25th Division ( German Empire ) The 25th Division ( " 25 . Division " ) , officially the Grand Ducal Hessian ( 25th ) Division ( " Großherzoglich Hessische ( 25 . ) Division " ) , was a unit of the Prussia n / German Army . It was headquartered in Darmstadt , the capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse . The division was subordinated in peacetime to XVIII Army Corps ( " XVIII . Armeekorps " ) when that corps was formed in 1899 . The division was disbanded in 1919 , during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I . As the formal name indicates , the division was raised and recruited in the Grand Duchy of Hesse . Evolution of the Grand Ducal Hessian Division . The Grand Ducal Hessian ( 25th ) Division was officially formed on December 20 , 1842 as the Infantry Division Command ( " Infanterie - Divisions - Kommando " ) , but the division - strength Hessian Army had been around before that date . During the Napoleonic Wars , Hesse fielded a division - strength troop corps ( " Truppenkorps " ) . In 1820 , as part of the Hessian troop contribution to the German Confederation ' s Federal Army ( " Bundesheer " ) , Hesse reorganized its army into two brigades of infantry , 1 / 2 company of horse artillery , two companies of foot artillery , one light horse regiment , one trains company and one sapper ( later pioneer ) company . This force was placed under the Infantry Division Command in 1842 . On February 5 , 1849 , this force was redesignated the Grand Ducal Army Division ( " Großherzogliche Armee - Division " ) . The organization of the Grand Ducal Army Division in 1858 was as follows : In 1860 , the cavalry was expanded to brigade strength . In 1867 , Hesse , on the losing side of the Austro - Prussian War , entered into a convention with Prussia on military matters and reorganized its division along Prussian lines . The division was redesignated the Grand Ducal Hessian ( 25th ) Division . It formally became a part of the Prussian Army in 1872 , in accordance with the military convention of June 13 , 1871 . The organization of the division at the beginning of the Franco - Prussian War in 1870 was as follows : Combat chronicle . During the Franco - Prussian War , the Grand Ducal Hesse ( 25th ) Division was subordinated to the Prussian IX Army Corps , along with the 18th Infantry Division . The Hessians fought in the battles of Mars - la - Tour and Gravelotte , and then participated in the Metz . It then fought in the Noiseville and the Second Battle of Orléans . During World War I , the Grand Ducal Hesse ( 25th ) Infantry Division served on the Western Front . It fought in the opening campaigns , including the Allied Great Retreat that culminated in the First Battle of the Marne , and the subsequent Race to the Sea . After a period in the trenches , the division was heavily engaged in 1916 in the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme . In 1917 , it fought in the battle of Passchendaele , also known as the Third Battle of Ypres . In 1918 it participated in the German Spring Offensive and ended the war resisting the subsequent Allied counteroffensives . Allied intelligence rated the division as first class . Pre - World War I organization . German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco - Prussian War . The division was subordinated to the newly created XVIII Army Corps in 1899 and in the same year the division ' s 25th Field Artillery Brigade was created . The organization of the 25th Division in 1914 , shortly before the outbreak of World War I , was as follows : 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 25th Cavalry Brigade was sent to help form the 3rd Cavalry Division and the 25th Division received cavalry support from the cavalry brigade of the 21st Division , its sister division in the XVIII Army Corps . The 25th Division was renamed the 25th Infantry Division and its initial wartime organization was as follows : 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 - one infantry brigade with three infantry regiments rather than two infantry brigades of two regiments ( a " square 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 25th Infantry Division ' s order of battle on February 19 , 1918 was as follows :