The 11th Bavarian Infantry Division (''11. Bayerische Infanterie-Division'') was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the Imperial German

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 March 24, 1915, and organized over the next few weeks.11. Bayerische Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1915/1918)
/ref> It was part of a wave of new infantry divisions formed in the spring of 1915. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was formed primarily from the excess infantry regiments of existing divisions that were being triangularized. The division's 21st Bavarian Infantry Brigade was formerly the 4th Bavarian Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Division. The 3rd Bavarian Infantry Regiment also came from the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Division; the 22nd Bavarian Infantry Regiment came from the 3rd Bavarian Infantry Division; and the 13th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment came from the

5th Bavarian Reserve Division The 5th Bavarian Reserve Division (''5. Bayerische Reserve-Division'') was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army, in World War I. The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 1914 as part of I Royal Bav ...

Combat chronicle

The 11th Bavarian Infantry Division initially served on the Eastern Front, where it fought in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive, seeing action at Przemyśl, Lemberg, and

Chełm Chełm (; uk, Холм, Kholm; german: Cholm; yi, כעלם, Khelm) is a city in southeastern Poland with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some ...

(Cholm) and advancing to the western edge of Pripyat Marshes by August. The division was then transferred south and participated in the

Serbian Campaign The Serbian campaign was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915 by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia during the First World War. The first campaign began after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 J ...

. It was in reserve in Syrmia from November 1915 to February 1916, and was then transferred to the Western Front. From March to May 1916, it fought in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

, and then returned to the Eastern Front to help stop the Brusilov Offensive. After fighting in the Battle of Kovel, the division went to the

Romanian front The Romanian Front ( ro, Frontul Românesc, FR) was a moderate fascist party created in Romania in 1935. Led by former Prime Minister Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, it originated as a right-wing splinter group from the mainstream National Peasants' Part ...

, where it remained until January 1917. Again it was transferred to the Western Front, initially serving in Upper Alsace. It then fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also known as the Third Battle of Champagne (and to the Germans as the Double Battle on the Aisne and in Champagne). It also saw action in the Battle of Passchendaele. It remained in the line on various parts of the Western Front until the end of April 1918, when it went to the Belgian/Dutch border. The division then fought in the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...

and remained in the line near Soissons, seeing action in the

Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack failed when an Allied counterattack, supported by s ...

. It then went to Flanders, where it remained until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class.

Order of battle on formation

The 11th Bavarian Infantry Division was formed as a

triangular division A triangular division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade hea ...

. The order of battle of the division on April 1, 1915, was as follows: *Kgl. Bayerische 21. Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Karl von Bayern **Kgl. Bayerisches 22. Infanterie-Regiment Fürst Wilhelm von Hohenzollern **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 13 *1.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Chevaulegers-Regiment Taxis *2.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 7. Chevaulegers-Regiment Prinz Alfons *Kgl. Bayerisches 21. Feldartillerie-Regiment *5.Batterie/Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 2 *Kgl. Bayerische Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 21

Late-war order of battle

The division underwent relatively few organizational changes over the course of the war. Cavalry was reduced, artillery and signals commands were formed, and combat engineer support was expanded to a full pioneer battalion. The order of battle on January 4, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *Kgl. Bayerische 21. Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Karl von Bayern **Kgl. Bayerisches 22. Infanterie-Regiment Fürst Wilhelm von Hohenzollern **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 13 *2.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 7. Chevaulegers-Regiment Prinz Alfons *Kgl. Bayerischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 11 **Kgl. Bayerisches 21. Feldartillerie-Regiment **Kgl. Bayerisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 11 (from June 12, 1918) *Kgl. Bayerisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 **Kgl. Bayerische Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 19 **Kgl. Bayerische Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 21 **Kgl. Bayerische Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 11 *Kgl. Bayerischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 11

References

11. Bayerische Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1915/1918) - 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:11 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations of Bavaria Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1915 establishments in Germany