12th Division (German Empire)

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The 12th Division , also known as the 12th Infantry Division for the duration of the mobile relationship , was a large unit of the Prussian Army that existed from 1818 to 1919 .

structure

The command was in Neisse , and the division was part of the VI. Army Corps .

Peace structure 1914

Organization of war during mobilization in 1914

  • 24th Infantry Brigade
    • Infantry Regiment "von Winterfeldt" (2nd Upper Silesian) No. 23
    • 3rd Upper Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 62
  • 78th Infantry Brigade
    • 4th Upper Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 63
    • 4th Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 157
  • Uhlan regiment "von Katzler" (Silesian) No. 2
  • 12th Field Artillery Brigade
    • Field artillery regiment "von Clausewitz" (1st Upper Silesian) No. 21
    • 2nd Upper Silesian Field Artillery Regiment No. 57
  • 2nd and 3rd Company / Silesian Pioneer Battalion No. 6

Division of War of March 20, 1918

  • 24th Infantry Brigade
    • Infantry Regiment "von Winterfeldt" (2nd Upper Silesian) No. 23
    • 3rd Upper Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 62
    • Infantry Regiment "Emperor Karl of Austria and King of Hungary" (4th Upper Silesian) No. 63
    • MG Sniper Division No. 20
    • 4th Squadron / Uhlan Regiment "von Katzler" (Silesian) No. 2
  • Artillery Commander No. 12
    • Field artillery regiment "von Clausewitz" (1st Upper Silesian) No. 21
    • Foot Artillery Battalion No. 68
  • Silesian Pioneer Battalion No. 6
  • Division News Commander No. 12

history

German war

In the war against Austria , the division took part in the battle of Königgrätz on July 3 and from July 5 to 26, 1866 in the observation of Josefstadt .

First World War

In August 1914, the left wing of the 4th Army - the VI. Army Corps under General Kurt von Pritzelwitz on the L'Eglise-Thibesart line and was temporarily subordinate to the 5th Army . The associated 12th Infantry Division under Lieutenant General Chales de Beaulieu supported the 5th Army's attack on Virton during the advance through the Ardennes and also took part in the Battle of Neufchâteau from August 22nd . The 12th Infantry Division advanced south from the L'Eglise area towards Rossignol and Tintigny , reached St. Vincent and finally secured the heights at Les Bulles. Below Montmedy , the division had crossed the Chiers at La Ferte on August 25 and reached Olizy. During the Battle of the Marne in early September, the division fought near Montfaucon and in the Varennes area . They advanced on the left wing of the 4th Army west of Verdun through the Argonne to the south. In mid-September the division switched to the 3rd Army in Champagne and fought in the Bois de Cheppy and near Malancourt. During the Aisne battle at Binarville, the VI. Army Corps of the 4th Army withdrawn and pushed in at the seam between 2nd and 3rd Armies, to replace the 2nd Guard Division at Prunay from September 18 . Position battles followed in Champagne, around St. Menehould and Malancourt, by December 19, 1914. At the end of December 1914, heavy defensive battles began at Souain and Perthes.

Between February 21 and March 20, 1915, the division fought to reinforce the hard-pressed VIII Army Corps in the winter battle in Champagne . From June 18th and 21st the division moved to Artois , led position battles there and played its part in the autumn battle at Arras and La Bassée between September 25th and October 5th . Between October 7, 1915 and May 22, 1916, the division conducted trench warfare west of Bapaume , and in July 1916 the division was in the Combles area at the Battle of the Somme . Operations in Flanders followed between August 19 and September 26, 1916, and at the end of September 1916 the division was deployed again on the Somme. From November 25th to the end of 1916, the division was back in Champagne.

At the turn of the year in 1917, it was transported to the northern eastern front . Between January 5 and May 24, 1917 the division was in positions in front of Daugavpils and moved back to the Western Front at the end of May 1917 . She acted briefly as a reserve of the Supreme Army Command at Army Division A in Upper Alsace and was back in Flanders from June 9th. Between June 31 and August 21, the division was used in the Third Battle of Flanders . After a month-long position battle in Upper Alsace, the transfer to Italy followed on September 24th.

Between September 25 and October 15, 1917, the division under the leadership of General Arnold Lequis deployed behind the Isonzo front . She was assigned to the "Gruppe Stein" of the 14th Army during the 12th Isonzo Battle and made available for the offensive on October 24 north of Tolmein . The towns of Selišče and Volarje were successfully conquered. By evening the division managed to advance up to 27 kilometers and to reach the old Austrian border near Robic. On October 25th the Monte Kuk and the Monte Stol were stormed, after fighting on the Luico Pass the breakthrough through the Julian Alps was achieved by October 27th . After taking part in the capture of Cividale , the conquest of Monte Ragogna and San Daniele followed. After fighting for Udine , the Tagliamento was conquered on November 3rd . Until November 5, the Piave bridgehead created near Pinzano was expanded together with the Austro-Hungarian 50th Troop Division. The division continued the pursuit on November 6th and 7th and marched in three columns to the Livenza crossings at Fiaschetti, Sacile and Carolana. However, all bridges had been destroyed. On November 8th, on the Monticano section near Vidor , the division tried to push in the existing Italian bridgehead and at the same time to advance with mass over the bridge. However, on the night of November 11th, the bridgehead was abandoned and the bridge was blown up. After brief position battles on the lower Piave, the division moved to Lorraine from December 10th , where position battles followed in the Vosges until the end of February 1918 .

During the German spring offensive in France, the division fought from March 21, 1918 in the section of the 17th Army between Monchy and Cambrai . Relocated to Lille at the end of March , the division also took part in the Battle of Armentières between April 9 and 18 . From the end of April to the end of August 1918, position battles followed alternately in Flanders and in Artois (deployments near Ypres and La Bassée). At the end of August, the division reinforced the wavering section of the front in the 17th Army's sector between Monchy and Bapaume. By September 1918, fighting with retreat to the Siegfried Line followed in the association of the XIV Reserve Corps under General of the Infantry Kurt von Morgen . The division was engaged in heavy defensive battles between Cambrai and St. Quentin at the end of September and returned to the Scheldt via Lens in mid-October . Between October 26 and November 4, 1918, defensive battles followed in the Valenciennes area and the withdrawal to the Antwerp-Maas position.

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Lieutenant General Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Pfuel March 30, 1838 to April 6, 1842
Lieutenant General Franz Karl of Werder 0March 7, 1848 to April 5, 1854
Major general Heinrich von Reitzenstein 0April 6 to May 4, 1854
Lieutenant General Eduard von Bonin 0May 5, 1854 to May 14, 1856
Lieutenant General Ferdinand von Hirschfeld May 15 to August 8, 1856
Major general Eduard d'Artois of Bequignolles August 14 to December 17, 1856
Lieutenant General Theodor von Rommel December 18, 1856 to November 21, 1858
Lieutenant General Ferdinand von Witzleben November 22, 1858 to September 18, 1859
Lieutenant General Louis of Mutius September 19, 1859 to January 23, 1863
Lieutenant General Heinrich von Plonski January 24, 1863 to June 24, 1864
Lieutenant General Ferdinand von Prondzynski June 25, 1864 to May 17, 1867
Lieutenant General Wilhelm zu Stolberg-Wernigerode May 18, 1867 to July 17, 1870
Lieutenant General Otto von Hoffmann July 18, 1870 to May 23, 1871
Major general Alexander von Kraatz-Koschlau May 23, 1871 to July 19, 1871
Major general Ernst Wilhelm Schuler from Senden July 20, 1871 to January 22, 1873
Lieutenant General Kraft to Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen January 23, 1873 to November 27, 1879
Lieutenant General Friedrich Wilhelm von Falkenhausen November 28, 1879 to November 23, 1881
Lieutenant General Adalbert von Schleinitz November 24, 1881 to November 23, 1885
Lieutenant General Ludwig von Spangenberg November 24, 1885 to November 5, 1888
Lieutenant General Karl von Graevenitz 0November 6, 1888 to November 17, 1890
Lieutenant General Heinrich von Wodtke November 18, 1890 to June 17, 1892
Lieutenant General Wilhelm Muller June 18, 1892 to March 16, 1894
Lieutenant General Gustav Heinrichs March 17, 1894 to December 16, 1896
Lieutenant General Anton Herwarth von Bittenfeld December 17, 1896 to May 19, 1897
Lieutenant General Arthur von Wangenheim May 20, 1897 to June 14, 1898
Lieutenant General Alexander von Massow June 15, 1898 to April 10, 1901
Lieutenant General Remus of Woyrsch April 11, 1901 to May 27, 1903
Lieutenant General Paul Zedler May 28, 1903 to March 19, 1906
Lieutenant General Arthur von der Groeben March 20, 1906 to March 2, 1910
Lieutenant General Eugen Marshal von Sulicki March 22 to October 17, 1910
Major general Erich Tülff October 18, 1910 to January 26, 1911 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant General Erich Tülff January 27, 1911 to January 26, 1912
Lieutenant General Martin Chales de Beaulieu June 25, 1913 to August 11, 1916
Lieutenant General Karl Fouquet August 12 to November 29, 1916
Lieutenant General Arnold Lequis November 30, 1916 to September 21, 1918
Major general Maximilian von Funcke September 22, 1918 to January 3, 1919
Lieutenant General Carl Briese 0January 4 to June 27, 1919

literature

  • Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reichsarchiv , Militär-Verlag, Berlin 1927, pp. 64, 107-108.
  • Claus von Bredow : Historical ranking and master list of the German army. Verlag August Scherl, Berlin 1905, pp. 423-424.

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. 106 f.