HISTORY.
(168th and 118th Reserve Regiments: 18th Corps District—Grand Duchy of Hesse. 83d Reserve Regiment: 11th Corps District—Electorate of Hesse.)
1914.
1. At the outbreak of the war the 25th Reserve Division, forming with the 21st Reserve Division the 18th Reserve Corps, belonged to the 4th Army (Duke of Wurttemberg).
Belgium-Argonne.
2. It detrained August 9–11 at Hermeskeil (southeast of Treves); entered Luxemburg the 16th (by way of Remich); crossed Luxemburg on the 19th; entered Belgium on the 20th. On the 22d it fought at Neufchateau; on the 22d, at Tremblois; crossed the Meuse on the 28th. To the west of the Argonne the 25th Reserve Division advanced to the area of Revigny. At the battle of the Marne it fought on the Saulx, in the neighborhood of Brabant le Roy (Sept. 7–10). It retired by way of Ste. Menehould, Moinemout, to the south of Cernay en Dormois (Sept. 14).
Flanders.
3. In October the 25th Reserve Division was sent to Flanders, south of the Lys. Toward the end of November it occupied a sector north of Wytschaete.
Russia.
4. In December the division was transferred to the Eastern Front. It took part, with the Fabeck Corps, in the operations on the Bzura (December, 1914, to February, 1915).
1915.
Galicia.
1. At the end of February, 1915, it was engaged in the Carpathians north of the Dniester (Von der Marwitz Detachment); in June at Przemysl, then at Lemberg.
Brest-Litowsk.
2. In July, the 25th Reserve Division took part in the offensive on Brest-Litowsk. Its successes occasioned it heavy losses; the 5th Company of the 168th Infantry Regiment received not less than 199 men as replacements from June 19 to August 17.
Serbia.
3. The division took part in the Serbian campaign (October-November).
France.
4. It was transferred to the Western Front at the beginning of December, 1917. It entrained at Weisskirchen (Hungary). Itinerary: Temesvar-Budapest-Vienna-Ulm-Stuttgart-Spire-Deux Ponts-Saarbrucken-Sedan (detrained on Dec. 11).
Argonne.
5. On December 18, the 25th Reserve Division went into line on the Argonne (La Harazee).
1916.
1. The division remained in the Argonne until the end of July, 1916.
Verdun.
2. At the beginning of July it was transferred to the Verdun area. It was engaged in the sector of Thiaumont (July-August); in the Nawe wood (August) and suffered heavy losses. It was again very much exhausted resisting the French attack of October 24.
Champagne.
3. Relieved after this attack, the 25th Reserve Division was sent to rest in vicinity of Jametz and was reorganized. On November 16 it went into line east of Auberive. In the course of November it received important replacements, including a large proportion of the 1917 class. Its reconstitution was not completed until February; 1917.
1917.
1. The division was retained on the Champagne front (Auberive) until the end of January, 1917.
Meuse.
2. On February 27 it went into line on the right bank of the Meuse (sector of Louvemont-Chambrettes-Caurieres wood) and remained there, without any important losses, until June 20.
3. After resting until July 6 in the vicinity of Juvigny, Jametz, Marville, the 25th Reserve Division again occupied the front near Verdun (north of Vacherauville). North of Louvemont it withstood the French attack of August 20, which caused it to suffer very heavy losses (47 officers and 1,150 men prisoners, of whom 1,012 belonged to 168th Infantry Regiment).
Vosges.
4. The 25th Reserve Division, already weakened by an epidemic of dysentery, was almost completely exhausted, when it was relieved on August 25 on the Verdun front. Sent to rest in the vicinity of Sarreburg, it took over a sector of the Vosges (Blamont), about September 4.
Champagne.
5. Relieved on September 25 and entraining on the 27th at Rechicourt, the division was transferred to Champagne, where it occupied the sector Nogent-l’Abbesse (Nov. 11 to beginning of February, 1918).
RECRUITING.
The 25th Reserve Division is recruited from the Grand Duchy of Hesse, the Electorate of Hesse, and Hesse-Nassau. At times replacements were furnished from the Rhine districts, including the Grand Duchy of Baden (especially in 1916).
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
The 25th Reserve Division put up a splendid defense against the French at the time of the attack on August 20, 1917.
It was an excellent organization at the outbreak of the campaign, but it seems (in spite of recent assertions of prisoners that it is still unfit to attack and was put in the fourth class, Arbeits Division) that the 25th Reserve Division, although it is exhausted by too long stays in line, is capable of rendering services even on an active front. Therefore it must be considered as a good division of the second class until more detailed information is received (Mar. 30, 1918).
1918.
1. The 25th Reserve Division was relieved by the 21st Division in the Nogent-l’Abbesse sector on February 6, and went to the Vouziers area, where it was put through a course of training, but not in open warfare.
Aisne.
2. On the 20th it relieved the 10th Reserve Division near Juvincourt (northwest of Rheims); it was withdrawn on April 11.
Montdidier.
3. The division moved north by easy stages, and relieved the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division, west of Montdidier, on the 21st. Here it lost near Cantigny (north) heavily while trying to prevent Cantigny from falling to the Americans. It also lost even more heavily during the offensive of August 9, and was pushed back to Dancourt (southwest of Roye). It was withdrawn about the 18th.
St. Quentin.
4. On September 1 it reenforced the front near Voyennes (west of St. Quentin). In the fighting that followed the division was forced back to the Holnon wood (west of St. Quentin); it was withdrawn here about the 20th.
5. On the 30th, it again reenforced the front in the Lehaucourt sector (north of St. Quentin). It was withdrawn on October 11, and dissolved. 168th Regiment was transferred to the 21st Reserve Division. 83d Reserve Regiment was disbanded and drafted to the 22d Division. 87th Reserve Regiment was disbanded and drafted to the 48th Reserve Division.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
Until 1918 the 25th Reserve had been considered a second-class division. It is to be noted, however, that although it was trained in February, the training it received was not in open warfare—not to fit it to become an attack division. Prisoners captured soon after stated that the Germans considered it as little better than “a labor division.” It was not used in any of the offensives made by the Germans, and was not very tenacious on the defense in any sector that was at all active. Moreover, two of the divisions that received replacements from the division when it was disbanded were second class and the other was rated as a fourth-class division. It was probably a third-class division.