The 1st Bavarian Landwehr Division (''1. Bayerische Landwehr-Division'') was a unit of the Bavarian Army, part of the

Imperial German ', literally translated "Germans of the ", is an archaic term for those ethnic Germans who resided within the German state that was founded in 1871. In contemporary usage, it referred to German citizens, the word signifying people from the Germ ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The division was formed on August 21, 1914, as the "Reinforced Bavarian Landwehr Division" (''Verstärkte Bayerische Landwehr-Division'') and was also known initially as the Wening Division (''Division Wening''), named after its commander, Otto Wening.1. Bayerische Landwehr-Division (Chronik 1914/1918)
/ref> It became the 1st Bavarian Landwehr Division in September 1914. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was formed from various separate

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortif ...

units. Although called Bavarian, the division initially included several non-Bavarian units: the 14th Landwehr Infantry Brigade included one Bavarian and one Württemberg regiment; the 60th Landwehr Infantry Brigade (initially commanded by Lt. Gen. Hans

von Blumenthal The von Blumenthal family are Lutheran and Roman Catholic German nobility, originally from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them Je ...

, who had come out of retirement) comprised a regiment formed in Alsace-Lorraine and another formed in Thuringia (which included Prussians and soldiers from the principalities of the

Reuss Junior Line The Principality of Reuss-Gera (german: Fürstentum Reuß-Gera), called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line (german: Fürstentum Reuß jüngerer Linie) after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Re ...

and

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county until 1697. In that year, it became a principality, which ...

). The 60th Landwehr Infantry Brigade would be transferred to the newly formed 13th Landwehr Division in May 1915. In January 1916, the 1st Bavarian Landwehr Division was reorganized and became all-Bavarian.

Combat chronicle

The 1st Bavarian Landwehr Division served on the Western Front, initially seeing action in the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (, , ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategies of the French Chief of Staff ...

. From September 1914 to the end of May 1915, it fought south of

Dieuze Dieuze (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. People Dieuze was the birthplace of: *Charles Hermite, mathematician *Edmond François Valentin About, novelist, publicist and journalist *Émile Friant, pain ...

. From June 1915 to November 1918, the division occupied the line in Lorraine. Allied intelligence rated the division as fourth class; it was considered primarily a sector holding unit and remained generally on the defensive except for various raids.

Order of battle on formation

The 1st Bavarian Landwehr Division was formed as a two-brigade

square division A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four "maneuver," i.e., infantry regimental elements. Other types of regiments, such as artillery, ...

, and received a third brigade in September 1914. The order of battle of the division on December 4, 1914, was as follows: *13. Bayerische Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayer. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 8 **Kgl. Bayer. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 10 *14. Bayerische Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Württemb. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 122 **Kgl. Bayer. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 15 *60. Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade **Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 60 **Thüringisches Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 71 *Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung/2.Garde-Ulanen-Regiment *1. Landwehr-Eskadron/II. Bayerisches Armeekorps *Ersatz-Abteilung/2. Westfälisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 22 *Ersatz-Abteilung/Straßburger Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 84 *Kgl. Bayerische Landsturm-Batterie Landau *1. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie/II. Bayerisches Armeekorps

Late-war order of battle

The division underwent a number of organizational changes over the course of the war. It was triangularized in September 1916. Cavalry was reduced, artillery and signals commands were formed, and combat engineer support was expanded to a full battalion. The order of battle on February 15, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *5. Bayerische Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayer. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 4 **Kgl. Bayer. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 6 **Kgl. Bayer. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 7 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 6 *3. Eskadron/Kgl. Bayer. 8. Chevaulegers-Regiment *Kgl. Bayer. Artillerie-Kommandeur 22 **Kgl. Bayer. Landwehr-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 1 *Stab Kgl. Bayer. Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 24 **Kgl. Bayer. Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 18 **Kgl. Bayer. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 1 **Kgl. Bayer. Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 301 *Kgl. Bayer. Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 501

References

1. Bayerische Landwehr-Division (Chronik 1914/1918) - Der erste Weltkrieg
* Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937) * Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1825-1939.'' (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1 * ''Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919'' (1920)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Bavarian Landwehr Division (German Empire) Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations of Bavaria Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1914 establishments in Germany