The 5th Reserve Division (''5. 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 **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 1914.5. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was a reserve division of the III Reserve Corps and was raised in the Prussian

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg (german: Provinz Brandenburg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg ...

Combat chronicle

The 5th Reserve Division began the war on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. 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 participated in the Siege of Antwerp. It was in the Yser region during 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 ...

. In December 1914, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front. In 1915, it fought in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive, including in the battle for Warsaw. It remained on the Eastern Front, mainly in positional warfare along the Shchara River, throughout the rest of 1915, in 1916, and into 1917. In April 1917, the division returned to the Western Front along the heights of the Meuse River. It fought in the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne (french: Bataille du Chemin des Dames or french: Seconde bataille de l'Aisne, 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the Germa ...

, also known as the Third Battle of Champagne (and to the Germans, as the Double Battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne). In 1918, it fought in the German spring offensive. In June, it fought the Americans in the Battle of Montdidier-Noyon and then again in August during the

Somme Offensive The Battle of the Somme (French language, 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. I ...

. Allied intelligence rated it a second class division in 1918, noting that "in the earlier years it was a very good division, but through losses and lack of reinforcements during 1918 considerably reduced its value."

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 5th Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *9.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Brandenburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 8 **Brandenburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 48 *10.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Brandenburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 12 **Brandenburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 52 **Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 3 *Reserve-Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 2 *Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 5 *4.Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon von Rauch (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3

Order of battle on April 9, 1918

The 5th Reserve Division was triangularized in June 1915. 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 9, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *9.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Brandenburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 8 **Brandenburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 12 **Brandenburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 48 *5.Eskadron/Dragoner-Regiment von Bredow (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 4 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 90 **Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 5 **IV.Bataillon/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 17 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 305 **2.Reserve-Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon von Rauch (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 205 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 405

References

5. 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:5th Reserve Division (German Empire) 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