

• May 7th --- July 13th --- Battles on the lower Dubissa
• May 19-26 --- Battle of Rossienie
• May 27-29 --- Battle of Girtakol
• June 4-7 --- Battle at Cytowiany
• June 8th to 9th --- Battle near Ilgize
• July 14th to 25th --- Battle of Schaulen
• July 30th to August 7th --- Battle of Kupishki
• August 20 to September 8 --- Trench warfare on the Swjenta and Jara
• September 9th to 30th --- Battle of Dünaburg
  • September 13th to 30th --- Fighting for the bridgehead in Dünaburg
• October 1st to October 31st --- Fights between Lake Drysvyaty and Lake Meddum
• from November 1st --- position battles in front of Dünaburg

1916

• until June 7th --- position battles in front of Dünaburg
• June 7th to 8th --- Upper East Reserve
• June 9th to July 15th --- Fights on the Styr and Stochod
• July 16-27 --- Fights on the upper Styr-Stochod
• July 28th to November 4th --- Battle of Kovel
• from November 5th --- trench warfare on the upper Styr-Stochod

1917

• until December 1st --- Trench warfare on the upper Styr-Stochod
• December 2 to 12 --- Truce
• December 5th to 12th --- Transport to the West
• from December 13th --- position battles at the ailette

1918

• until April 20 --- Trench warfare north of the Ailette
• April 23-26 --- Fights on the Avre and Montdidier and Noyon
• May 1st to August 7th --- Fights on the Ancre , Somme and Avre
• August 8th to 20th --- Defensive battle between Somme and Avre
• August 22nd to September 2nd --- Battle of Albert - Péronne
• September 8th to 18th --- Defensive battle between Cambrai and St. Quentin
• September 19 --- Dissolution of the division

structure

Division of War of October 3, 1915

• 5th Infantry Brigade
  • 1st Upper Rhine Infantry Regiment No. 97
  • 2nd Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 137
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 265
  • Reserve Dragoon Regiment No. 1
  • Field Artillery Regiment No. 243
  • 1st Company / Reserve Engineer Battalion No. 1
  • Headlight train No. 275
  • Double telephone train No. 108

Division of War of April 26, 1918

• 5th Infantry Brigade
  • 1st Upper Rhine Infantry Regiment No. 97
  • 2nd Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 137
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 265
  • 6th Squadron / Brunswick Hussar Regiment No. 17
• Artillery Commander No. 29
  • Field Artillery Regiment No. 243
• Engineer Battalion No. 108
• Division News Commander No. 108

Commanders

Rank	Surname	date
Major general	Max Karl Gottlob Beckmann	March 20, 1915 to April 20, 1917
Colonel	Friedrich Gündell	January 17 to March 10, 1918 (deputy)
Lieutenant General	Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand von Campe	March 11 to September 21, 1918

literature

• Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reichsarchiv , Militär-Verlag, Berlin 1927, pp. 73, 158.
• Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army Which Participated in the War (1914-1918). United States War Office as War Department Document No. 905, Office of the Adjutant, 1920, pp. 595-597.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dermot Bradley (ed.), Günter Wegner: Occupation of the German Army 1815-1939. Volume 1: The higher command posts 1815–1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1780-1 , p. 145.