Organization of infantry division

[petru]

Does anyone know the organization of an infantry division during WWI.

[dead-cat]

a typical german ww1 infantry division in spring 1918, when the firepower of a division approached early ww2 levels:

HQ (12.300 men, 48 guns)

Brigade HQ
3 Infantry Regiments with each
3 Infantry Battalions with each:
3 Infantry Companies
3 Platoons of 3-4 squads each,
2 Bergmann light machine-guns
1 Machine-gun Company
3 Platoons with 4 Machine-guns each.

1 Trench mortar Company:
3 medium and 3 light Minenwerfers
1 Signals Platoon
1 Cavalry Squadron: with 2 Machine-guns

Artillery Regiment
3 Artillery Battalions3 Batteries of 4 FK-16/FK-96nA 77mm guns each
1 Machine-gun battery of 6 guns

Howitzer Battalion
3 Batteries of 4 100mm howitzers, 2 MGs per battery

Pioneer Battalion
2 Pioneer companies
Signals Detachment
Transport & Munitions column

Hospital detachment: 1 clearing & 2 field hospitals

somtimes the division would have about 15800 men, 48 guns, 120 mortars, 38(?) MG08 and 144 LMG

i think the heavy artillery regiments (150mm upward) were attached to the division as needed. not sure though. also not sure to whom the superheavy artillery (stationary and railroad artillery) belonged.

[Victor]

I think he was referring to the Romanian division.

After the reorganization during the winter of 1916, the Romanian infantry division had the following order of battle:
-2 infantry brigades (1 brigade: 2 infantry regiments; 1 regiment: 4 battalions)
-1 artillery brigade (1 regiment with 9 gun batteries and 1 regiment with 4 howitzer batteries)
-1 pioneer battalion
-1 cavalry battalion (2 cavalry squadrons)
-services
*the divisions 1 to 10 also had one vanatori regiment each (2 battalions).

[petru]

Thanks, I was referring to the Romanian division.

[Carol I]

I have found the following organisation of the Romanian army on the outbreak of WWI:

Five army corps, each composed of two active divisions and one in reserve.
Each division had two brigades (composed of two regiments of three battalions).
Each army corps had attached to it a cavalry (calarasi) brigade, a howitzer regiment, a pioneers' battalion and supplementary services.

There was also a cavalry corps consisting of two divisions (six brigades, twelve regiments) of rosiori and five brigades of calarasi.

[Dan Po]

QUOTE

I have found the following organisation of the Romanian army on the outbreak of WWI: Each division had two brigades (composed of two regiments of three battalions).

Each infantry division had also 1 artilery brigade composed of 1 regiment of guns and 1 regiment of howitzers, 1 or 2 calarasi (cavalery) squadrons, 1 pioneers batallion and service formations .... divisions 1 - 10 had 1 vanatori (hunters) regiment with 2 battalions as elite unit.

In conclusion a romanian infantry division in 1917 had 14 battalions (for 1st to 10th inf. div - with 2 extra ''vanatori" batallions) or 12 batallions ( 11th to 15 th inf divisions without vanatori battalions).
In the same a german division had 9 battalions, a russian one 12 - 16, austro-hungarian 12, bulgarian 16, turkish 9 battalions.

[Victor]

Dan, look 3 posts above your's :wink:

[Carol I]

QUOTE

QUOTE I have found the following organisation of the Romanian army on the outbreak of WWI: Each division had two brigades (composed of two regiments of three battalions). Each infantry division had also 1 artilery brigade ...

What period you are referring to? Your organisation looks very much like the one described by Victor for the period after the restructuring performed in the winter of 1916. The description I gave, on the other hand, is said to have existed on the outbreak of WWI.

[Dan Po]

QUOTE

What period you are referring to? Your organisation looks very much like the one described by Victor for the period after the restructuring performed in the winter of 1916. The description I gave, on the other hand, is said to have existed on the outbreak of WWI.

Sorry Carol I :oops: i was consider the restructuring of romanian army from 1916 - 1917 winter. I didn t think at the key "outbreak" ....

[Carol I]

No problem about the misunderstanding.

In fact the comparison shows very clearly how the strength of a division was increased after the 1916 restructuring: from one artillery regiment for three divisions (one army corps) at the outbreak of WWI to two artillery regiments (one brigade) per division in the winter of 1916.

[Dan Po]

Also we have to consider the improvemets made in infantry fire power ... from around 500 MG to 4000 at the end of WW1 and from 0 LMGs to a few thousands. Also the training of troops was very much improoved too - in fact romanian army started to be considered as the ''french army from the eastern front".

This post has been edited by Dan Po on October 31, 2004 09:30 pm

[petru]

QUOTE

Also we have to consider the improvemets made in infantry fire power ... from around 500 MG to 4000 at the end of WW1 and from 0 LMGs to a few thousands. Also the training of troops was very much improoved too - in fact romanian army started to be considered as ''french army from the eastern front\".

Didn’t help us too much. Marasesti is not even mentioned in some books about WWI. The focus of the campaign in the east is on the dissolution of the Russian army (as it should be), but apparently Romanian ceased to exist in 1917.

QUOTE

Also we have to consider the improvemets made in infantry fire power ... from around 500 MG to 4000 at the end of WW1 and from 0 LMGs to a few thousands

What do you mean by LMG? I found no distinction for HMG and LMG in WWI. I found some references for the SMG (a number of 96 per regiment or division).

[petru]

QUOTE

about infantry weapons         I find this informations in \"Istoria infanteriei romane\" [The history of romanian infantry]vol. 2, Ed Stiintifica si Enciclopedica, Bucuresti 1985:   At the begginig of WW1 the main rifle of romanian infantry was Mannlicher md 1893 cal 6.5 mm (373 936 pieces) with an effective range of 600 m, practical rate of fire- 8 - 10 rpm, 6.5 kg weight. The majority of them was manufactured in Austria by Steyr. This rifle was called as \"romanian system\" becouse of changes wich make it different than the other Mannlicker rifles.   In summer of 1916 the romanian army was in possesion of only 574 machine guns - Maxim cal 6.5 mm md 1910 and only (161 was fixed MGs into fortificated positions - so only 413 MGs suitables for normal combat actions) 100 000 grenades Savopol wich didn t worked very well durring the 1916 campaing.   So, a romanian infantry battalion was equiped only with 1 or 2 MG - and a german one, in the same year was equiped with 6 - 8 MG, around 12 LMG s, 4 mine throwers and enough grenades ...   In winter of '916 - '917 the romanian army received from France 262 000 Lebel rifles cal 8 mm, (wich equiped 1th Army divisions and 1st, 3th and 12th divisions from 2nd romanian army), 1760 St. Etienne and Hotchkiss MGs, 2 628 LMG, 1 300 000 grenades / and from UK, 197 Vickers MGs and 108 LMGs.   I have no ideea about the caracteristics of Lebel rifles, St. Etienne MG, I don t know what types of LMG was recived ... I

Never mind my previous post.

[Dan Po]

QUOTE

What do you mean by LMG? I found no distinction for HMG and LMG in WWI. I found some references for the SMG (a number of 96 per regiment or division).

SMG s in romanian army during the WW! ? let me be more than surprised .... :!: :!: :!: I know that the first SMG was introduced in service (experimentaly) in italian army, in WW1 ... but i didn t heared about this kind of weapons in romanian army ...

Wait ... SMG (sub-machine-gun) is equivalent with rom. pistol-mitraliera right ?

If its so, 96 SMG per regiment its something too much even for romanian army in early times of WW2 ...

[Victor]

petru made a confusion between pusca mitraliera (LMG) and pistol mitraliera (SMG). There were obviously LMGs.