13th Division ( German Empire ) The 13th Division ( " 13 . Division " ) was a unit of the Prussia n / German Army . It was formed in November 1816 in Münster in Westphalia as a troop brigade and became the 13th Division on September 5 , 1818 . The division was subordinated in peacetime to the VII Army Corps ( " VII . Armeekorps " ) . The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I . The division was recruited primarily in the Prussian Province of Westphalia and two small principalities in the Westphalian region , Lippe - Detmold and Schaumburg - Lippe . Combat chronicle . The 13th Division served in the Second Schleswig War against Denmark in 1864 , seeing action in the war ' s major battles : the Battle of Dybbøl ( also called the Battle of the Düppeler Heights ) and the Battle of Als . The division then fought in the Austro - Prussian War in 1866 , where it was part of the Army of the Main ( " Main - Armee " ) and saw action in the engagements against Austria ' s south German allies , including the siege of the Bavarian fortress at Würzburg . In the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 , the division fought in several battles and engagements , including the Battle of Borny - Colombey , also called the Battle of Colombey - Nouilly , and the Gravelotte , or Gravelotte - St . Privat , and the Siege of Metz . In World War I , the division served on the Western Front . It participated in the initial German drive through Belgium and France , culminating in the First Battle of the Marne . After a period of trench warfare in various parts of the line , the division went to Verdun in 1916 . Later that year , beginning in September , the division saw action in the later phases of the Battle of the Somme . During the 1918 German Spring Offensive , the division fought in the Second Battle of the Somme . The division bore the brunt of later Allied offensives , including the Meuse - Argonne Offensive . Allied intelligence rated it a first class division . Order of battle in the Franco - Prussian War . During wartime , the 13th Division , like other regular German divisions , was redesignated an infantry division . The organization of the 13th 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 organization of the 13th 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 13th Division was again renamed the 13th 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 13th Infantry Division ' s order of battle on March 8 , 1918 was as follows :