16th Division ( German Empire ) The 16th Division ( " 16 . Division " ) was a unit of the Prussia n / German Army . It was formed as the 15th Division on September 5 , 1818 in Koblenz from a troop brigade . It became the 16th Division on December 14 , 1818 and moved its headquarters to Trier . The division was subordinated in peacetime to the VIII Army Corps ( " VIII . Armeekorps " ) . The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I . It was mainly recruited in the densely populated Prussian Rhine Province , mainly along the Rhine and the cities and towns along the Moselle River . Combat chronicle . The 16th Division fought in the Austro - Prussian War in 1866 , seeing action in the Battle of Königgrätz . In the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 , the division fought in the Battle of Spicheren , the Battle of Mars - la - Tour , the Battle of Gravelotte ( also called the Battle of Gravelotte - St . Privat ) and the Siege of Metz , and then in the battles of Amiens , Hallue , and St . Quentin . During World War I , the division marched through Luxembourg , Belgium and France , in what became known to the Allies as the Great Retreat , culminating in the First Battle of the Marne . In 1916 , it fought in the Battle of the Somme . The division was briefly sent to the Eastern Front in late 1916 . It saw action in 1917 in the Battle of Passchendaele , also known as the Third Battle of Ypres . It participated in the 1918 German Spring Offensive , including the Battle of the Lys , and defended against the Allied counteroffensives , including the Second Battle of the Somme . The 16th Infantry Division was a highly regarded division early in the war , known as the Iron Division , but by 1918 Allied intelligence rated it a second class division . Order of battle in the Franco - Prussian War . During wartime , the 16th Division , like other regular German divisions , was redesignated an infantry division . The organization of the 16th Infantry Division in 1870 at the beginning of the Franco - Prussian War was as follows : Pre - World War I organization . German divisions underwent various organizational changes after the Franco - Prussian War . The 16th Division received a new infantry brigade , the 80th , in 1897 . It lost the 32nd Infantry Brigade , whose recruiting area was outside the Rhineland . The 15th Division ' s 30th Infantry Brigade then went to the 16th Division in exchange for the 80th Infantry Brigade . The organization of the 16th 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 16th Division was again renamed the 16th Infantry Division . 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 16th Infantry Division ' s order of battle on March 25 , 1918 was as follows :