111th Infantry Division (German Empire)
Encyclopedia
The 111th Infantry Division (111. Infanterie-Division) was a unit of the Imperial German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 Army
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...

 in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The division was formed on March 25, 1915 near Brussels, Belgium and organized over the next several weeks. It was part of a wave of new infantry divisions formed in the spring of 1915. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

The division was formed primarily from the excess infantry regiments of regular infantry divisions which were being triangularized
Triangular division
A triangular division is a designation given to the way divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade headquarters or directly subordinated to the division commander...

. The division's 221st Infantry Brigade was formerly the 38th Infantry Brigade of the 19th Infantry Division
19th Division (German Empire)
The 19th Division was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was formed on October 11, 1866 and was headquartered in Hannover. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the X Army Corps...

, which came to the new division along with the 73rd Füsilier Regiment. The 76th Infantry Regiment came from the 17th Infantry Division
17th Division (German Empire)
The 17th Division was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was formed on October 11, 1866 and initially headquartered in Kiel. It moved its headquarters to Schwerin in 1871. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the IX Army Corps...

. The 164th Infantry Regiment was formerly part of the 20th Infantry Division
20th Division (German Empire)
The 20th Division was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was formed on October 11, 1866 and was headquartered in Hannover. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the X Army Corps...

. The 73rd Füsiliers and the 164th Infantry were Hanoverian regiments, and the 76th was the regiment of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Cavalry support came in the form of two squadrons of Baden's 22nd Dragoons. The artillery and combat engineer units were newly formed.

Combat chronicle

The 111th Infantry Division entered the line on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

 in the region between the Meuse and Moselle Rivers in April 1915. It fought in several engagements, and was then transferred to the front in the Flanders and Artois region. The division fought in the battle by La Bassée and Arras in June 1915, and in the Battle of Loos
Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. It marked the first time the British used poison gas during the war, and is also famous for the fact that it witnessed the first large-scale use of 'new' or Kitchener's Army...

 in September and October 1915. It remained in positional warfare in the Flanders and Artois region into 1916, and fought in the Battle of the Somme. The division remained in the trenchlines in the Somme region into 1917. In April and May, it fought in the Battle of Arras
Battle of Arras (1917)
The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....

. Later in the year, it fought in the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. In 1918, the division participated in the German Spring Offensive
Spring Offensive
The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...

, fighting in the First Battle of the Somme (1918), also known as the Second Battle of the Somme (to distinguish it from the 1916 battle). It remained in the line except for brief respites until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as second class.

Order of battle on formation

The 111th Infantry Division was formed as a triangular division
Triangular division
A triangular division is a designation given to the way divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade headquarters or directly subordinated to the division commander...

. The order of battle of the division on March 25, 1915 was as follows:
  • 221. Infanterie-Brigade
    • Füsilier-Regiment Feldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (Hannoversches) Nr. 73
    • Infanterie-Regiment Hamburg (2. Hanseatisches) Nr. 76
    • 4. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 164
  • 3. Eskadron/3. Badisches Dragoner-Regiment Prinz Karl Nr. 22
  • 4. Eskadron/3. Badisches Dragoner-Regiment Prinz Karl Nr. 22
  • Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 221
  • Fußartillerie-Batterie Nr. 111
  • Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 221

Late-war order of battle

The division underwent relatively few organizational changes over the course of the war. Cavalry was reduced, artillery and signals commands were formed, and combat engineer support was expanded to a full pioneer battalion. The order of battle on May 1, 1918 was as follows:
  • 221.Infanterie-Brigade
    • Füsilier-Regiment Feldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (Hannoversches) Nr. 73
    • Infanterie-Regiment Hamburg (2. Hanseatisches) Nr. 76
    • 4. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 164
  • 4.Eskadron/3. Badisches Dragoner-Regiment Prinz Karl Nr. 22
  • Artillerie-Kommandeur 111
    • Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 94
    • II.Bataillon/Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 25 (from May 4, 1918)
  • Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 111
    • Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 221
    • Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 262
    • Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 111
  • Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 111
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