243rd Infantry Division (German Empire)

The 243rd Infantry Division (243. Infanterie-Division) was a division of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The division was established on April 1, 1917, by the renaming of the 8th Ersatz Division. The 8th Ersatz Division had been officially redesignated a Royal Württemberg infantry division two months earlier and the 243rd Infantry Division retained the ties to that kingdom.[1][2]

243rd Infantry Division (243. Infanterie-Division)
Active1917–19
CountryWürttemberg, German Empire
BranchArmy
TypeInfantry
SizeApprox. 15,000
EngagementsWorld War I

The division fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also called the Third Battle of Champagne, in the Spring of 1917. It spent the rest 0f 1917 and the first part of 1918 in positional warfare near Reims and in fighting around Verdun. In 1918, the division participated in the German Spring Offensive, in the Somme region. The division was on the defensive thereafter, including during the Allied Hundred Days Offensive.[1][2] The division was demobilized in 1919. In 1917, Allied intelligence rated the division a good division, but of mediocre combat value, and by 1918 it was rated a third class division.[3]

Organization

The organization of the division on March 24, 1918, was as follows:[2]

  • 247. Infanterie-Brigade:
    • Füsilier-Regiment Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122
    • Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 478 (former Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51)
    • Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 479 (former Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 52)
    • Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 77
  • 3.Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment König Karl (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 19
  • Artillerie-Kommandeur 135:
    • Württembergisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 238
    • Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 82
  • Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 243
  • Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 243
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References
  • 243. Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1917/1918) - 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)
  • 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
  1. 243.Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1917/1918)
  2. Hermann Cron et al., Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee (Berlin, 1935)
  3. 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), pp.741-743
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