Active 1912-1919 Branch Army | Country Prussia/Germany Size Approx. 15,000 | |
Type Infantry (in peacetime included cavalry) Part of XX. Army Corps (XX. Armeekorps) | ||
The 41st Division (41. Division) was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was established on October 1, 1912 in Deutsch Eylau (now Iława, Poland). The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XX Army Corps (XX. Armeekorps). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. It was mainly recruited in the Prussian province of West Prussia.
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Pre-World War I organization
The organization of the 37th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:
Order of battle on mobilization
On mobilization in August 1914, at the beginning of World War I, most divisional cavalry, including brigade headquarters, was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from their higher headquarters. The 41st Division was renamed the 41st Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:
Combat chronicle
The 41st Infantry Division began World War I on the Eastern Front. It participated in the battles of Tannenberg and 1st Masurian Lakes. In 1916, it saw action in the Romanian Campaign. The division was transferred to the Western Front in February 1917. It occupied the trenchlines in 1917, and participated in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also called the Third Battle of Champagne. In 1918 participated in the German Spring Offensive. In the subsequent Allied counteroffensives, the division fought in the Meuse-Argonne. Allied intelligence rated the division a second class division.
Late World War I organization
Divisions underwent many changes during the war, with regiments moving from division to division, and some being destroyed and rebuilt. During the war, most divisions became triangular - one infantry brigade with three infantry regiments rather than two infantry brigades of two regiments (a "square division"). The 41st Infantry Division was triangularized in May 1915. An artillery commander replaced the artillery brigade headquarters, the cavalry was further reduced, the engineer contingent was increased, and a divisional signals command was created. The 41st Infantry Division's order of battle on March 31, 1918 was as follows: