Histories of two hundred and fifty-one divisions of the German army which participated in the war (1914-1918)United States. War Department. General Staff
History
Histories of two hundred and fifty-one divisions of the German army which participated in the war (1914-1918)
United States. War Department. General Staff
Germany. Heer -- History -- World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Germany
The history of an enemy division is a summary of all the information
obtained from all sources. It includes the latest composition—that is,
the regiments and other units that make up the division; a record of its
past engagements; its recruitment and racial features; commanders;
present strength; and morale. On a basis of these factors the division’s
fighting quality is rated on a standard of classes adopted by General
Headquarters and noted in the history. The data is collected and filed
daily at various troop headquarters and eventually in the Enemy Order of
Battle subsection of the General Staff, Intelligence Section at the
General Headquarters. The information comes chiefly from the front-line
troops, resulting from their observation, reconnaissance, and the
interrogation of the prisoners they take. This evidence is often
fragmentary and inconclusive, being gathered as more or less
disassociated items, here and there along the whole front. But when it
is consolidated and collated it becomes of great value and warrants
deductions which may be depended upon.
Prisoners’ statements and captured documents are the source of almost
all the information contained in a divisional history. The outline of
the past engagements of a division is known from the Battle-Order
records. Prisoners add to this specific account of successes, citations,
failures, internal disturbance, etc. The divisional composition is
established by prisoners, and in the case of the smaller divisional
units from addresses on captured letters. The effective strength is
deduced from prisoners’ stories of recent losses incurred and drafts of
new men arriving. In estimating the quality of a division the
Intelligence Section considers principally the conditions under which
the enemy command has used it in previous military operations.
All this information is kept posted up to date so that a history of
present value can be written without delay and dispatched to our front-
line troops opposite whom a new or additional enemy unit has appeared or
is about to appear.
The use to our troops of these histories is obvious. Much of the
information contained is of direct value to our commanders. The
strength, morale, and fighting qualities of the opposing divisions are,
of course, an important factor in our plans and operations. Other items,
such as the names of the enemy commanders, assist the examining officer
in checking the veracity and accuracy of prisoners’ statements. It has
been often observed that the more the intelligence officer knows or
appears to know of the prisoner’s organization the better results he
obtains from his questions. The uses to which information of the enemy
may be put have proved so various and unexpected that the principle is
established that no fact about the enemy is too unimportant to be
recorded.
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