- Source: 84th Infantry Division (German Empire)
- 84th Infantry Division (German Empire)
- 84th Division
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- List of Divisions of the Imperial German Army
- 54th Infantry Division (German Empire)
- List of nicknames of United States Army divisions
- 29th Division (German Empire)
- 9th Light Infantry Regiment
- 51st (Highland) Division
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The 84th Infantry Division (84. Infanterie-Division) was a formation of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed in November 1914 as the "Division Posen 2", part of the Posen Corps (Korps Posen), and became the 84th Infantry Division in June 1915. It was initially formed from the garrison infantry regiments of Fortress Posen (Festung Posen). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.
Combat chronicle
Division Posen 2 initially served on the Eastern Front, fighting in Poland, including at the 1914 Battle of Łódź, and then spent most of the period until mid-1915 fighting along the Rawka and Bzura Rivers. On June 2, 1915, it became the 84th Infantry Division. It fought around Warsaw in July and August 1915 and then in the pursuit of retreating Russian forces. From September 1915 to July 1916, it occupied the line along the Servech and Shchara Rivers. From July 1916 to June 1917, it occupied the line along the Berezina, Olshanka and Krevljanka Rivers. It remained there and along the Servech and Neman Rivers until the armistice on the Eastern Front. At the end of December 1917, the division was sent to the Western Front. It occupied the line by Verdun from January to May 1918 and then moved to the Somme region. It remained in the line until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as fourth class.
Order of battle on formation
The 84th Infantry Division was formed as a square division. The order of battle of the division on June 14, 1915, was as follows:
167. Infanterie-Brigade
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 333
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 334
168. Infanterie-Brigade
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 335
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 336
Kavallerie-Regiment Nr. 84
Stab Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 6
3. Ersatz-Abteilung/1. Posensches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 20
6.Batterie/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 25
5.Batterie/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26
Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie/XII. Armeekorps
Late-war order of battle
The division underwent a number of organizational changes over the course of the war. It was triangularized in November 1916, losing the 167th Infantry Brigade and its two regiments and gaining the 423rd Infantry Regiment. 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 January 10, 1918, was as follows:
168. Infanterie-Brigade
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 335
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 336
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 423
3. Eskadron/2. Hannoversches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 16
Artillerie-Kommandeur 54
Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 248
III.Bataillon/Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 25 (from June 10, 1918)
Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 84
2.Reserve-Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 1
Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 272
Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 84
Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 84
References
Division-Posen-2 (Chronik 1914/1915) - Der erste Weltkrieg
84. Infanterie-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)