The 16th Division was a unit of the Prussian/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. 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.
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:
31. Infanterie-Brigade
*Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 29
*Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 69
32. Infanterie-Brigade
*Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 40
*Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 72
Husaren-Regiment Nr. 9
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:
30. Infanterie-Brigade:
*Infanterie-Regiment von Goeben Nr. 28
*6. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 68
31. Infanterie-Brigade:
*Infanterie-Regiment von Horn Nr. 29
*7. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 69
16. Kavallerie-Brigade
*Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 7
*Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 8
16. Feldartillerie-Brigade
*2. Rheinisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 23
*Triersches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 44
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in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I, most divisional cavalry, including brigade headquarters, was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units.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:
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. 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:
30. Infanterie-Brigade:
*Infanterie-Regiment von Goeben Nr. 28
*Infanterie-Regiment von Horn Nr. 29
*6. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 68
1.Eskadron/Husaren-Regiment König Wilhelm I. Nr. 7
Artillerie-Kommandeur 16:
*2. Rheinisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 23
*Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 32
Stab/1. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 8
*2.Kompanie/1. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 8
*3.Kompanie/1. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 8