243d Division (formerly 8th Ersatz Division).
COMPOSITION.
| 1914–15 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brigade. | Regiment. | Brigade. | Regiment. | Brigade. | Regiment. | Brigade. | Regiment. | |
| _Infantry. | 29 Mixed Ers. | 29, 30, and 31 Brig. Ers. Btns. | 29 Mixed Ers. | 363. | 247. | 122 Fus. | 247. | 122. |
| 32, 80, and 86 Brig. Ers. Btns. | 364. | 478. | 478. | |||||
| 41 Mixed Ers. | 41, 42, 49, and (50), Brig. Ers. Btns. | 51 Mixed Ers. | 365. | 479. | 479. | |||
| 51 Mixed Ers. | 51 and 52 Brig. Ers. Btns. | 51 Ers. | ||||||
| 53 and 54 Brig. Ers. Btns. | 52 Ers. | |||||||
| (Composition in October.) | ||||||||
| 51 Ers. | ||||||||
| 52 Ers. | ||||||||
| 365. | ||||||||
| 400. | ||||||||
| Cavalry. | Cav. Detchs. of the 29, 41, and 51 Ers. Brigs. | 8 Cav. Sqn. | 3 Sqn. 19 Uhlan Rgt. 13 C. Dist. Ers. Cav. Detch. | 3 Sqn. 19 Uhlan Rgt. | ||||
| Artillery. | Ers. Abtls. of the 23, 27, 44, 29, and 65 F. A. Rgts. | 8 Ers. Brig.: | 238 F. A. Rgt. (formerly 65 Ers. F. A. Rgt.). | 238 F. A. Rgt. | ||||
| 92 F. A. Rgt. | 36 Ft. A. Btn. | |||||||
| 65 Ers. F. A. Rgt. | 1151 Light Am. Col. | |||||||
| 1152 Light Am. Col. | ||||||||
| 1163 Light Am. Col. | ||||||||
| Engineers and Liaisons. | 1 Ers. Co. 16 Pions. | 1 Ers. Co. 3 Pion. Btn. No. 16. | (243) Pion. Btn.: | 243 Pion. Btn.: | ||||
| 1 Ers. Co. 21 Pions. | 1 Ers. Co. 21 Pions. | 253 Pion. Co. | 1 Res. Co. 13 Pions. | |||||
| 253 Pion. Co. | 306 Pion. Co. | 2 Res. Co. 13 Pions. | ||||||
| 306 Pion. Co. | 100 T. M. Co. | 16 Searchlight Section. | ||||||
| 162 T. M. Co. | 162 T. M. Co. | 243 Signal Command: | ||||||
| 443 T. M. Co. | 243 Tel. Detch. | |||||||
| 248 Searchlight Section. | 8 Wireless Detch. | |||||||
| Tel. Detch. | ||||||||
| Medical and Veterinary. | 420 Ambulance Co. | 420 Ambulance Co. | ||||||
| 137 Field Hospital. | 93 Res. Field Hospital. | |||||||
| 138 Field Hospital. | 94 Res. Field Hospital. | |||||||
| Vet. Hospital. | 277 Vet. Hospital. | |||||||
| Transport | M. T. Col. | 653 M. T. Col. | ||||||
| Attached | 117 Labor Btn. | |||||||
| 44 Ldw. Brig. (93 Ldw. and 382 Ldw. Rgts.). | ||||||||
HISTORY.
(243d Division (former 8th Ersatz Division): 18th Corps District-Wurttemberg.)
1914–15.
The 243d Division is the former 8th Ersatz Division. The latter was formed in August, 1914, with the help of the surplus trained men in the depots (Reserve and Landwehr 1st Ban.) in the proportion of 1 battalion per active brigade. In this way it comprised 13 brigade Ersatz battalions grouped into 3 mixed brigades (29th, 41st, and 51st).
Lorraine.
1. Detraining on August 17, 1914, at Sarrebruecken, in the rear of the 6th Army, elements of the 8th Ersatz Division went into action on the 20th. It fought at Hoéville and Serres, north of Luneville, on the 25th and took part in the attacks upon Nancy the first part of September. Sent to the rear of the front in the vicinity of Morhange, it was transferred to Haye at the end of September to relieve the 14th Corps. It stayed there for two years between Limey on the west and Le Pretre wood on the east.
2. In August, 1915, the brigade Ersatz battalions were grouped into regiments. The 8th Ersatz Division was then composed of the 363d, 364th, and 365th Infantry Regiments (Prussian) and of the 51st and 52d Ersatz Regiments (Wurttemberg). It continued to hold the lines in Haye, south of Thiaucourt.