5th Division (German Empire)

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The 5th Division , also known as the 5th Infantry Division for the duration of the mobile relationship , was a large unit of the Prussian Army .

structure

The division was part of the III. Army Corps . You were subject to:

Peace structure 1914

Organization of war during mobilization in 1914

  • 9th Infantry Brigade
    • Leib-Grenadier-Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm III." (1st Brandenburg) No. 8
    • Infantry Regiment "von Stülpnagel" (5th Brandenburg) No. 48
  • 10th Infantry Brigade
  • 3rd squadron / hussar regiment "von Zieten" (Brandenburg) No. 3
  • 5th Field Artillery Brigade
    • Field artillery regiment "General Feldzeugmeister" (2nd Brandenburg) No. 18
    • Neumark Field Artillery Regiment No. 54
  • 1st Company / Pioneer Battalion "von Rauch" (1st Brandenburg) No. 3

Division of War of May 26, 1918

  • 10th Infantry Brigade
    • Leib-Grenadier-Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm III." (1st Brandenburg) No. 8
    • Grenadier Regiment "Prince Carl of Prussia" (2nd Brandenburg) No. 12
    • Infantry Regiment "von Alvensleben" (6th Brandenburg) No. 52
    • Machine gun sniper division No. 13
    • 3rd squadron / hussar regiment "von Zieten" (Brandenburg) No. 3
  • Artillery Commander No. 142
    • Field artillery regiment "General Feldzeugmeister" (2nd Brandenburg) No. 18
    • Foot Artillery Battalion No. 67
  • Engineer Battalion No. 116
  • Division News Commander No. 5

history

The large association emerged from the troop brigade formed in Crossen in March 1816 and was expanded to the 5th division on September 5, 1818. The command was initially in Frankfurt (Oder) until 1840 , then in Berlin and from 1845 back in Frankfurt (Oder). After the end of World War I, the division was demobilized there and finally dissolved in 1919.

First World War

With the beginning of the First World War in August 1914, the division made mobile and was part of the III. Army Corps deployed on the Western Front. Under the leadership of Lieutenant General Georg Wichura, she marched through neutral Belgium into northern France. On August 18, 1914, the first fighting broke out at Tirlemont , followed by the battles at Mons on August 22 and 23 and those at Le Cateau on August 26 . After the Battle of the Marne , the division covered the retreat of the II Army Corps from the left bank to the right bank of the Aisne . In mid-September, the division went to heavy fighting in the Battle of the Aisne in the trench warfare over.

In January 1915, the division fought in the Battle of Soissons , which had developed from a breakthrough attempt by the French. In late summer 1915, already scheduled for transport to the Eastern Front , loading was stopped and the division was thrown into the autumn battle in Champagne as the next available reserve from September 24th . After the end of the fighting there in early November, the division remained in Champagne until early December 1915 and then transferred to the area of ​​the 5th Army , which was in front of Verdun .

During the Battle of Verdun , which began on February 21, 1916 , the division stormed Bois de Ville, the Walvrille Forest, the Louvremont position and the Pepper Ridge within a few days and finally fought over the heavily fortified village of Douaumont, which was briefly captured on March 2 could be. This was followed by bitter fighting in the Caillette forest and around the village and Fort Vaux. After heavy losses, the division was withdrawn from the front to recuperate and refresh. It was used again at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme and defended the Longueval forest section of Delville. On September 7, 1916, General Hasso von Wedel took over the division, which at that time was again in Champagne.

After the following trench warfare, it was then used in the 1st Army in mid-April 1917 in the double battle of Aisne-Champagne . In early July 1917, the division moved to the Eastern Front and was used during the Kerensky offensive on the Sereth . In September 1917 the unit came to the Italian front . In the 12th Isonzo battle and after the breakthrough at Tolmein, the storms of Monte Hum, Monte Spinh and Castel del Monte succeeded on October 27. After the Battle of Udine , the division continued to advance and crossed the Tagliamento. Briefly withdrawn from the front to recuperate, she was army reserve and then rejoined the Venetian mountain fighting.

In mid-December 1917 it was transported back to the western front, where the division took part in the 18th Army in the Michael Offensive . On March 21, 1918, the III. Army Corps division, the canal between St. Christ and Tergnier and advanced on the line Montdidier - Noyon by the end of March . Persecution fights between Oise and Aisne followed. Involved in the Third Aisne Battle as part of the General Command 54 , the storming of the western heights of the Chemin-des-Dames succeeded on May 27th . After the further advance to the Marne , after the French counter-offensive that started on July 18, the retreat on the Vesle followed . Withdrawal fights over the Aisne to the old Siegfried Line , until November 1918 the withdrawal to the Maas position took place.

Battle calendar

1914
  • August 18-19 - Battle of the Gette
  • 23rd to 24th August - Battle of Mons
  • August 25-27 - Battle of Solesmes and Le Cateau
  • August 28-30 - Battles on the Somme
  • 0September 1st - Battle at Villers-Cotterêts
  • 0September 4 - Battles at Vieils-Maisons-Montmirail
  • 0September 5th to 9th - Battle of Ourcq
  • September 10th - rearguard battles at Neuilly-St. front
  • from September 12th - fighting on the Aisne
1915
  • until July 1, 1915 - fighting on the Aisne
  • July 24th to September 22nd - Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
  • September 24th to November 3rd - Autumn battle in Champagne
  • 0November 4th to December 10th - Trench warfare in Champagne
  • from November 30th - fighting on the Aisne
1916
  • until February 2nd - fighting on the Aisne
  • February 21st to May 31st - Battle of Verdun
    • February 21-22 - Storming the Bois-de-Ville
    • February 23rd - Storming of the Wavrille forest
    • 25th to 26th February - Storming of the Louvémont position and the Pepper Ridge
    • February 25th to March 2nd - fighting for the village of Douaumont
    • 0March 3rd to 20th - trench warfare in front of Verdun
    • March 12-15 - Fighting in the Caillette Forest
    • May 22-25 - Fight for Fort Douaumont
  • 0June 1 to July 18 - Reserve of the OHL
  • July 19 to August 4 - Battle of the Somme
  • August 14th to October 27th - Trench warfare in Champagne
  • October 27 to December 16 - trench warfare in front of Verdun
  • from December 16 - reserve of the OHL
1917
  • until February 7th - reserve of the OHL
  • February 18 to April 17 - trench warfare in Upper Alsace
  • April 18 to May 4 - Aisne-Champagne double battle
  • 0May 5 to July 5 - Reserve of the OHL
  • 0July 7th to 18th - trench warfare east of Zloczow
  • July 19-28 - breakthrough battle in eastern Galicia
    • July 19 - Storming of the Mackowa Gora
    • July 20th - pursuit battles up to the Jezierna-Tarnopol railway
    • July 21 - Breakthrough fighting on the Jezierna-Tarnopol road
    • July 22nd - Advance on the Sereth
    • July 23rd - enforcement of the crossing over the Sereth
    • July 24th - Forest fighting in Wielki-Las
    • July 25th - Gniezna crossing
  • July 29th to September 20th - Trench warfare on the Sereth
  • September 20 to October 15 - Deployment behind the Isonzo front
  • 0October 3rd to 23rd - Trench warfare on the Isonzo
  • October 24th to 27th - breakthrough through the Julian Alps
    • October 26th - Storming of Monte Hum
    • October 27th - Storming of Monte San Giovanni, Monte Spighi and Castel del Monte
  • October 28th to November 3rd - Battle of Udine
    • October 29th to November 1st - advance against the lower Tagliamento
  • 0November 4th to 11th - pursuit from Tagliamento to Piave
  • November 12th to December 18th - Mountain fighting in the Venetian Alps
  • from December 18 - trench warfare in Champagne
1918
  • until March 4th - Trench warfare in Champagne
  • 0March 5-20 - resting time behind the 18th Army
  • March 21 to April 6 - Great battle in France
  • 0April 7th to May 27th - Fights on the Avre and Montdidier-Noyon
  • May 27th to June 13th - Battle of Soissons and Reims
    • May 27th - Storming the heights of the Chemin des Dames
    • May 28th to June 1st - chase battles between Oise and Aisne and over the Vesle to the Marne
    • May 30th to June 13th - Assault fighting west and southwest of Soissons
  • June 14th to July 4th - trench warfare between Oise, Aisne and Marne
  • July 18-25 - Defensive battle between Soissons and Reims
  • July 26th to August 3rd - Mobile defensive battle between Marne and Vesle
  • 0August 4th to September 3rd - trench warfare on the Vesle
  • 0September 3 to 27 - Fights in front of and in the Siegfried Line
  • October 10-12 - Fighting on the Hunding and Brunhild fronts
  • October 13th to November 4th - fights in the dog position
  • 05th to 11th November - fighting in retreat in front of the Antwerp - Meuse position
  • from November 12th - evacuation of the occupied territory and march back home

Commanders

Lieutenant General Otto von Dulitz, division commander 1901/06.
Rank Surname date
Major general Friedrich August von Brause 0September 5, 1818 to June 17, 1825
Major general Constantine of Zepelin June 18, 1825 to March 17, 1835
Major general Georg of Hessen-Cassel March 18, 1835 to May 8, 1840
Major general Albrecht of Prussia 0May 9, 1840 to October 3, 1844
Major general Wilhelm von Pochhammer 0October 4, 1844 to March 14, 1848
Major general Ludwig Roth von Schreckenstein March 15 to April 12, 1848
Major general Heinrich von Holleben April 13 to November 3, 1848
Lieutenant General Karl von Canitz and Dallwitz November 20, 1849 to April 25, 1850
Lieutenant General Philipp von Wussow 0May 2, 1850 to May 6, 1857
Major general Karl August von Brandenstein 0May 7, 1857 to July 2, 1858
Lieutenant General Eduard Vogel von Falckenstein 0July 3, 1858 to January 28, 1863
Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Tümpling January 29, 1863 to October 29, 1866
Major General / Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Kamienski October 30, 1866 to May 11, 1867
Lieutenant General Ferdinand von Stülpnagel July 16, 1867 to October 17, 1871
Lieutenant General Georg von der Groeben January 13 to November 18, 1872
Lieutenant General Bernhard von Kessel September 13 to November 22, 1872 (deputy)
Lieutenant General Bernhard von Kessel November 23, 1872 to May 12, 1879
Major General / Lieutenant General Walter of Loë May 13, 1879 to January 11, 1884
Lieutenant General Barthold von Ditfurth January 12, 1884 to July 11, 1888
Major general Hermann von Blomberg July 12 to September 18, 1888 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant General Hermann von Blomberg September 19, 1888 to October 19, 1891
Lieutenant General Maximilian Vogel von Falckenstein October 20, 1891 to January 1, 1896
Lieutenant General Colmar von der Goltz 0January 2, 1896 to July 23, 1898
Lieutenant General Oldwig Ferdinand von Natzmer July 24, 1898
Lieutenant General Ernst Koepke July 25 to September 9, 1898 (substitute)
Lieutenant General Ernst Koepke September 10, 1898 to June 7, 1901
Major general Otto von Dulitz 0June 8 to June 15, 1901 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant General Otto von Dulitz June 16, 1901 to April 9, 1906
Lieutenant General Limbrecht von Schlieffen April 10, 1906 to March 21, 1910
Major general Gustav Schuch March 22 to July 3, 1910
Major general Richard von Süsskind-Schwendi 0July 4 to September 9, 1910 (in charge of the tour)
Lieutenant General Richard von Süsskind-Schwendi September 10, 1910 to September 30, 1912
Lieutenant General Georg Wichura 0October 1, 1912 to May 5, 1915
Major general Arthur of Gabain 0May 6 to July 2, 1915 (substitute)
Lieutenant General Georg Wichura 0July 3, 1915 to September 6, 1916
Lieutenant General Hasso von Wedel 0September 7, 1916 to July 4, 1918
Lieutenant General Georg Johow 0July 5, 1918 to January 20, 1919

literature

  • Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reichsarchiv , Militär-Verlag, Berlin 1927, pp. 61–62, 95.
  • 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. 108-111.
  • Friedrich von Bernhardi : Germany's heroic struggle. JF Lehmann Verlag, Munich 1922.

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. 96f.