31st Division (German Empire)

31st Division (31. Division); from August 2, 1914, 31st Infantry Division (31. Infanterie-Division)
Active1871-1919
CountryPrussia/Germany
BranchArmy
TypeInfantry (in peacetime included cavalry)
SizeApprox. 15,000
Part ofXXI. Army Corps (XXI. Armeekorps)
Garrison/HQStrasbourg (1871-1912); Saarbrücken (1912-1919)
EngagementsWorld War I: Battle of the Frontiers, Race to the Sea, Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive, German spring offensive, Lys, Saint-Mihiel

The 31st Division (31. Division) was a unit of the Prussian/German Army.[1] It was formed on March 20, 1871, and was headquartered in Straßburg (now Strasbourg, France) until 1912, and then in Saarbrücken.[2] The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XV Army Corps (XV. Armeekorps) until 1912, and then to the XXI Army Corps (XXI. Armeekorps).[3] The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was recruited primarily in the southern part of the Rhine Province, but during World War I also drew replacements from Westphalia.

  1. ^ From the late 1800s, the Prussian Army was effectively the German Army, as during the period of German unification (1866-1871) the states of the German Empire entered into conventions with Prussia regarding their armies and only the Bavarian Army remained fully autonomous.
  2. ^ Günter Wegner, Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939. (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1, p.127; Claus von Bredow, bearb., Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deuschen Heeres (1905), p.662.
  3. ^ Bredow, p. 661; Wegner, p. 85.