The 27th Division formally the 27th Division (2nd Royal Württemberg) (27. Division (2. Königlich Württembergische)), was a unit of the Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n/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...

. It was headquartered in Ulm

Ulm

Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...

 in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Württemberg

Kingdom of Württemberg

The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...

. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps

XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps

The XIII Army Corps was a corps of the Imperial German Army. It was, effectively, also the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which had been integrated in 1871 into the Prussian Army command structure, as had the armies of most German states...

 (XIII. (Königlich Württembergisches) Armeekorps). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after 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 raised and recruited in the Kingdom of Württemberg. Among the most famous soldiers to serve in the division was the later-Generalfeldmarschall

Generalfeldmarschall

Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...

 Erwin Rommel

Erwin Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....

, who fought as a lieutenant with the division on the Western Front before being transferred to the Württemberg mountain battalion.

Evolution of the 27th Division

The 27th Division was formed in 1817 as Württemberg's 2nd Infantry Division. It was merged with Württemberg's 1st Infantry Division on July 27, 1849 to form Württemberg's Infantry Division and was dissolved in 1868. The division was reestablished after the Franco-Prussian War on December 18, 1871 as the 27th Division (2nd Royal Württemberg), taking its new numbering as part of the Prussian Army structure.

Combat chronicle

Although the 27th Division was not formed until 1871, its predecessors saw action in the Austro-Prussian War

Austro-Prussian War

The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

 of 1866 against Prussia and in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 on the side of Prussia against France. The Württemberg Infantry Division saw action in the Main campaign in 1866. During the Franco-Prussian War, the Württemberg Field Division fought at the battles of Wœrth and Sedan

Battle of Sedan

The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...

, and then participated in the Siege of Paris

Siege of Paris

The Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 – January 28, 1871, and the consequent capture of the city by Prussian forces led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the establishment of the German Empire as well as the Paris Commune....

 and the battles of Villiers (November 30 and December 2, 1870).

During World War I, the division served 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 1914, it fought in the Allied Great Retreat

Great Retreat

The Great Retreat, also known as the Retreat from Mons, is the name given to the long, fighting retreat by Allied forces to the River Marne, on the Western Front early in World War I, after their holding action against the Imperial German Armies at the Battle of Mons on 23 August 1914...

. It fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and 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....

 in 1917. The division served in the 1918 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...

 and the subsequent Allied counteroffensives, including the Hundred Days Offensive

Hundred Days Offensive

The Hundred Days Offensive was the final period of the First World War, during which the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August to 11 November 1918, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. The offensive forced the German armies to retreat...

 and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Meuse-Argonne Offensive

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...

. Allied intelligence rated the division as one of the very best German divisions and described it as a first class shock unit.

Pre-World War I organization

The organization of the 27th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows:

• 53. Kgl. Württembergische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Grenadier-Regiment König Karl (5. Württembergisches) Nr. 123
  • Infanterie-Regiment König Wilhelm I (6. Württembergisches) Nr. 124
• 54. Kgl. Württembergische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 120
  • 9. Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 127
• 27. Kavallerie-Brigade
  • Ulanen-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 19
  • Ulanen-Regiment König Wilhelm I (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 20
• 27. Kgl. Württembergische Feldartillerie-Brigade
  • Feldartillerie-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 13
  • 3. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 49

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 27th Division was renamed the 27th Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization was as follows:

• 53. Kgl. Württembergische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Grenadier-Regiment König Karl (5. Württembergisches) Nr. 123
  • Infanterie-Regiment König Wilhelm I (6. Württembergisches) Nr. 124
• 54. Kgl. Württembergische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 120
  • 9. Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 127
• Ulanen-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 19
• 27. Kgl. Württembergische Feldartillerie-Brigade
  • Feldartillerie-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 13
  • 3. Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 49
• 2.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13
• 3.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13

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

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...

 - one infantry brigade with three infantry regiments rather than two infantry brigades of two regiments (a "square division

Square division

A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four regimental elements. Since a regiment could be split into separate battalions for tactical purposes, the natural division within a 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 27th Infantry Division's order of battle on March 20, 1918 was as follows:

• 53. Infanterie-Brigade:
  • Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 120
  • Grenadier-Regiment König Karl (5. Württembergisches) Nr. 123
  • Infanterie-Regiment König Wilhelm I (6. Württembergisches) Nr. 124
  • Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 53
• 5. Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 19
• Artillerie-Kommandeur 27:
  • Feldartillerie-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 13
  • II./Hohenzollernsches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 13
• Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13
  • 2.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13
  • 3.Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13
  • Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 27
• Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 27