9th Landwehr Division

The 9th Landwehr Division (9. Landwehr-Division) was a unit of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed in January 1915 as the Mühlenfels Division (Division Mühlenfels), named after its commander, and became the 9th Landwehr Division on February 14, 1915.[1] The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

9th Landwehr Division (9. Landwehr-Division)
Active1914-1919
CountryGerman Empire
BranchArmy
TypeInfantry
SizeApprox. 15,000
EngagementsWorld War I: Second Battle of Champagne, Battle of Verdun, Second Battle of the Marne, Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Combat chronicle

The 9th Landwehr Division served on the Western Front, holding a sector in the Argonne Forest. From September to November 1915, it saw action in the Second Battle of Champagne. From July to September 1916, it was involved in the Battle of Verdun. It was peripherally involved in the Second Battle of the Marne in July 1918. Late in 1918, it faced the Allied Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Allied intelligence rated the division as fourth class; it was considered primarily a sector holding division and not an offensive formation but "on the defensive it showed some fighting ability.[1][2]

Order of battle on formation

The 9th Landwehr Division was formed as a square division from previously independent Landwehr brigades. The order of battle of the division on February 15, 1915, was as follows:[3]

  • 49. Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade
    • Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 56
    • Großherzoglich Hessisches Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 118
    • Maschinengewehr-Zug Nr. 77
    • Maschinengewehr-Zug Nr. 97
  • 43. Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade (from March 4, 1915, 76.Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade)
    • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 79
    • Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 83
    • Maschinengewehr-Zug Nr. 62
    • Maschinengewehr-Zug Nr. 81
  • Landwehr-Kavallerie-Regiment Nr. 9
  • 4. Lothringisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 70 (until June 3, 1916)
  • II. Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment von Puecker (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 6 (until June 3, 1916)
  • 8. Batterie/Fußartillerie-Regiment von Dieskau (Niederschlesisches) Nr. 6 (until June 3, 1916)
  • Landwehr-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 9 (from June 3, 1916)
  • 1. Kompanie/Schlesisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 6

Late-war order of battle

The division underwent a number of organizational changes over the course of the war. It was triangularized in February 1917. Cavalry was reduced, artillery and signals commands were formed, and combat engineer support was expanded to a full battalion. The order of battle on August 10, 1918, was as follows:[4]

  • 76. Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade
    • Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 83
    • Großherzoglich Hessisches Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 116
    • Großherzoglich Hessisches Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 118
  • 1. Eskadron/Dragoner-Regiment von Bredow (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 4
  • Artillerie-Kommandeur 150
    • Landwehr-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 9
  • Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 409
    • 1. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie/XVIII. Armeekorps
    • 2. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie/X. Armeekorps
    • Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 309
  • Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 509

References
  • 09.Landwehr-Division (Chronik 1915/1918) - Der erste Weltkrieg
  • Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935)
  • Hermann Cron, Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918 (Berlin, 1937)
  • Günter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1825-1939. (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1
  • Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919 (1920)

Notes
  1. 09.Landwehr-Division (Chronik 1915/1918)
  2. Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919 (1920), pp. 174-175.
  3. Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935).
  4. Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle.
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