Editing Division (military) (section)

=== World War I ===
The composition of divisions varied significantly during the two world wars and, in addition, there was no uniformity of quality, even when divisions had the same composition.

The size of infantry divisions deployed by the major belligerents at start of the Great War ranged from about 16,000 in the French<ref>The French division of 1914 was made of two brigades, each of two regiments with three battalions, plus a reserve regiment of two battalions, an artillery regiment of nine batteries (36 x 75 mm guns), a cavalry squadron and a company of engineers. The reserve division had two infantry brigades, each with three regiments of two battalions, two cavalry squadrons and three artillery groups of three batteries. {{cite web |title=The army of 1914 in Seine-et-Marne |url=https://archives.seine-et-marne.fr/fr/army-1914-seine-et-marne |website=Archives départementales de Seine-et-Marne |access-date=27 November 2023 |language=fr |date=20 October 2023}}</ref> and Russian armies to 17,500 in the German imperial army<ref>German infantry division in 1914 was organized into 2 brigades. Each brigade had 2 regiments; each regiment had 3 battalions (26 officers and 1050 men per battalion); and each battalion had 4 companies. Thus, the division had 12 battalions. Beside its rifle power, the division had 24 machine guns, and the field artillery numbered 72 guns (54 guns of 77mm and 18 guns of 105mm) The German corps, in addition to containing supply, communication, and hospital units, provided heavier artillery for the support of the divisions, with either 32 150mm howitzers or 16 210mm howitzers. {{cite web |last1=Schilling |first1=Warner R. |title=Weapons, Strategy, & War: The Organization of Armies |url=https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/services/dropoff/schilling/mil_org/milorgan_99.html |publisher=Columbia Center for Teaching & Learning |access-date=24 November 2023}}</ref> and about 18,000 in Austro-Hungarian<ref>The Austro-Hungarian infantry division numbered between 12,000 and 18,000 men, while the cavalry divisions averaged 5,000 fewer soldiers. Each division had a brigade of artillery (with 54 guns, but few divisions had that many guns) and two brigades of infantry or cavalry; with two regiments of infantry or cavalry per brigade. Each regiment of infantry had 4 battalions of 1,100 men at full strength, although, in practice, many regiments deployed with just three battalions. Each cavalry regiment had to divisions (a battalion-sized unit) of about 700 each. At the outbreak of war, the Austro-Hungarian army had 48 infantry divisions (including seven Landweher and eight Honved) and eleven cavalry divisions (of which two were Honved). In 1914, the Austro-Hungarian division had less artillery than most other European divisions, save the Italian. The German division had as many as 72 pieces, the Russian sixty.{{cite book |last1=Schindler |first1=John Richard |title=A Hopeless Struggle: The Austro-Hungarian Army and Total War, 1914–1918 |date=1995 |publisher=McMaster University |isbn=978-0-612-05866-8 |pages=38–43 |url=https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/7006 |language=en}}</ref> and British armies.<ref>A British infantry division in 1914 was composed of 3 brigades. Each brigade had 4 battalions (35 officers and 1000 men per battalion); each battalion had four companies; and each company had 4 platoons. Thus, the division had 12 battalions. In addition to rifle power of its battalions, the division was armed with 24 machine guns, and its field artillery numbered 76 guns (54 guns of 18-pdrs.; 18 howitzers of 4.5-inch; and 4 of 60-pdrs.). {{cite web |last1=Schilling |first1=Warner R. |title=Weapons, Strategy, & War: The Organization of Armies |url=https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/services/dropoff/schilling/mil_org/milorgan_99.html |website=ccnmtl.columbia.edu |publisher=Columbia Center for Teaching & Learning |access-date=24 November 2023}}</ref>

As World War I went on, the size of divisions decreased significantly from those of 1914, with both British and Germans reducing the number of divisions' sub-units.<ref>By 1918, many British infantry divisions were down to about 15,000 men. Partially because in 1918 the number of battalions per brigade was reduced from 4 to 3, and in part because reinforcements did not fully replace losses (battalions might number 800 or 900 men, significantly below the authorized 1000). In 1917, the Germans eliminated their brigade structure and reduced the number of regiments per division to 3, each regiment having 3 battalions. Furthermore, the Germans, also reduced the number of companies in a battalion from 4 to 3. As such, the number of riflemen in the division dropped from 11,520 to 6,460; however, it more than gained in other weapons. {{cite web |last1=Schilling |first1=Warner R. |title=Weapons, Strategy, & War: The Organization of Armies |url=https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/services/dropoff/schilling/mil_org/milorgan_99.html |website=ccnmtl.columbia.edu |publisher=Columbia Center for Teaching & Learning |access-date=24 November 2023}}</ref> But, while the number of soldiers was lower, by 1917, divisions were much better armed.<ref>For example, a German 1917 division now had 48 mortars, a weapon not in its 1914 inventory, and by the winter of 1917–18, the number of machine guns had increased from the initial 24 to 358 (142 heavy and 216 light) {{cite web |last1=Schilling |first1=Warner R. |title=Weapons, Strategy, & War: The Organization of Armies |url=https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/services/dropoff/schilling/mil_org/milorgan_99.html |website=ccnmtl.columbia.edu |publisher=Columbia Center for Teaching & Learning |access-date=24 November 2023}}</ref>

On the other hand, in 1917, the American infantry divisions that arrived in France numbered 28,061 officers and men, of which 17,666 were riflemen.<ref>Beside rifle power, the US division had 260 machine guns, and 72 guns (48 75mm and 24 155mm), along with various units for engineering, communication, and supply {{cite web |last1=Schilling |first1=Warner R. |title=Weapons, Strategy, & War: The Organization of Armies |url=https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/services/dropoff/schilling/mil_org/milorgan_99.html |website=ccnmtl.columbia.edu |publisher=Columbia Center for Teaching & Learning |access-date=24 November 2023}}</ref><ref>An in depth analysis of US divisional organization in during the Great War {{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=John B. |title=Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades |date=1 October 2001 |publisher=University Press of the Pacific |isbn=978-0-89875-498-8 |pages=47–78 |edition=Illustrated |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/060/60-14-1/cmhPub_60-14-1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301211444/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/060/60-14-1/cmhPub_60-14-1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 March 2014 |language=English}}</ref>