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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 mobilization of the German Army in August 19141.Bayerische-Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914/1919)
/ref> as part of

I Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps The I Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps / I Bavarian RK (german: I. Königlich Bayerisches Reserve-Korps) was a corps level command of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army, in World War I. Formation I Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps was form ...

. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was raised and recruited in Bavaria. As a reserve division, it included many recalled reservists and war volunteers.

Combat chronicle

The 1st Bavarian Reserve Division fought in the opening phases of the war 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 ...

. It then participated in the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...

, including the Battle of Arras in October 1914. It remained in the trenchlines in Flanders until 1916, when it entered the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

in August 1916. In April 1917 the division, now redeployed to the Vimy sector, participated in the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...

. In late 1917, it participated in the Battle of Passchendaele. In 1918, the division fought in the Battle of the Lys. The division ended the war still fighting in the Lys region. Allied intelligence rated the division as a good division in 1917, but third class in 1918.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 1st Bavarian Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *1. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 1 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 2 *2. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 3 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 12 *Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Kavallerie-Regiment Nr. 1 *Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 1 *1. Reserve-Kompanie/Kgl. Bayerisches 1. Pionier-Bataillon

Order of battle on March 1, 1918

Divisions underwent many changes during the war, with regiments moving from division to division, and some being destroyed and rebuilt. The 1st Bavarian Reserve Division was triangularized in April 1915, losing the 2nd Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade headquarters and the 12th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. Over the course of the war, other units were exchanged with other divisions, cavalry was reduced, engineers increased, and an artillery command and a divisional signals command were created. The 1st Bavarian Reserve Division's order of battle on March 1, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *1. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 1 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 2 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 3 *3.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Chevaulegers-Regiment Herzog Karl Theodor *Kgl. Bayerischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 13 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 1 **II./Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 2 (from July 7, 1918) *Stab Kgl. Bayerisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 17 **Kgl. Bayerische Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 1 **Kgl. Bayerische Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 17 **Kgl. Bayerische Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 201 *Kgl. Bayerischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 401

References

1.Bayerische-Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914/1919) - 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 1815-1939.'' (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)

External links

Histories of two hundred and fifty-one divisions of the German army which participated in the war (1914-1918)
(p. 13-15)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Bavarian Reserve 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