39th Division (German Empire)

39th division
active	April 1, 1899 to 1919
Country	German Empire
Armed forces	Prussian Army
Type	Infantry division
structure	See: Outline
First World War	First World War Battle for Verdun Battle of the Somme
Commanders
Please refer:	List of commanders

The 39th Division was a large unit of the Prussian Army .

structure

The command was in Colmar and the division was part of the XV. Army Corps .

Peace formation from April 1, 1901

• 61st Infantry Brigade in Strasbourg
  • 1st Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 132 in Strasbourg
  • Infantry Regiment "Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden" (8th Württembergisches) No. 126 in Strasbourg
• 82nd Infantry Brigade in Colmar
  • 2nd Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 171 in Colmar
  • 3rd Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 172 in Neubreisach
• 39th Cavalry Brigade in Colmar
  • Kurmärkisches Dragoon Regiment No. 14 in Colmar
  • Hunter Regiment on Horseback No. 3 in Colmar
• 39th Field Artillery Brigade in Colmar
  • 4. Badisches Field Artillery Regiment. 66 (from XIV. Corps reassigned )
  • 3rd Upper Alsatian Field Artillery Regiment No. 80

Division of War of August 2, 1914

• 61st Infantry Brigade
  • Infantry Regiment "Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden" (8th Württembergisches) No. 126
  • 1st Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 132
  • Jäger Battalion No. 8
• 82nd Infantry Brigade
  • 2nd Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 171
  • 3rd Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 172
  • Jäger Battalion No. 14
• Kurmärkisches Dragoon Regiment No. 14
• 39th Field Artillery Brigade
  • 4th Baden Field Artillery Regiment No. 66
  • 3rd Upper Alsatian Field Artillery Regiment No. 80
• 2nd and 3rd Company / Engineer Battalion No. 15

Division of War of January 13, 1918

• 61st Infantry Brigade
  • Infantry Regiment "Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden" (8th Württembergisches) No. 126
  • 1st Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 132
  • 3rd Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 172
  • MG sniper division No. 19
  • 1st Squadron / Reserve Hussar Regiment No. 8
• Artillery Commander No. 39
  • 3rd Upper Alsatian Field Artillery Regiment No. 80
  • Foot Artillery Battalion No. 406
• Engineer Battalion No. 136
• Division News Commander No. 39

Battle calendar

During the First World War, the division was used exclusively on the Western Front .

1914

• July 31 to August 16 - border protection against France
  • August 5th to 19th - Battles in the Vosges
  • August 9-10 - Battle near Sennheim - Mulhouse
• August 20-22 - Battle of Lorraine
• August 22nd to September 7th - Battle of Nancy - Epinal
• September 13th to October 19th - fighting on the Aisne
• 23 October to 26 November - Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
• November 27-30 - Battle of the Yser
• from December 1st - trench warfare on the Yser

1915

• until April 21st - trench warfare on the Yser
• April 22nd to May 25th - Fighting for Ypres
• May 26th to September 30th - fights at Hooge
  • May 26th - Trench warfare on the Yser

1916

• until January 8th - trench warfare on the Yser
• January 14th to February 20th - trench warfare around Verdun
• February 21st to September 9th - Battle of Verdun
• 09 September to 16 October - trench warfare in front of Verdun
• October 17th to November 27th - Battle of the Somme
• November 28th to December 23rd - trench warfare in front of Verdun
• 23rd to 31st December - Trench warfare in Champagne

1917

• 0January 1st to April 26th - Trench warfare in Champagne
• April 24th to May 27th - Aisne-Champagne double battle
• May 28th to July 5th - trench warfare near Reims
• 0July 7th to October 12th - trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
• October 13th to November 21st - autumn battle in Flanders
• from November 22nd - trench warfare in Flanders and Artois

1918

• until February 21st - trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
• February 21 to March 15 - OHL reserves in the 6th Army
• March 17-20 - Deployment for the Great Battle of France
• March 21-23 - Monchy-Cambrai breakthrough battle
• March 24-25 - Battle of Bapaume
• 0April 7th to 8th - Fights between Arras and Albert
• 0April 9-18 - Battle of Armentières
• April 19 to July 23 - Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
• July 24th to August 20th - Fights between Arras and Albert
• August 21 to September 2 - Battle of Monchy-Bapaume
• 0September 3 to 18 - fighting in front of the Siegfried Front
• September 28th to October 17th - defensive battle in Flanders
• October 18 to 24 - rearguard battles between Yser and Lys
• October 25th to November 1st - Battle of the Lys
• 0November 2nd to 4th - rearguard fighting on both sides of the Scheldt
• 05th to 11th November - fighting in retreat in front of the Antwerp - Meuse position
• from November 12th - evacuation of the occupied territory and march home

Commanders

Rank	Surname	date
Lieutenant General	Maximilian von Sommer	0April 1, 1899 to June 15, 1901
Major general	Karl Litzmann	June 16 to July 6, 1901 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant General	Karl Litzmann	0July 7, 1901 to September 11, 1902
Lieutenant General	Bruno from Mudra	August 27, 1907 to March 2, 1910
Lieutenant General	Ernst von Bacmeister	0March 3-21, 1910
Lieutenant General	Curt from Pavel	March 22, 1910 to March 21, 1912
Major general	Theodor von Watter	March 22, 1912 to April 21, 1914 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant General	Theodor von Watter	April 22, 1912 to August 30, 1914
General of the Infantry	Hugo von Kathen	August 31 to December 20, 1914
Lieutenant General	Hermann Karl von Bertrab	December 21, 1914 to April 24, 1917
Major general	Richard Münter	April 25 to November 10, 1917
Lieutenant General	Julius of Dawans	November 11, 1917 to January 24, 1919

literature

• Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reichsarchiv , Militär-Verlag, Berlin 1927, pp. 69–70, 136.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The name opposite was not given to the regiment until January 27, 1902
2. ↑ 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. 133.