8th Division ( German Empire ) The 8th Division ( " 8 . Division " ) was a unit of the Prussia n / German Army . It was formed in Erfurt in November 1816 as a brigade and became a division on September 5 , 1818 . The division was subordinated in peacetime to the IV Army Corps ( " IV . 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 Province of Saxony , also known as Prussian Saxony and the smaller states of the German Empire around Prussian Saxony . Combat chronicle . The division fought in the Austro - Prussian War in 1866 , including the Battle of Königgrätz . In the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 , the division saw action in the battles of Beaumont and Sedan , and in the Siege of Paris . The division was mobilized as the 8th Infantry Division in August 1914 and sent to the west for the opening campaigns of the war . It fought in the Battle of the Marne and then participated in the Race to the Sea . The division then spent time in the trenches , and fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 . During the German Spring Offensive of 1918 , the division fought in the Battle of the Lys . The division was rated a first - class division with high morale by Allied intelligence . Order of battle in the Franco - Prussian War . During wartime , the 8th Division , like other regular German divisions , was redesignated an infantry division . The organization of the 8th 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 8th Division lost all of its original infantry regiments to other divisions and received replacement regiments . The organization of the division in 1914 , shortly before the outbreak of World War I , was as follows : The 36th Fusilier Regiment and the 72nd Thuringian Infantry Regiment were recruited in Prussian Saxony . The 93rd Infantry was the regiment of the Duchy of Anhalt . The 153rd Thuringian Infantry Regiment was the regiment of the Duchy of Saxe - Altenburg , but also included a battalion from Prussian Saxony . 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in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I , most divisional cavalry , including brigade headquarters , was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units .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 8th Division was again renamed the 8th Infantry Division . Its initial wartime organization was as follows : During the Battle of the Somme , the division was commanded by General der Infanterie Ernst II . Herzog von Sachsen - Altenburg . 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 8th Infantry Division ' s order of battle on October 31 , 1918 was as follows : In Fiction . The German troops in the film Joyeux Noël , about the 1914 Christmas Truce , are depicted as the 93rd Regiment , belonging to 8th Division .