56th Division (German Empire)

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The 56th Division was a major unit of the Prussian army in the First World War .

history

The division was formed on March 1, 1915 and initially deployed on the Western Front. There, however, it was removed again after a short time and relocated to the Eastern Front, where it remained until the end of June 1915. Then she went back to the Western Front. After the end of the war, the division returned home, where it was demobilized in January 1919 and then disbanded.

Battle calendar

1915

  • March 6th to 25th --- Reserve of the OHL
  • March 25th to May 3rd --- Trench warfare in Champagne
  • May 3rd to 8th --- Transport to the East
  • May 9-13 --- 11th Army Reserve
  • May 13-23 --- Pursuit battles after the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów , crossing over the San
  • May 27th to June 4th --- Fighting at the Jaroslau bridgehead
  • June 12th to 15th --- the breakthrough battle of Lubaczów
  • June 17th to 22nd --- Battle of Lviv
  • June 22nd to 23rd --- Persecution battles on the Galician-Polish border
  • June 23-28 --- 11th Army Reserve
  • June 28th to July 4th --- Transport to the west
  • 5th to 25th July --- OHL reserves in the 2nd Army
  • July 25th to September 25th --- OHL reserve at the Falkenhausen Army Department
  • September 25th to November 3rd --- Autumn battle in Champagne
  • November 4th to December 31st --- Trench warfare in Champagne

1916

  • January 1st to April 26th --- Trench warfare in Champagne
    • January 9th --- east of Maisons de Champagne-Ferme
  • April 26th to May 26th --- Reserve of the OHL in the 3rd Army
  • May 26th to July 13th --- Battle of Verdun
    • May 26th to 29th --- Fight for the dead man
    • May 29th to July 13th --- Trench warfare on the dead man
  • July 21 to August 23 --- Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
  • August 24th to September 9th --- Battle of the Somme
  • September 12th to October 31st --- Trench warfare in Champagne
  • November 1st to 13th --- Reserve of the Army Group "Crown Prince Rupprecht"
  • November 13th to 26th --- Battle of the Somme
  • from November 27th --- Trench warfare on the Somme

1917

  • until March 15th --- Trench warfare on the Somme
  • March 16-23 --- Fighting in front of the Siegfried Front
  • March 24th to April 1st --- Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
  • April 2nd to May 20th --- Battle of Arras
  • May 21st to July 6th --- Trench warfare in Flanders and Artois
  • July 10th to August 13th --- Trench warfare in the Argonne
  • August 13th to October 9th --- Defense battle near Verdun
  • from October 9th --- position battles in front of Verdun

1918

  • until April 16 --- Position battles in front of Verdun
  • April 20th to 29th --- Battle of the Kemmel
  • April 20 to September 27 --- Trench warfare in Flanders
  • 28 September to 17 October --- Defensive battle in Flanders
  • October 18 to 24 --- rearguard battles between Yser and Lys
  • October 25th to November 1st --- Battle of the Lys
  • November 2nd to 4th --- Rearguard fighting on both sides of the Scheldt
  • November 5th to 11th --- fighting in retreat in front of the Antwerp - Meuse position
  • from November 12th --- evacuation of the occupied territory and march home

structure

Division of War of March 6, 1915

Division of War of October 19, 1918

  • 112th Infantry Brigade
    • 2nd Nassau Infantry Regiment No. 88
    • Infantry Regiment "Prinz Carl" (4th Grand Ducal Hessian) No. 118
    • Infantry Regiment No. 186
    • 4th Squadron / Brunswick Hussar Regiment No. 17
  • Artillery Commander No. 56
    • Field Artillery Regiment No. 112
    • Foot Artillery Battalion No. 56
  • Engineer Battalion No. 139
  • Division News Commander # 56

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Major general Hans Schach from Wittenau 0March 1 to June 29, 1915
Lieutenant General Leo Sunday June 30, 1915 to June 17, 1916
Major General / Lieutenant General Carl von Wichmann June 18, 1916 to July 1, 1918
Major general Helmuth Freiherr von Maltzahn 0July 2, 1918 to January 1919

literature

  • Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reich Archives . Military Publishing House. Berlin 1927. pp. 71, 147.