The 22nd Reserve Division (''22. Reserve-Division'') was a unit 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 **Ge ...

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 ...

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 the mobilization of the German Army in August 1914.22. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> The division was disbanded during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

Recruitment

Although the division was raised primarily in the Province of

Prussian Saxony The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merge ...

and the Thuringian states ( XI Corps District), it was mobilised as part of the IV Reserve Corps. The 32nd Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the

Reuss principalities Reuss (german: Reuß , ) was the name of several historical states located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. Several lordships of the Holy Roman Empire which arose after 1300 and became Imperial Counties from 1673 and Imperial Principalities in ...

. The 71st Reserve Infantry Regiment had one battalion each from

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestin ...

and the

Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (german: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was a landgraviate whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by Napoleon. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, its prin ...

. The 82nd Reserve Infantry Regiment had one battalion each from Prussian Saxony,

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 ...

, and

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-d ...

. The 94th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the Grand Duchy of

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was rais ...

. The 11th Jäger Battalion came from the Electorate of Hesse. Divisional cavalry, artillery and pioneer troops came from Prussian Saxony and the Electorate of Hesse.

Combat chronicle

The 22nd Reserve Division began the war on the Western Front. It fought in the opening campaigns against the Belgian Army and the British Expeditionary Force, including the

Battle of Mons A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, and pursued the Allies during the

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...

, culminating in the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

. After 1st Marne, the division held the line between the Aisne and the Oise until the Autumn of 1915, when it went to the Champagne region. In 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 ...

. It then saw action in the later phases of 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 ...

. The division occupied various parts of the line in 1917, and then fought in the Battle of Passchendaele. In 1918, it saw action in the German spring offensive, including the Battle of the Lys. Allied intelligence rated the division as second class.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 22nd Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *43. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 71 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 94 **Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 11 *44. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82 *Reserve-Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 1 *Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 22 *1.Reserve-Kompanie/Magdeburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 4 *2.Reserve-Kompanie/Magdeburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 4

Order of battle on March 28, 1918

The 22nd Reserve Division was triangularized in March 1915. Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of artillery and signals commands. The order of battle on March 28, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *43. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 71 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 94 *2.Eskadron/schweres-Reserve-Reiter-Regiment Nr. 1 (Heavy Cavalry Regiment No. 1) *Artillerie-Kommandeur 96 **Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 22 **I.Abteilung/Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Fußartillerie-Regiment *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 322 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 422

References

22. Reserve-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 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)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:22 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1914 establishments in Germany