2nd Royal Bavarian Division

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The 2nd Division , also known as the 2nd Infantry Division for the duration of the mobile relationship , was a large unit of the Bavarian Army .

2nd Royal Bavarian Division

active November 27, 1815 to 1919
Country Flag of Bavaria (striped) .svg Kingdom of Bavaria
Armed forces Bavarian Army
Armed forces army
Type Infantry Division
structure see: Outline
Insinuation I. Army Corps
Garrison augsburg
Former locations Ingolstadt, Regensburg

structure

Peace structure 1914

In 1914 the division was part of the I. Army Corps .

Division of War of August 2, 1914

Division of War of March 22, 1918

  • 4th Infantry Brigade
    • 12th Infantry Regiment "Prince Arnulf"
    • 15th Infantry Regiment "King Friedrich August of Saxony"
    • 20th Infantry Regiment "Prinz Franz"
    • Bavarian MG sniper division No. 2
    • 3rd Squadron / 8th Chevaulegers Regiment
  • Bavarian artillery commander No. 2
    • 9th Field Artillery Regiment
  • Bavarian Pioneer Battalion 7
  • Bavarian Division News Commander No. 2

history

The large association was first formed on November 27, 1815 as an infantry division of the Munich General Command . In the further course of their existence, the names changed several times. From June 1, 1822 to March 31, 1872 it was called the 2nd Army Division. In the meantime, it was called the 2nd Infantry Division from November 20, 1848 to September 30, 1851, and from February 1, 1859 to January 31, 1869, the name General Command Augsburg. Finally, on April 1, 1872, it was given the final designation of 2nd Division. The command was in Ingolstadt from 1815 to 1817, in Regensburg from 1817 to 1822 and then in Augsburg until it was dissolved in 1919 .

First World War

The division was used at the beginning of the First World War as part of the 6th Army on the Western Front. The division stepped out of its staging area west of Saarburg with the subordinate 7th Prussian cavalry division against the French VIII. And XIII. Army Corps (2nd French Army) headed south and advanced to Blâmont by August 10, 1914 . After the division had evaded its starting positions near Saarburg because of a French counterattack, it attacked again on August 20, 1914 and reached the village of Bazien by August 24, 1914 . After the Battle of Lorraine , the Bavarian 2nd Division was relocated to Gouy in mid-September 1914 when the 1st Army Corps was relocated. After arriving on September 22, 1914, the division immediately entered the race to sea and crossed the Somme at Péronne the next day . Because of a threat to the left flank, the division had to stop the attack. The quickly introduced 3. Kgl. Bay. Infantry Division brought relief on September 26, 1914 and trench warfare took place in this room for months.

During the autumn battle in Artois (September 23 to October 13, 1915), the division was thrown into the area north of Arras to support the Bavarian I. Reserve Corps . On October 11, 1915, two corps of the French 10th Army attempted to break through the front of the 2nd Bavarian Division (Genlt. Bernhard von Hartz) in the section Givenchy to Thélus. The French attack collapsed in front of the Bavarian positions, and the few French who had penetrated were fought down in the trenches.

In mid-May 1916, the I. Bavarian Corps was thrown into the battle for Verdun . The 2nd Bavarian Division had to replace the worn out 5th Division in the battle for Fort Douaumont after French counter-attacks . The division was able to quickly restore the starting position on May 24th, but a further advance on May 25th failed. On June 12, the division continued the attack in the direction of Thiaumont . Then the division was detached from the section and replaced by the German Alpine Corps . In October 1916, the division was used as part of the Battle of the Somme northwest of Sailly , where it was able to assert itself against attacks by English troops and hold the positions until November 5th.

In April 1917, the 2nd Bavarian Division advanced during the Aisne Battle between Hurtebise and Craonne on Damenweg . On May 22, 1917, it repulsed French attacks without losing ground.

In the Michael Battle in March / April 1918, the 2nd Division from Cambrai via Péronne supported the attack of the 2nd Army on the right wing of the 18th Army and reached Moreuil on the Avre . On April 2, 1918, she crossed the Avre and came closest of all German troops to the target, Amiens . On April 8, 1918, the division's forces were completely exhausted and it was taken back to Rosières . In the 14-day battle, she lost over 3,000 men and hundreds of officers. In May and June 1918, the division was already heavily decimated while standing uninterruptedly, so that it did not have to take part in the Battle of Noyon (June 9–3, 1918) as a reserve of the 18th Army east of Lagny . For the battle east of Reims , the 2nd Division was subordinated to the 1st Army Corps of the 3rd Army and attacked Souain on July 15, 1918 west of the Somme Py - Souain-Perthes-lès-Hurlus road . After initial success, the French resistance stiffened and the attack was broken off without sending further troops into action.

On July 25, 1918, the division was used at Courville and Crugny southeast of Fismes . On November 11, 1918, the division was west of the Meuse at Givet . It reached Wetzlar at the beginning of December . From there the individual regiments reached the demobilization sites on foot or by train.

Battle calendar

1914

1915

1916

1917

  • February 23rd - Fights at Spada and St. Mihiel, trench warfare between Maas and Moselle
  • February 24 to May 5 - Trench warfare on the Maasheights near Lamorville-Spada and St. Mihiel
  • 0May 5th to 27th - double battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne
  • June 10-20 - Reserve of the OHL
  • June 21 to September 3 - Trench warfare in the Argonne
  • from September 4th - trench warfare in front of Verdun
    • September 4th to October 9th - defensive battle in front of Verdun
    • November 25th - Fighting at height 344 before Verdun

1918

  • until January 25th - trench warfare in front of Verdun
  • 25 January to 17 March - OHL reserves in the 5th Army
  • March 17th to 20th - fighting in the Siegfriedstellung and preparation time for the Great Battle in France
  • March 21 to April 6 - Great battle in France
  • 0April 7th to June 8th - Fights on the Ancre , Somme and Avre
  • 0June 9th to August 7th - fighting on the Avre and Matz
  • 0August 4th to September 3rd - trench warfare on the Vesle
  • 0September 3 to October 9 - fighting in front of the Siegfried Front
  • October 10-12 - Fighting on the Hunding and Brunhild fronts
  • October 13th to November 4th - fights in the dog position
  • 0November 5th to 11th - fighting in retreat in front of the Antwerp-Maas position
  • from November 12th - evacuation of the occupied territory and march home

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Lieutenant General Friedrich von Zoller November 27, 1815 to February 25, 1821
Lieutenant General Maximilian von Preysing-Moos 0June 1, 1822 to May 20, 1829
Lieutenant General Friedrich von Treuberg May 21, 1829 to June 14, 1830
Lieutenant General Maximilian Seyssel d'Aix June 15, 1830 to December 29, 1836
Lieutenant General Albert von Pappenheim December 30, 1836 to March 30, 1848
Lieutenant General Anton von Gumppenberg March 31, 1848 to April 10, 1851
Lieutenant General Leonhard von Hohenhausen 0October 1, 1851 to February 22, 1861
Lieutenant General Ludwig von der Tann-Rathsamhausen February 23, 1861 to January 22, 1862
Lieutenant General Maximilian von Feder January 23, 1862 to January 28, 1869
Lieutenant General Karl zu Pappenheim 0March 4, 1869 to August 22, 1870
Major general Ignaz Schuhmacher August 22 to November 9, 1870
Lieutenant General Joseph Maximilian von Maillinger November 10, 1870 to April 24, 1873
Lieutenant General Rudolph von der Tann-Rathsamhausen 0May 1, 1873 to November 26, 1875
August by Leonrod November 27, 1875 to February 28, 1882
Lieutenant General Otto von Schmidt 0March 1, 1882 to April 3, 1887
Lieutenant General Benignus of Safferling 0April 4, 1887 to May 8, 1889
Lieutenant General Moritz von Orff 0May 9, 1890 to May 6, 1893
Lieutenant General Adolph von Asch 0May 7th to June 11th, 1893
Eugene of Malaisé June 12, 1893 to March 17, 1898
Lieutenant General Carl von Claus March 18, 1898 to October 25, 1901
Lieutenant General Theophil von Reichlin-Meldegg October 26, 1901 to March 21, 1905
Lieutenant General Karl von Endres March 22 to September 14, 1905
Lieutenant General Felix von Bothmer September 15, 1905 to December 3, 1909
Lieutenant General Maximilian von Speidel 0December 4, 1909 to December 14, 1911
Lieutenant General Ludwig von Gebsattel December 15, 1911 to March 19, 1914
Lieutenant General Ludwig von Hetzel March 19, 1914 to August 8, 1915
Lieutenant General Bernhard von Hartz 0September 7, 1915 to February 8, 1917
Major general Eugen von Zoellner 0February 8, 1917 to November 1918

literature

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. 661 f.