42nd Division (German Empire)

The 42nd Division was a large unit of the Prussian Army .

structure

The division was part of the XXI. Army Corps .

Peacemaking

• 59th Infantry Brigade in Saarburg
  • 1st Upper Rhine Infantry Regiment No. 97 in Saarburg
  • 3rd Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 138 in Dieuze
• 65th Infantry Brigade in Mörchingen
  • Infantry regiment "Graf Barfuß" (4th Westphalian) No. 17 in Mörchingen
  • 2nd Lorraine Infantry Regiment No. 131 in Mörchingen
• 42nd Cavalry Brigade in Saarburg
  • Uhlan regiment "Graf Haeseler" (2nd Brandenburg) No. 11 in Saarburg
  • Schleswig-Holstein Uhlan Regiment No. 15 in Saarburg
• 42nd Field Artillery Brigade in Saarbrücken
  • Field artillery regiment "von Holtzendorff" (1st Rheinisches) No. 8 in Saarlouis and Saarbrücken (riding department)
  • 1st Upper Alsatian Field Artillery Regiment No. 15 in Saarburg (also Reit. Department) and Mörchingen (I. Department)

Outline for mobilization in 1914

Soldiers of the No. 138 regiment resting during the 1899 maneuver.

• 59th Infantry Brigade
  • 1st Upper Rhine Infantry Regiment No. 97
  • 3rd Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 138
• 65th Infantry Brigade
  • Infantry Regiment "Graf Barfuß" (4th Westphalian) No. 17
  • 2nd Lorraine Infantry Regiment No. 131
• Dragoon Regiment "Field Marshal Prince Leopold of Bavaria" (Westphalian) No. 7
• 42nd Field Artillery Brigade
  • Field artillery regiment "von Holtzendorff" (1st Rheinisches) No. 8
  • 1st Upper Alsatian Field Artillery Regiment No. 15
• 2nd and 3rd Company / Engineer Battalion No. 27

Division of war from January 1, 1918

• 65th Infantry Brigade
  • Infantry Regiment "Graf Barfuß" (4th Westphalian) No. 17
  • 2nd Lorraine Infantry Regiment No. 131
  • 3rd Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 138
  • 1st squadron / dragoon regiment "Field Marshal Prince Leopold of Bavaria" (Westphalian) No. 7
• Artillery Commander No. 42
  • 1st Upper Alsatian Field Artillery Regiment No. 15
• Engineer Battalion No. 27
• Division Message Commander No. 42

history

The division was established on October 1, 1912 and had its divisional command in Saarburg .

Battle calendar

1914

• July 31 to August 16 - border protection against France
• August 18th to 19th - Lauterfingen - Mittersheim
• August 20-22 - Battle of Lorraine
• August 22nd to September 14th - Battle of Nancy-Epinal
• September 23 to October 6 - Battle of the Somme
• 0October 7-10 - trench warfare west of St. Quentin
• from October 7th - trench warfare on the Somme

1915

• until January 18 - trench warfare on the Somme
• January 19 to February 3 - transport to the east
• 0February 4th to 22nd - Winter battle in Masuria
• February 23 to March 6 - Battles on Bobr
• 0March 9-12 - Battles at Sejny
• March 25-30 - Skirmishes near Krasnopol and Krasne
• March 31 to July 20 - trench warfare between Augustow , Mariampol , and Pilwiszki
• July 21st to August 7th - fights at Jesia and Wejwery
• 0August 1st to 18th - Siege of Kovno
• August 19 to September 8 - Battle of Nyemen
• 0September 9 to October 2 - Battle of Vilnius
• from October 3rd - position battles between Krewo- Smorgon - Narotsch -Tweretsch

1916

• Position battles between Krewo-Smorgon-Narotsch-Tveretsch
  • March 18-27 - Battle of Postawy
  • March 18 to April 30 - Battle of Lake Naroch

1917

• until July 12th - position battles between Krewo-Smorgon-Narotsch-Tveretsch
• July 14-18 - trench warfare east of Zloczow
• July 19-28 - breakthrough battle in eastern Galicia
• July 29th to August 23rd - Trench warfare on the Sereth
• 0September 1-5 - Battle of Riga
• 0September 6th to October 10th - trench warfare north of the Daugava
• October 11-20 - Conquest of the Baltic Islands
  • October 11th to 16th - Conquest of the island of Ösel
  • October 17-18 - Conquest of Moon Island
  • October 17th to 20th - Conquest of Dagö Island
• October 20th to November 7th - Protection of the Baltic Islands
• 0November 5th to December 1st - trench warfare on the upper Styr - Stochod
• 0December 2nd to 24th - transport to the west
• from December 26th - trench warfare in Flanders and Artois

1918

• to June 23rd - trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
• 0April 9-18 - Battle of Armentières
• June 23rd to July 4th - trench warfare between Oise , Aisne and Marne
• 0July 5th to 17th - Trench warfare west of Soissons
• July 18-25 - Defensive battle between Soissons and Reims
• July 30th to August 28th - Trench warfare near Reims
• August 28th to September 25th - Trench warfare in Champagne
• September 26th to October 9th - defensive battle in Champagne and on the Meuse
• October 13-17 - Fights on the Aisne and Aire
• October 18-23 - Battle of Vouziers
• October 24th to 31st - Fights on the Aisne and Aire
• 0November 1st to 4th - Fights between Aisne and Aire
• 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	Hasso von Bredow	0October 1, 1912 to April 3, 1916
Lieutenant General	Thilo von Hanstein	0April 4 to November 6, 1916
Lieutenant General	Ludwig von Estorff	0November 7, 1916 to March 15, 1918
Major general	Carl Buchholtz	March 16, 1918 to February 14, 1919
Major general	Friedrich Zechlin	February 15 to July 10, 1919

literature

• Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reichsarchiv , Militär-Verlag, Berlin 1927, pp. 70, 138.
• 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. 451-453.

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. 135.