In the Webmaster’s opinion, one area where much U.S. and U.K. research falls short is the failure to study the situation from the other side.  This is largely due to language limitations of the researchers; but also due to the difficulty of obtaining German reference materials easily.  However, the internet is making that easier every day.

The map excerpt above is taken from “The German Forces in the Field, November 1918” published jointly by The Imperial War Museum, London, Department of Printed Books and by The Battery Press, Inc. in 1995.  It shows the “Distribution of the German Forces on the Western Front:  According to a captured Map dated 30th October, 1918.”  The units on the map are listed at the divisional level.  However, most German post-war histories were written at the regimental, not divisional, level.  Therefore, an additional level of research is required to identify the infantry regiments that formed those divisions.  This wis possible through the information contained in the book.

In the .pdf file below, the Webmaster has cross referenced the information found on the map and in the book with a list of the unit histories offered on CD-Rom by German researcher/publisher Patrick Schallert.  (The .pdf file includes his website details.)  The result shows the regimental histories that are easily available on CD-Rom from Mr. Schallert.  Additional regimental histories are most likely available from antiquarian book dealers or from other sources.  However, the .pdf file did not explore those options, and one should expect to pay considerably more for the real thing.

German Divisions 30th Oct 1918

(Be sure to set your computer to print this .pdf file in LANDSCAPE mode.)

The reader should also bear in mind that this order of battle is only a snapshot in time.  Commanders on both sides moved units in and out of battle as the fluidity of war required.  A future article/collection of maps will attempt to show this progression from the German side.

Also, this page is not a discussion on the structure or operation of the German Army in the Meuse-Argonne.  Readers will have to find that elsewhere.  A good starting point is the other “Research Tools” pages on this website and in Markus Klauer’s article “The German High Command during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive:  26 September – 31 October 1918” in “A Companion to the Meuse-Argonne Campaign” edited by Edward G. Lengel.