HISTORY.
(3d Corps District—Brandenburg.)
1914.
Yser.
1. The 44th Reserve Division, formed between August and October, 1914, like the other division of the 22d Reserve Corps (43d Reserve Division), was trained at Jueterbog Camp and entrained on October 12. Detraining at Termonde, it was in action at Dixmude and at Bixschoote in October and November and lost very heavily. On November 9 the 3d Battalion of the 205th Reserve Infantry Regiment was reduced to 153 men. (Notebook.)
2. After the battle of the Yser, it occupied several sectors north of Ypres.
1915.
Nieuport.
1. The 44th Reserve Division remained on the Flanders front until the month of June, 1915.
2. On June 7 the division was relieved from the Lombartzyde-Nieuport sector and transferred to the Eastern Front.
Russia.
3. Arriving in Russia in the middle of June, it took part in the Mackensen offensive—battles of pursuit on the Galician frontier (June 22-July 16); battle of Krasnostaw (July 19–28) and of Biskupice (July, 29–30); battles up to the Bug (July 31 to Aug. 19); taking of Brest-Litovsk on August 26.
Serbia.
4. In October it was sent to Serbia and went through the entire campaign.
5. At the end of December, it was sent to rest in Hungary.
1916.
France.
1. At the end of January, 1916, the 44th Reserve Division entrained for France. (Itinerary: Inddis-Budapest-Vienna-Rosenheim-Cologne-Charleroi.) It detrained at Landrecies-Valenciennes on February 6. It did some work on the Somme front (the 306th Reserve Infantry Regiment near Peronne; the 208th Reserve Infantry Regiment remained at Mesle until Mar. 14) and then entrained at Landrecies on March 24.
Verdun (Mort-Homme).
2. Concentrated in the vicinity of Buzancy, at the end of March, the division went to the left bank of the Meuse. On April 11 the 86th Reserve Brigade went into line in the Mort-Homme sector. The 44th Reserve Division was in action beginning with April 25, and suffered very heavy losses (April-May).
3. On June 5 the 44th Reserve Division was withdrawn from the front, reorganized, and sent to rest in the vicinity of Sedan (replacements from the 3d and 5th Corps Districts).
Somme.
4. Transferred to the Somme (July 2 and 3), the division sent some of its elements into action on the Estrees-Belloy front on July 4. It underwent the French attacks between these two villages (July 6–10) and launched a violent counterattack on the 7th and 8th. These engagements caused it severe losses (9 officers and 522 men as prisoners).
Lassigny.
5. Relieved on July 10, it spent a few days at rest, and on July 20 entered the line in the sector of Lassigny-Beuvraignes.
Between June 1 and July 15 the 205th Reserve Infantry Regiment, after it had received men from the Beverloo depot, had received at least 145 men for its 5th Company, 167 for its 8th; on July 14 the 1st Company of the 206th Infantry Regiment received at least 128 men; some (1917 class) had only been in the service since May 5.
Somme.
6. Sent to rest in the middle of September, the 44th Reserve Division again went into action on the Somme (Berny en Santerre-Genermont), between October 9 and October 28, and again lost very heavily.
7. It then came back into the Lassigny sector, where it was reorganized (reinforcements of 300 to 400 men per regiment). It transferred the 207th Reserve Infantry Regiment to the 228th Division, a new organization.
1917.
Lassigny (Retreat).
1. In March, 1917, the 44th Reserve Division took part in the German retreat and left the lines at Lassigny to take up its position between La Fère and Moy (Mar. 25).
La Malmaison (Woëvre).
2. Sent into the reserve of the army at the end of March in the vicinity of Marle St. Gobert, the division was concentrated on April 15 in the vicinity of Monampteuil-Filain (Apr. 20). On the 21st, on both banks of the Oise-Aisne Canal, it relieved the remnants of the division decimated by the French offensive of April 16 and at La Malmaison received the new attack of May 5. Very much exhausted (1,670 prisoners), it was replaced at once (night of May 5–6) and transferred to the Woëvre first and then to the Côtes de Meuse northeast of St. Mihiel, where the division took over the sector of Chevaliers after being reorganized. It was withdrawn October 25.
Flanders.
3. On November 10 it went into line in Flanders, north of Passchendaele.
Artois.
Relieved at the end of the month, it was sent to the sector of Neuve Chapelle. It was still there March 19, 1918.
RECRUITING.
The 44th Reserve Division was mixed at the time of its formation (one regiment from Hanover), but has since become purely Brandenburg by its reduction to three regiments. However, this does not prevent the occasional introduction of extraneous elements—for example, in July, 1916 (urgent call for available reserve at Beverloo). The 1917 class then made its appearance on July 12, 1916 (in the 208th Reserve Infantry Regiment); the 1918 class on April 13, 1917 (in the 205th Reserve Infantry Regiment).
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
The 44th Reserve Division has been designated an assault division.
The 44th Reserve Division has not shown any great military value in the course of the battles which it went into north of the Aisne. Certain elements, however, fought well. One must note that the combat effectives of the division were very much reduced by the artillery preparation before the attack of May 5, 1917.
After the battle of the Aisne, the division made up for its losses with elements from the field recruit depots and two replacements, one coming from Warsaw (1917 class), and the other from the 5th Corps District (mostly returned wounded).
1918.
La Bassee Canal.
1. About April 1st, the division was retired to the second line, from which it returned on the night of April 12–13 to attack near Locon on the 13th. It held a sector in that region until its relief by the 220th Division on May 6–7.
2. The division rested at Courrieres for three weeks. On May 26 it relieved the 39th Division west of Vieux Berqum. Here it remained until July 4, when it was relieved by the 207th Division.
Somme.
3. The division moved to the area northwest of Tournai early in July. There it rested and received drafts until its return to line northeast of Martinpuich on August 26. The division fell back on Flers (27th), Beaulencourt (1st), Villers au Flos (2d), Ruyaulcourt (3d), southwest of Havrincourt (7th). It was withdrawn from line on September 10 after losing 700 prisoners.
4. It was out of line for four weeks and unconfirmed reports indicated its presence at Metz. However, it again appeared in line on the Cambrai-St. Quentin front on October 10, north of Montay. It fought around Le Cateau until the end of the month when it was withdrawn from line north of Robersart. About the fourth of November the division was back in line at Locquignol and in the closing days of the war it fell back to Maubeuge.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was rated as first class. It was not used in any of the major offensives of 1918.