HISTORY.
(7th Corps District—Westphalia.)
1914.
At the beginning of the war the 13th Reserve Division and the 14th Reserve Division formed the 7th Reserve Corps.
Maubeuge-Aisne.
1. Assigned to the 2d German Army, the 13th Reserve Division arrived at Liège immediately after the city and the forts were taken (Aug. 14); reached Namur on the 25th, and took part in the siege and taking of Maubeuge. When it was released from this place it was quickly transferred to the front north of the Aisne; fought in the neighborhood of Pontavert-Craonne on September 15; fought near Cerny on the 16th, and took its position on the front of Braye-Cerny en Laonnois at the end of September.
2. On November 3 some elements of the division were engaged at Vailly.
3. The division occupied the sector of Braye en Laonnois until October, 1915.
1915.
1. January-October, 1915, the division occupied the sector Braye en Laonnois-Cerny.
2. At the end of October the 13th Reserve Division was relieved in the Laon area and transferred to the north, between Charleroi and Valenciennes. After a period of training in November and December, it entrained, about December 25, for the Verdun front.
1916.
1. At the beginning of January, 1916, the division was concentrated in the neighborhood of Damvillers (right bank of the Meuse). In January and February it was occupied in preparations for an attack.
Verdun.
2. Beginning with February 21 some elements were engaged near Haumont, near Haumont wood. It took part in battles, from February 23 until March 10, in the region of Samogneux (sector of Vacherauville-Haudremont and Cote du Poivre). It lost 51 per cent of its infantry there.
3. From the middle of March to the 24th of October it occupied the same sector of Haudremont (west of Douaumont), and only took part in a few local engagements. It underwent the French attack on October 24 and suffered heavily.
4. Until December it held the sector included between the road of Louvemont-Bras and the Chaufour wood. It was relieved between December 8 and 12 and sent to rest in the Marville-Longuyon area.
5. Transferred to Champagne (Dec. 22–24), it went into line east of Rheims (Nogent l’Abbesse) about the 29th.
1917.
1. The division held the sector at Rheims (east of La Pomelle) until May 20, 1917.
Champagne.
2. Concentrated, at this date, in the neighborhood of Epoye, it relieved the exhausted 242d Division at Cornillet (south of Nauroy). It went into action between Mont Cornillet and Mont Haut (about the end of May).
3. Between June 8 and 15 it returned into line in its former sector east of Rheims (south of Cernay), where it made several surprise attacks.
Verdun.
4. Relieved about the end of August from the Rheims front, it was sent, after a few days of rest, to the right bank of the Meuse. On September 24 it attacked east of Beaumont, in the Bois le Chaume, and suffered very heavy losses. It made another attack on October 10 in the same sector, which it held until October 12–13.
5. It was sent to rest (Briey area) in the second half of October. In November it appeared on the front east of Verdun, where it was speedily relieved.
RECRUITING.
The division is recruited from Westphalia. In the course of 1917, however, a great number of its replacements came from other districts than Westphalia (9th, 10th, 11th Corps Districts).
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
The 13th Reserve Division appears to be of mediocre quality.
It suffered heavy losses at Verdun. It showed very little brilliance there. During the French attack of October 24, 1916, it offered little resistance to the hostile troops.
On the Rheims front (January to May, 1917) it did not take part in any operation. Quite a large number of men who were captured in the course of raids in this sector surrendered with little resistance.
However, the 13th Reserve Division did not furnish a single prisoner or deserter during its second stay southeast of Rheims (from June 15 to the beginning of September), and on the Verdun front it showed itself quite active (September to October).
1918.
1. The division was relieved in the Avrocourt wood sector by the Bavarian Ersatz Division on the night of April 5–6 and went into rest billets at Villers near Montmedy. On the 16th it entrained at a station near Montmedy and traveled via Carignan-Sedan-Charleville-Givet-Dinant-Namur-Charleroi-Ath-Melle-Ghent-Deyuze to Thielt, where it detrained at 1 a. m. on April 19. After 10 days’ rest at Coolscamp the division marched to Getsberg, and was to have gone into line in the Dixmude sector on April 22, but was suddenly entrained and moved via Roulers to Beythem. From there it marched to the Ledeghem area and rested until April 24, when it marched into line northwest of Wytschaete via Menin-Wervecq and Comines.
Ypres.
2. The division was engaged in the attack on Voormezeele on April 25. After three days’ heavy fighting it was relieved by the 49th Reserve Division. After a few days in the second line the division came back and relieved the 49th Reserve Division. It remained in line until May 11. From the 11th to the 28th the division rested out of line. It was again engaged on May 28 southwest of Merris. It was relieved about June 12.
Merris.
3. The division went to rest in the area east of Bruges and later northwest of Ghent. It returned to its former sector west of Merris on July 9, relieving the 4th Bavarian Division. It held the sector until July 27 when its heavy losses at Meteren caused its relief by the 4th Division. Between the 27th and August 18 the division rested in the Douai area.
Ypres-Belgium.
4. In line the 18th–19th, it relieved the 35th Division in the sector east of Merckem. Here the division continued until September 29, when it was withdrawn from the line north of Staden after the loss of 1,500 prisoners and severe casualties. It rested two weeks, and on October 14 returned to the battle front at Cortemarck. It fought until the 20th, when it retired for 10 days’ rest in rear of the line. On the 30th it was reengaged near Deynze. The German communique of November 1 and 2 mentioned the 57th and 13th Reserve Regiments for their good work. The division was in line until the armistice. It was last identified at Nazareth on November 3.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The 13th Reserve Division was rated as a first-class division. In 1918 it was almost wholly engaged in Belgium, taking a prominent part in the Armentiers offensive in April, and in the defense in October.