The 2nd Division (2. Division) was a unit of the Prussian/GermanArmy.[1] It was formed in Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) in March 1816 as a Troop Brigade (Truppen-Brigade).[2] It became the 2nd Division on September 5, 1818.[3] In 1890, the headquarters of the division was relocated to Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), then the capital of East Prussia.[4] In 1899, the headquarters was moved to Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk, Russia), further inland and closer to the border with the Russian Empire.[4] From the latter's formation in 1820, the division was subordinated in peacetime to the I Army Corps (I. Armeekorps).[5] The 2nd Division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.
During wartime, the 2nd Division, like other German divisions, detached most of its cavalry and was redesignated an infantry division. The organization of the 2nd Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows:[9]
3rd Infantry Brigade (3. Infanterie-Brigade)
3rd East Prussian Grenadier Regiment No. 4 (3. Ostpreußisches Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 4)
7th East Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 44 (7. Ostpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 44)
4th Infantry Brigade (4. Infanterie-Brigade)
4th East Prussian Grenadier Regiment No. 5 (4. Ostpreußisches Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5)
8th East Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 45 (8. Ostpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 45)
10th Dragoon Regiment (Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 10)
Pre-World War I organization
Many regiments were renamed and assigned to different divisions during the period from 1871 to 1914. In 1914, the peacetime organization of the 2nd Division was as follows:[10]
3rd Infantry Brigade (3. Infanterie-Brigade)
4th Grenadier Regiment "King Frederick the Great" (3rd East Prussian) (Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich der Große (3. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 4)
44th Infantry Regiment "Graf Dönhoff" (7th East Prussian) (Infanterie-Regiment Graf Dönhoff (7. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 44)
2nd Field Artillery Brigade (2. Feldartillerie-Brigade)
1st Field Artillery Regiment "Prince August of Prussia" (1st Lithuanian) (Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz August von Preußen (1. Litthau.) Nr. 1)[11]
37th Field Artillery Regiment (2nd Lithuanian) (2. Litthau. Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 37)[11]
August 1914 organization
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in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I, most divisional cavalry, including brigade headquarters, was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units.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 2nd Division was again renamed the 2nd Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization (major units) was as follows:[7]
3rd Infantry Brigade (3. Infanterie-Brigade)
4th Grenadier Regiment "King Frederick the Great" (3rd East Prussian) (Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich der Große (3. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 4)
44th Infantry Regiment "Graf Dönhoff" (7th East Prussian) (Infanterie-Regiment Graf Dönhoff (7. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 44)
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"). 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 2nd Infantry Division's order of battle on April 12, 1918, was as follows:[7]
3rd Infantry Brigade (3. Infanterie-Brigade)
4th Grenadier Regiment "King Frederick the Great" (3rd East Prussian) (Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich der Große (3. Ostpreuß.) Nr. 4)
Claus von Bredow, bearb., Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deutschen Heeres (1905)
Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935)
A. Niemann, Der französische Feldzug 1870-1871 (Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Hildburghausen, 1871)
Günter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939, Bd. 1 (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993)
Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee (1914)
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
^From the late 1800s, the Prussian Army was effectively the German Army, as during the period of German unification (1866-1871) the states of the German Empire entered into conventions with Prussia regarding their armies and only the Bavarian Army remained fully autonomous.
^Günter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939. (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1, p. 91; Claus von Bredow, bearb., Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deuschen Heeres (1905), p.232
