The 36th Reserve Division (''36. 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 ...

, 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 the mobilization of the German Army in August 191436. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> and was disbanded during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was a reserve division of the I Reserve Corps and was raised primarily in Pomerania Province and

West Prussia Province The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

Combat chronicle

The 36th Reserve Division began the war on the Eastern Front. It fought in the

Battle of Gumbinnen The Battle of Gumbinnen, initiated by forces of the German Empire on 20 August 1914, was a German offensive on the Eastern Front during the First World War. Because of the hastiness of the German attack, the Russian Army emerged victorious. Back ...

, the

Battle of Tannenberg The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 26 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russi ...

, and the

First Battle of the Masurian Lakes The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes was a German offensive in the Eastern Front 2–16 September 1914, during the second month of World War I. It took place only days after the Battle of Tannenberg where the German Eighth Army encircled an ...

. In 1915, it saw action in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive. It remained in the Baltic region until September 1916, and then went to Galicia. In May 1917, the division was transferred to the Western Front, arriving in June. It was deployed to various parts of the line until war's end, spending most of 1918 in the Flanders region. Allied intelligence rated the division as third class in 1918.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 36th Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *69.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 21 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 61 **Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 2 *70.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von der Goltz (7. Pommersches) Nr. 54 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 5 *Reserve-Husaren-Regiment Nr. 1 *Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 36 *1.Reserve-Kompanie/Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2

Order of battle on March 28, 1918

The 36th Reserve Division was triangularized in September 1916. Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of the artillery and signals commands. The order of battle on April 11, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *69.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 5 **Infanterie-Regiment von der Goltz (7. Pommersches) Nr. 54 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 61 **Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 2 *5.Eskadron/Garde-Dragoner-Regiment Königin Viktoria von Groß Britannien u. Irland Nr. 1 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 72 **Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 36 **III.Bataillon/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 4 *Stab Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2 **1.Kompanie/Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2 **1.Reserve-Kompanie/Pommersches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 2 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 236 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 436

References

36. 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:36 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 1919 disestablishments in Germany