The 26th Reserve Division (''26. Reserve-Division'') was a unit 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 ...

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 191426. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> as part of the XIV Reserve Corps. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was raised in the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

Combat chronicle

The 26th Reserve Division spent World War I on the Western Front. It fought 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 ...

and 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 ...

, fighting in the Somme region. It occupied the line in the Somme/

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

region into 1916, facing the British offensive in 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 ...

. It was relieved from the Somme in October 1916 and spent the winter of 1916-1917 in the Artois. In 1917, it fought in the Battle of Arras. In 1918, it fought in the German spring offensive and against the subsequent Allied offensives and counteroffensives. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 26th Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *51. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **10. Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 180 **Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 121 *52. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 119 **Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 120 *Württembergisches Reserve-Dragoner-Regiment *Württembergisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26 *4. Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13

Order of battle on March 20, 1918

The 26th Reserve Division was triangularized in January 1917. Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of artillery and signals commands and a pioneer battalion. The order of battle on March 20, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *51. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 119 **Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 121 **10. Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 180 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 54 *2. Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment König Wilhelm I (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 20 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 122 **Württembergisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 59 *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 326 **4. Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 **6. Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 226 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 426

References

26. 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:26 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