5th Division (Reichswehr)


The 5th Division was a unit of the German Reichswehr from 1921 to 1934.

Creation

In the Order of 31 July 1920 for the Reduction of the Army, it was determined that in every Wehrkreis a division would be established by 1 October 1920. The 5th Division was formed out of the Reichswehr's 11 and 13th Brigades, both of the former Übergangsheer.
It consisted of 3 infantry regiments: the 13th Infantry Regiment, the 14th Infantry Regiment, and the 15th Infantry Regiment. It also included an artillery regiment, an engineering battalion, a signals battalion, a transportation battalion, and a medical battalion. It was subordinated to Gruppenkommando 2.
The commander of Wehrkreis V was simultaneously the commander of the 5th Division. For the leadership of the troops, an Infanterieführer and an Artillerieführer were appointed, both subordinated to the commander of the division.
In the course of the expansion of the army in 1934, the divisional staff was transferred and renamed to the Generalkommando of the V Army Corps.

Divisional commanders

''Infantrieführers''

Generalmajor Hermann Geyer

''Artillerieführers''

Oberst Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Generalmajor Leonhard Kaupisch

Garrisons

The divisional headquarters was in Stuttgart. The subordinate units were located in Württemberg and Hesse.