German order of battle

[perce620]

Is there any books/websites giving the german order of battle. I have docs relating to different army units and would like to know where they served

Cheers

Perce

[CROONAERT]

Perce.

You could always try "Histories of 251 Divisions of the German Army which participated in the War 1914-18". This gives a break-down of which units were serving in which division (and when) plus a very basic description of that division's war service, including where it served. This is available in re-print from the N&MP. (this version was compiled origonally by the US Army - there is a British equivalent which is better, but less available).

For complete ORBATs for certain battles, there are many books specific to these battles that give detailed info. (eg. for Messines try "Pillars of Fire" by Ian Passingham, for 2nd Ypres try "Magnificent but not War" by John Dixon, any of the WW1 Osprey campaign series books, etc.)

Dave.

[perce620]

thanks for the information , will give it a go.

[Hoplophile]

The definitive work on the organisation of the German Army in WWI was written by a retired officer turned archivist named Hermann Cron. It has recently been published in English under the title

Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders of Battle

Cron was a first-class researcher who had complete access to the surviving records of the German Army of World War I. Indeed, the only mistake I have found in his work is a typographical error - one that turns "15 independent machinegun companies" into "105 independent machinegun companies."

The Histories of 251 Divisions is a US Army translation of a work compiled by French intelligence officers during the war. It is thus not entirely reliable, with most mistakes being a matter of missing data rather than misinformation. The translation, moreover, is less than uniform. Thus, a "Jaeger" battalion can be identified either as such or as a "Chasseur" battalion. This said, I often consult this work as the first step in establishing what German units were present at a given battle. (I then confirm what I find in the German regimental, divisional and regional histories.)

[westkent78]

Perce

If you want to see what the regular Imperial German Army consisted of just prior to the war in 1914 then visit :

A Pocket German Army at

http://users.hunterlink.net.au/~maampo/mil...r/milindex.html

Gives a good introduction to the topic, and is an immediate standby until you get the book mentioned above. I can definitely concur with the recommendation of "Imperial German Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders of Battle"

That's the book to get if your interest lies in the German army.

Matthew