2. On February 18 the division relieved the 214th Division in its former sector north of Gheluvelt (east of Ypres). It was relieved by the 7th Reserve Division about March 31.
La Bassee.
3. It reinforced the battle front near Locon (northwest of La Bassee) on April 9, and was withdrawn about the 18th, going to rest in the Sainghin area (southeast of Lille).
4. On May 14 it relieved the 25th Division west of Locon, and was relieved by the extension of fronts of the neighboring divisions about the 18th of June, when it went to rest in the region of Gondecourt (east of La Bassee).
5. About the 14th of July it relieved the 1st Guard Reserve Division near Givenchy (north of the La Bassee Canal—west of La Bassee); relieved September 3, it went to rest in the region north of Denain.
Cambrai.
6. On the 29th of September the division reentered the line near Proville and Rumilly (south of Cambrai), and was still in line when the armistice was signed. It was thought that it had been withdrawn October 8, again on the 18th, and on the 4th of November, but considering the speed with which the German withdrawal was executed, the confusion necessarily incident thereto, and the fact that the division always turned up a day or two later in the same relative position it had previously occupied, it seems best to assume that it was continuously in line.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The 18th Reserve is considered a second-class division. It did not distinguish itself in the Lys offensive, and it is reported that thereafter it was to be used only as a holding division. At any rate, it engaged in no other German offensives, and, indeed, no other heavy fighting, until the beginning of October or sometime after practically the whole front had become active on account of the combined allied push.