117th Division (German Empire)

117th Infantry Division
active	April 1, 1915 to April 30, 1919
Country	German Empire
Armed forces	Prussian Army
Type	Infantry division
structure	See: Outline
First World War	Western front Battle of La Bassée and Arras Battle of the Somme Eastern Front
Commanders
Please refer:	List of commanders

Seal of the 117th Infantry Division

The 117th Infantry Division was a major unit of the Prussian army in the First World War .

structure

Division of War of April 3, 1915

• 233rd Infantry Brigade
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 11
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 12
  • 4th Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 157
  • 1st and 2nd squadron / cuirassier regiment "Graf Gessler" (Rheinisches) No. 8
  • Field Artillery Regiment No. 233
  • Engineer Company No. 233

Division of War of March 28, 1918

• 233rd Infantry Brigade
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 11
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 22
  • 4th Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 157
  • 1st Squadron / Cuirassier Regiment "Graf Gessler" (Rheinisches) No. 8
• Artillery Commander No. 107
  • Field Artillery Regiment No. 233
  • Foot Artillery Battalion No. 88
• Engineer Battalion No. 117
• Division News Commander No. 117

history

The division was assembled near Liart in April 1915 and initially deployed on the Western Front. In mid-August 1916, the association was transferred to the Romanian front . At the beginning of October 1917 the division came to the Isonzo Front and from there to Lorraine in March 1918 . After the end of the war, the association marched back home, was demobilized there and finally dissolved in April 1919.

Battle calendar

1915

• April 2nd to 13th --- Reserve of the OHL
• April 17th to May 7th --- Position battles in Champagne
• May 9th to July 23rd --- Battle of La Bassée and Arras
• July 24th to September 24th --- Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
• September 25th to October 13th --- Autumn battle at La Bassée and Arras
• from October 14th --- Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois

1916

• until February 28th --- Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
• February 28 to July 15 --- Trench warfare on the Yser
• July 19 to August 10 --- Battle of the Somme
• August 10th to 17th --- 1st Army Reserve
• August 17th to 22nd --- Transport to the east
• August 22nd to 31st --- Fights on the Tatar pass and in the Ludowa area
• September 1st to 29th --- Battle of the Carpathians
• from October 1st --- Trench warfare in the Forest Carpathians

1917

• until July 30th --- Position battles in the Forest Carpathians
• July 30th to August 1st --- Defense of the Russian-Romanian offensive in the Soveja Basin (parts of the division)
• August 6th to 7th --- Trench warfare in the Transylvanian border Carpathians
• August 8th to 26th --- Fighting over the mountain exits to western Moldova
• 27 August to 30 September --- Trench warfare in the Transylvanian-Romanian border Carpathians
• October 1st to 3rd --- Transport from Romania to Northern Italy
• October 3rd to 23rd --- Deployment behind the Isonzo front and position battles on the Isonzo
• October 24th to 27th --- Breakthrough through the Julian Alps
• October 28th to November 3rd --- Battle of Udine
• November 4th to 11th --- pursuit from Tagliamento to Piave
• November 6th to 7th --- Battles for the Livenza crossings
• from November 12th --- trench warfare on the lower Piave

1918

• until February 6th --- Trench warfare on the lower Piave
• February 6th to March 1st --- training period behind the Austro-Hungarian Southwest Front in Friuli and Veneto
• March 1st to 19th --- Transport from Northern Italy to Lorraine
• March 19 to April 2 --- OHL reserves in the 19th Army
• April 9-14 --- Battle of Armentières
• April 15-29 --- Battle of the Kemmel
• April 30th to August 1st --- Trench warfare in Flanders
• August 2-7 --- Fights on the Ancre , Somme and Avre
• August 8th to 9th --- Tank battle between Ancre and Avre
• August 8th to 20th --- Defensive battle between Somme and Avre
• August 22nd to September 2nd --- Battle of Albert - Péronne
• September 2 to 12 --- Trench warfare in the Argonne
• September 12th to 25th --- Position battles in front of Verdun
• September 26th to November 11th --- Defensive battle in Champagne and on the Meuse
• from November 12th --- evacuation of the occupied area and march home to Gleiwitz

1919/1920

• 1919 Renamed to Small Reichswehr Brigade 32. Until February 1920, deployed as a border guard against Polish insurgents in Upper Silesia .

Commanders

Rank	Surname	date
General of the Infantry z.D.	Ernst Kuntze	0April 6, 1915 to August 26, 1916
Major general	Paul Seydel	August 27, 1916 to November 24, 1917
Major general	Paul von Drabich-Waechter	November 25, 1917 to April 12, 1918
Major general	Karl Hoefer	April 13, 1918 to April 30, 1919

literature

• Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reichsarchiv , Militär-Verlag, Berlin 1927, pp. 74, 160.
• 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. 609-611.

Web links

Commons : 117th Infantry Division (German Empire)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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. 148.