The 16th Infantry Division (16e Division d'Infanterie, 16e DI) was a division of the French Army that participated in a number of major battles during the First World War. During the Second World War it participated in the Battle of France, inflicting substantial losses on German units along the Somme in June 1940 before being encircled and destroyed.
Formation The 16th Infantry Division was established by the Decree of 28 September 1873 which reorganized the French Army. It was assigned to the 8th Military Region (8e Région Militaire) and garrisoned in Bourges. It consisted of two brigades, each with two infantry regiments:
31st Infantry Brigade (31e Brigade d'Infanterie) 95th Line Infantry Regiment (95e Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne) 134th Line Infantry Regiment (134e Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne) 32nd Infantry Brigade (32e Brigade d'Infanterie) 13th Line Infantry Regiment (13e Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne) 29th Line Infantry Regiment (29e Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne)
World War I In August 1914 the 16e Division d'Infanterie was mobilized as part of the 8th Army Corps, under the command of General Louis Ernest de Maud'huy. It was organized as follows:
31st Infantry Brigade 85th Infantry Regiment (85e Régiment d'Infanterie, 85e RI) 95th Infantry Regiment (95e Régiment d'Infanterie, 95e RI) 32nd Infantry Brigade 13th Infantry Regiment (13e Régiment d'Infanterie, 13e RI) 29th Infantry Regiment (29e Régiment d'Infanterie, 29e RI) 1st Field Artillery Regiment (1erRégiment d'Artillerie de Campagne, 1er RAC) Composed of three groups of 75 mm field guns. 1st Squadron, 16th Mounted Chasseurs Regiment (16e Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval, 16e RCC) Engineer Company 8/2 from the 4th Engineer Regiment (4e Régiment du Génie, 4e RG)
Operational history In August the division was transported to the Vosges region near the Franco-German border, before moving to the Meurthe region. On 14 August the division went on the offensive, advancing through the town of Blamont and fighting at Domèvre-sur-Vezouze before occupying Sarrebourg on 18 August. From 18 to 20 August the division fought in the Battle of Sarrebourg in the vicinity of Réding and Hoff. From 21 August the unit was withdrawn west of the Mortagne to the area of Haillainville, and was involved in the Battle of the Mortagne from 25 August to 13 September, engaging in combat around Mattexey and Deinvillers. On 8 September 1914 Gen. Jean Frédéric Lucien Piarron de Mondésir took command of the division. The unit was then withdrawn from the front and transported by rail to Saint-Mihiel, arriving on 17 September. The unit then moved into the Woëvre region, fighting near Woël and Doncourt-aux-Templiers until 20 September.
After being briefly withdrawn from the front, the 16e Division was again engaged in the Battle of Flirey from 25 September 1914 until 4 April 1915, fighting around Apremont and the bois d'Ailly. The division remained engaged along this section of the front until late January 1916, participating in numerous local actions. On 12 October 1914 General Vandenberg took command of the 16e DI, succeeded in turn by Gen. Jean-Joseph Rouquerol on 7 January 1915. In July 1915 Engineer Company 8/2bis of the 4e RG was attached to the division, and in November the cavalry squadron from the 16e RCC was detached and joined the 73e DI. By January 1916 Engineer Company 8/2bis had been redesignated Company 8/52 and the division medical component was reinforced by an ambulance and hospital unit. On 22 January the 16e DI was withdrawn from the front for rest near Commercy, and beginning on 4 February received training and instruction at the Camp de Belrain. Returning to the front, the division was deployed in the Meuse department, occupying a sector between les Paroches and Woimbey from 21 February until 18 March. From 18 March until 3 July the unit held the frontline between les Éparges and Bonzée-en-Woëvre before being withdrawn for rest and instruction near Rosnes.
On 11 July 1916 the 16th Division returned to the front to participate in the Battle of Verdun, fighting near Damloup, before being transferred back to its previously held sector between les Éparges et Bonzée-en-Woëvre in August. In July 1916 the 123rd battery of 58 mm trench mortars from the 37th Field Artillery Regiment (37eRégiment d'Artillerie de Campagne, 37e RAC) was attached to the division, and on 9 Aug 1916 General Le Gallais took command of the unit. On 17 September the division was withdrawn from rest near Ligny-en-Barrois before receiving training at the Camp de Saffais from 20 September until 29 November. The unit then traveled by rail to the area of Crèvecœur-le-Grand, before occupying a sector of the front between Berny-en-Santerre and Belloy-en-Santerre on 9 December, relieving the 3e and 4e DI. From 23 to 28 December the 16e DI covered the sector from Fresnes to Berny. On 28 December the division was relieved and moved first to Aumale and then to Poix for rest.
In January 1917 the 2nd Squadron of the 16e RCC was attached to the division, as well as the 173rd battery of the 37e RAC, armed with 75 mm and 150 mm trench mortars. On 19 January the division moved by rail to Sainte-Menehould, and on 24 January occupied a sector of the front between Vienne-le-Château and the Aisne. On 31 March the 16e DI moved by truck to the Champagne region and occupied the front between Marquises farm and the Verzy-Nauroy road. From 16 April the division fought in the Battle of the Hills of Champagne.
On 17 April the division launched an assault on the German positions in the Bois de la Grille; the preliminary bombardment failed to destroy the German machine gun positions and losses were heavy. Only the 95e RI on the division's left flank succeeded in breaking through the German lines and reaching the Leopoldshöhe trench, but was driven back after a German counterattack and forced to fall back to the German first line. The 27e RI in the center and 85e RI on the right were stopped short of the Leopoldshöhe position; the 27e RI succeeded in penetrating as far as the Wahn trench but was forced to fall back to the Skoda position following a strong German counterattack at 1030. The 85e RI, in conjunction with the 13e RI, succeeded in capturing and holding the high ground of Mont Cornillet. Over the next several days the division dug-in and held the newly captured positions; on 19 May the 95e RI drove off a German attack with a bayonet charge. The 85e RI repulsed German attacks on Mont Cornillet for three days while isolated from resupply due to heavy artillery fire.
On 25 April the unit was pulled off the front line for rest near Condé-en-Barrois and Vaubécourt. On 3 May the division shifted back to the Verdun area and occupied the front between Damloup and Haudiomont until 19 June, when it was once more pulled off the line and transported by rail to Dommartin-sur-Yèvre via Sainte-Menehoulde for rest. On the night of 25 June a mutiny took place in the camp of the 85e RI, where several dozen soldiers refused to go to the front; the ringleader Fernand Denison was sentenced to death by a military tribunal.
The division underwent a significant reorganization in July 1917 with the abolition of the infantry brigades, following the detachment of the 32e brigade to form the 169e DI. With the addition of the 27th Infantry Regiment, taken from the 15e DI, the divisional infantry consisted of the 27e RI, 85e RI and 95e RI after this reorganization. Engineer company 8/71 from the 4e RG was also attached to the division.
On 6 July the division returned to the front in Champagne, occupying a sector between Maisons de Champagne and the Aisne. On 6 December the 16e DI was relieved and moved to Dampierre-le-Château and then Sainte-Menehould for rest and instruction. In December 1917 the 11th group of 155 mm cannons from the 108e RAC was attached to the division, and in January 1918 the 101st battery (58 mm mortars) of the 1er RAD was attached to the division. On 2 February the division returned to the front in Champagne and reoccupied its old sector between Maisons de Champagne and the Aisne, where it would remain through the spring and into the summer. In March 1918 the 6th group (155 mm) from the 108e RAC replaced the 11th group. In July the 16e DI was engaged in the Fourth Battle of Champagne, fighting at the Main de Massiges.
On 24 July the division was pulled off the front to recover near Herpent before being redeployed to Ay on 27 July. The 16th Division was then involved in the Second Battle of the Marne, fighting near Sainte-Euphraise and along the Ardre. Going on the offensive the division progressed as far as the Vesle and then dug-in, occupying positions between Jonchery-sur-Vesle and Muizon in September. In August 1918 a pioneer battalion from the 24th Territorial Infantry Regiment (24e Régiment d'Infanterie Territoriale, 24e RIT) was attached to the division.
From 30 September 1918 the 16th Division participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, fighting at the Battle of Saint-Thierry. The 16e DI successfully crossed the Vesle, the Aisne-Marne Canal, the Suippe, and the Retourne before finally breaching the Aisne on 13 October. The unit then fortified its position between le Thour and Nizy-le-Comte. From 20 October the 16e DI fought in the Battle of the Serre in the vicinity of Recouvrance. On 1 November 1918 the division was pulled off the front for rest near Saint-Imoges, where it remained at the time of the armistice.
World War II The 16e Division d'Infanterie was mobilized in the 8th Military Region on 2 September 1939, as a series A reserve division under the command of General Marquis. On 15 November General Eugène Mordant assumed command of the division. At the time of the German invasion on 10 May 1940, the composition of the 16e DI was as follows:
29th Infantry Regiment (29e Régiment d'Infanterie, 29e RI) Including Divisional Anti-Tank Company (Compagnie Divisionnaire Anti-Chars, CDAC), with 25 mm SA 34 anti-tank guns. 85th Infantry Regiment (85e Régiment d'Infanterie, 85e RI) Including Divisional Pioneer Company (Compagnie Divisionnaire de Pioniers, CDP). 89th Infantry Regiment (89e Régiment d'Infanterie, 89e RI) 19th Divisional Reconnaissance Group (19e Groupe de Reconnaissance de Division d'Infanterie, 19e GRDI) 37th Divisional Artillery Regiment (37e Régiment d'Artillerie Divisionnaire, 37e RAD) Composed of three 75 mm groups plus Divisional Anti-Tank Battery (Batterie Divisionnaire Anti-Chars, BDAC) with 47 mm SA 37 anti-tank guns 237th Divisional Heavy Artillery Regiment (237e Régiment d'Artillerie Lourde Divisionnaire, 237e RALD) Two 155 mm groups. 16th Divisional Artillery Park (16e Parc d'Artillerie Divisionnaire, 16e PAD) Engineer Companies 16/1 and 16/2 (Compagnie de Sapeurs-Mineurs 16/1 and 16/2, CSM 16/1 and 16/2) Telegraph Company 16/81 (Compagnie Télégraphique 16/81) Radio Company 16/82 (Compagnie Radiotélégraphique 16/82) Horse-drawn Headquarters Transport Company 16/8 (Compagnie Hippomobile de QG 16/8) Motorized Headquarters Transport Company 116/8 (Compagnie Automobile de QG 116/8) Divisional Quartermaster Group 16/8 (Groupe d'Exploitation Divisionnaire 16/8) Divisional Medical Group 16 (Groupe Sanitaire Divisionnaire 16)
Operational history