The 5th Bavarian Reserve Division (''5. Bayerische Reserve-Division'') was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army, part 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 ...

, 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 as part of

I Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps The I Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps / I Bavarian RK (german: I. Königlich Bayerisches Reserve-Korps) was a corps level command of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army, in World War I. Formation I Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps was form ...

. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was raised and recruited in Bavaria, mainly in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

and Upper and

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however, ...

. As a reserve division, it included many recalled reservists.

Combat chronicle

The 5th Bavarian Reserve Division fought in the opening phases of the war 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 ...

. It 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 ...

, including the Battle of Arras in October 1914. It remained in the trenchlines in Flanders until 1916, when it entered 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 ...

in August 1916. It remained in the Somme and Aisne area until January 1917, when it went into 1st Army reserve to rest and refit. After returning to the line, it saw action 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 called the Third Battle of Champagne (and by the Germans, the Double Battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne). Later in 1917, it participated in the Battle of Passchendaele. In 1918, the division fought in the German spring offensive. The division ended the war fighting against the American Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Allied intelligence rated the division as a good second class division.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 5th Bavarian Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *9. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 6 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 7 *11. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 10 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 13 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 1 *Reserve-Kavallerie-Regiment Nr. 5 *Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 5 *4. Kompanie/Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Pionier-Bataillon *1. Reserve-Kompanie/Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Pionier-Bataillon

Order of battle on April 4, 1918

Divisions underwent many changes during the war, with regiments moving from division to division, and some being destroyed and rebuilt. The 5th Bavarian Reserve Division was triangularized in April 1915, losing the 9th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade headquarters and the 6th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. Over the course of the war, other units were exchanged with other divisions, cavalry was reduced, engineers increased, and an artillery command and a divisional signals command were created. The 5th Bavarian Reserve Division's order of battle on April 4, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *11. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 7 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 10 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 12 *2.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Chevaulegers-Regiment Herzog Karl Theodor *Kgl. Bayerischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 17 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 5 **II.Bataillon/Kgl. Sächs. Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 19 (to July 25, 1918) **Kgl. Bayerisches Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 17 (from August 19, 1918) *Stab Kgl. Bayerisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 18 **Kgl. Bayerische Reserver-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 2 **Kgl. Bayerische Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 19 **Kgl. Bayerische Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 205 *Kgl. Bayerischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 405

References

5.Bayerische-Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914/1919) - 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 Bavarian Reserve Division (German Empire) Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations of Bavaria Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1914 establishments in Germany