The 7th Reserve Division (''7. 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 1914.7. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> The division was disbanded during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was a reserve division of the IV Reserve Corps and 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 ...

, the

Duchy of Anhalt The Duchy of Anhalt (german: Herzogtum Anhalt) was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the river Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House ...

, and the Thuringian states.

Combat chronicle

The 7th 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 in the Aisne region until September 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 ...

, where it suffered heavy losses. 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 into 1918, before participating in the German spring offensive. After the offensive, it occupied various parts of the line again, facing Allied offensives and counteroffensives, and was hit by U.S. troops in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Allied intelligence rated it second class and noted that it was almost annihilated by the Armistice in November 1918.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 7th Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *13.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Magdeburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 27 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 36 *14.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 66 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 72 **Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 4 *schweres Reserve-Reiter-Regiment Nr. 1 (Heavy Reserve Cavalry Regiment No. 1) *Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 7 *4. Kompanie/Magdeburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 4

Order of battle on March 12, 1918

The 7th Reserve Division was triangularized in April 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 March 12, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *14.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 36 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 66 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 72 **Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 71 *1.Eskadron/Reserve-Reiter-Regiment Nr. 1 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 95 **Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 7 **Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 52 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 307 **4.Kompanie/Magdeburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 4 **Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 248 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 207 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 407

References

7. 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:7th 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