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HISTORIES
OF
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE DIVISIONS OF THE GERMAN ARMY WHICH PARTICIPATED IN THE WAR (1914-1918)
COMPILED FROM RECORDS OF INTELLIGENCE SECTION OF THE GENERAL STAFF, AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, AT GENERAL HEADQUARTERS : : CHAUMONT, FRANCE : : 1919

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1920

War Department

Document No. 905

Office of The Adjutant General

ADDITIONAL COPIES

OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C.

AT

60 CENTS PER COPY

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

The following pages contain the record of the organization and service of the 251 divisions of the German Army during the years 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1918, or during as many of these years as they existed—for a number of them were created after the war had started. The record of each has been known as a “divisional history.”

The history of an enemy division is a summary of all the information obtained from all sources. It includes the latest composition—that is, the regiments and other units that make up the division; a record of its past engagements; its recruitment and racial features; commanders; present strength; and morale. On a basis of these factors the division’s fighting quality is rated on a standard of classes adopted by General Headquarters and noted in the history. The data is collected and filed daily at various troop headquarters and eventually in the Enemy Order of Battle subsection of the General Staff, Intelligence Section at the General Headquarters. The information comes chiefly from the front-line troops, resulting from their observation, reconnaissance, and the interrogation of the prisoners they take. This evidence is often fragmentary and inconclusive, being gathered as more or less disassociated items, here and there along the whole front. But when it is consolidated and collated it becomes of great value and warrants deductions which may be depended upon.

Prisoners’ statements and captured documents are the source of almost all the information contained in a divisional history. The outline of the past engagements of a division is known from the Battle-Order records. Prisoners add to this specific account of successes, citations, failures, internal disturbance, etc. The divisional composition is established by prisoners, and in the case of the smaller divisional units from addresses on captured letters. The effective strength is deduced from prisoners’ stories of recent losses incurred and drafts of new men arriving. In estimating the quality of a division the Intelligence Section considers principally the conditions under which the enemy command has used it in previous military operations.

All this information is kept posted up to date so that a history of present value can be written without delay and dispatched to our front-line troops opposite whom a new or additional enemy unit has appeared or is about to appear.

The use to our troops of these histories is obvious. Much of the information contained is of direct value to our commanders. The strength, morale, and fighting qualities of the opposing divisions are, of course, an important factor in our plans and operations. Other items, such as the names of the enemy commanders, assist the examining officer in checking the veracity and accuracy of prisoners’ statements. It has been often observed that the more the intelligence officer knows or appears to know of the prisoner’s organization the better results he obtains from his questions. The uses to which information of the enemy may be put have proved so various and unexpected that the principle is established that no fact about the enemy is too unimportant to be recorded.

In preparing this set of Histories of German Divisions the histories published by French General Headquarters have been used for the years prior to 1918. For the last year of the war the histories were written by the Second Section of the General Staff, General Headquarters, A. E. F., from the American records. These included all information from American sources and also that which was received from Allied armies.

Alpine Corps.

COMPOSITION.

HISTORY.

1915.

The Alpine Corps was formed in May, 1915.

Italy.

1. At the end of May, 1915, it was sent by way of Innsbruck to the Trentino, where it remained until October 16 (vicinity of Campitello). It took part in several smaller actions (particularly on Sept. 24).

France.

2. On October 17 it left Bozen and went to France by way of Innsbruck, Neu-Ulm, Stuttgart, Deux-Ponts, and detrained at Laonnois on the Mezieres-Rethel line on October 19.

3. It remained in this area until October 25. At that time it was transferred to Serbia by way of Mezieres, Germershein, Augsburg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Temesvar. It detrained at Weisskirchen on October 29.

Serbia.

4. The Alpine Corps advanced in Serbia by way of Kragujevac and Kraljevo as far as Novipasar (near the Montenegrin frontier); from that place to Mitrovica. Elements of the Alpine Corps remained south of Uskub until the end of March, 1916.

1916.

France.

1. On March 21, 1916, the Alpine Corps was taken to Hungary by way of Belgrade, and then to France. Itinerary: Budapest, Breslau, Dresden, Leipzig, Cologne, Aix-la-Chapelle, Liege, Charleville.

2. It went into line on the front east of Rheims (the Leib Regiment at Cernay) on April 1.

Verdun.

3. Relieved at the beginning of May, it went to rest in the vicinity of Charleville. About May 30 it went to the Spincourt area by way of Sedan. At the beginning of June it went into action at Verdun north of the Vaux Fort, northeast of Fleury, and took part in the attacks launched in this sector during the month of June (attack of June 23 upon Thiaumont).

4. After reorganization, at the end of June or the beginning of July, the Alpine Corps came back into line near Fleury on July 11.

Argonne.

5. After having lost 71 per cent of its Infantry in the various attacks at Verdun, the Alpine Corps was withdrawn on August 12 and took over the sector Fontaine-aux-Charmes-Vauquois, in the Argonne. The 3d Jaeger Regiment was taken from it and entered into the composition of the 200th Division (Carpathian Corps).

6. In the first half of September the Alpine Corps left the Argonne and entrained for Roumania.

Roumania.

7. At the end of September it went into action in the vicinity of Hermannstadt, then in the vicinity of Brasso. On December 10 it reached Ploesci; it was at Rimnicu-Sarat on the 24th. Upon the stabilization of the Roumanian front it occupied the front of Panciu-Focsani. During the active period in Roumania the Leib Regiment lost heavily.

1917.

1. Relieved northwest of Focsani on April 6, 1917, the Alpine Corps was sent to Hungary, in the vicinity of Karlsburg. After a rest of three weeks it was transferred to the western front. Itinerary: Karlsburg (May 10), Szegdin, Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Rosenheim, Munich, Strassburg, Colmar, Neu-Breisach.

Upper Alsace.

2. On June 15 it went into line on the Alsatian front (Rhone-Rhine Canal, Aspach).

3. On July 20 it was withdrawn from the front and sent to rest.

Roumania.

4. At the beginning of August it was again sent to Roumania. It took over its old sector near Focsani and received the Russo-Roumanian attacks launched between Briala and Panciu.

Italy.

5. In September it was sent to the Italian front.

Izonzo.

6. On October 24 it attacked on both sides of the Tolmino and took possession of Mont Cucco on the 25th. It rested in November.

Monte Tomba.

7. On November 25 it was engaged at Monte Tomba, and on December 12 on the slopes of Monfenera, with the exception of the 1st Jaeger Regiment, which was in reserve.

8. Relieved between December 15 and December 20, it remained behind the lines until the middle of January, 1918.

RECRUITING.

The Leib Regiment and the 1st Regiment of Jaegers are Bavarian, recruited principally from upper Bavaria. The 2d Regiment of Jaegers is purely Prussian.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The discipline and firmness of the commanding officers make the Alpine Corps an elite body, of a genuine combat value.

1918.

Lorraine.

1. In January the Alpine Corps entrained for Alsace (itinerary Salzburg, Munich, Ulm, Friburg, Saverne); then went to rest in the region of Sarreburg.

2. It remained here undergoing training until the 10th of April.

3. It was sent to Flanders, via Metz, Sedan, Namur, and detrained near Lille on the 12th.

Battle of the Lys.

4. The division was engaged northeast of Bailleul from the 14th to the 18th. It then rested east of Lille until the 23d. It reentered the line on the Kemmel-Locre front, where it remained until about the 10th of May, when it was withdrawn, after having suffered heavy losses.

5. It moved then to the Ghent region, where it rested until the end of July. It then rested near Tourcoing until the 8th of August. It entrained at Tourcoing and Tournai on the 8th and went to St. Quentin via Ham.

Battle of Picardy.

6. The division entered line in the Hallu-Fransart-Hattencourt sector north of Roye on the 11th. On the 27th it fell back along the Somme Canal near Bethencourt. It was withdrawn from line the beginning of September.

7. It came back to line almost immediately north of Peronne in the Moislain sector; on the 7th it was thrown back upon Longavesnes-Epehy-Villers-Guislain, where it was withdrawn on the 23d, after losing heavily (861 prisoners).

8. Elements of the Alpine Corps were identified at Walincourt in rear of the front on October 10.

Balkans.

9. Sent to the eastern front, the Alpine Corps reinforced the troops in the Balkans near Nish in October.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The Alpine Corps was considered one of the best German units. It showed its worth by retaking the village of Hallu on the 11th of August, and while counterattacking at Moislains on the 2d of September. Nevertheless, the morale was lowered. The Alpine Corps comprised about 3,500 Infantry combatants early in August. It lost about 700 prisoners in August and September.

Bavarian Cavalry Division.

COMPOSITION.

HISTORY.

1918.

1. The units of this division were used on police duty in the Ukraine and in Roumania in the spring of 1918. A part of the division was serving in the Crimea in the early summer. It continued in that general area through the year.

VALUE.

The division was rated as fourth class.

Bavarian Ersatz Division.

COMPOSITION.

[1]. Composition at the time of dissolution.

HISTORY.

(Bavaria.)

1914.

The Bavarian Ersatz Division consisted, at the outbreak of the war, of the three mixed Bavarian Ersatz brigades, Nos. 1, 5, 9 (12 battalions), which detrained on August 17 and 18 in the region of Schelestadt. But afterwards this designation indicated a composite division (Benzino Division) formed from the 3d Bavarian Reserve Brigade and the 59th Landwehr Brigade (28th Ersatz, Baden) and the 120th Landwehr Regiment (Wurttemberg).

Vosges.

1. The Benzino Division was first engaged in the Vosges (St. Marie Ridge, St. Die, Laveline) until September.

Haye.

2. After a rest in the Valley of the Bruche, it entrained at the end of September for Mars-la-Tour and reinforced the 3d Bavarian Corps in the St. Mihiel area.

1915.

Woevre.

1. The Benzino Division occupied the area east of St. Mihiel (Spada to Apremont) during the entire year 1915. In November it took the name of Bavarian Ersatz Division.

2. The division rested in Lorraine from December, 1915, to the end of February, 1916.

1916.

At the beginning of February, 1916, the 120th Landwehr Regiment was replaced by a Prussian Regiment, the 81st Landwehr.

Woevre.

1. On February 28, 1916, the Bavarian Ersatz Division took over the sector of Fresnes-en-Woëvre-Ronvaux. It remained there until the end of October, 1916. On October 17, the 4th Bavarian Reserve Regiment left the division temporarily to go to Galicia, to the 199th Division, and came back in November.

Somme.

2. From October 25 to November 15 the Bavarian Ersatz Division took part in the battle of the Somme east of Gueudecourt, with the exception of the 81st Landwehr, which was definitely detached from the division.

3. Transferred to the Aisne, it went into line in the vicinity of Craonne at the end of November.

1917.

Aisne.

1. On the Aisne front, east of Craonne, the Bavarian Ersatz Division received the French offensive of April, and its conduct gained the order “Pour le Mérite” for its general.

2. Relieved at the end of April, it occupied a sector in the Apremont Wood from the middle of May to the end of August.

Ypres.

3. On September 1 it was in Belgium, where it was engaged on both sides of the Ypres-Menin road until September 25. The 3d Battalion of the 4th Bavarian Reserve Regiment was almost destroyed on September 20.

Galicia.

4. At the beginning of October the division was transferred to the eastern front and sent into line southeast of Tarnopol in December.

5. At the end of autumn 1917, the 28th Ersatz Regiment (Baden) was withdrawn from the division and replaced by the 18th Bavarian Reserve. The division was then entirely Bavarian.

RECRUITING.

The Bavarian Ersatz Division is recruited from the 1st and 2d Bavarian Corps districts.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The Bavarian Ersatz Division is a very mediocre division.

1918.

Verdun.

1. The division held the quiet Verdun sector until July 12, when it was relieved by the 231st Division.

Vesle.

2. It was moved to the Vesle front and on July 25 relieved the 40th Division near Oulchy-le-Chateau. It remained in this sector until August 12, when it was withdrawn and sent to rest in the vicinity of Maubeuge.

Champagne.

3. On September 1 it proceeded to Mauchault and during the first days of September relieved the 88th Division in line near Perthes. It was in the fighting between September 23 and October 3 in Champagne, losing about 2,000 men in that engagement.

4. The division was so reduced in strength that it was dissolved shortly after its retirement from line in October. The 18th Bavarian Reserve Regiment was dissolved and the men drafted to the 15th Bavarian Division. The 15th Bavarian Reserve Regiment was also dissolved.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The division was rated as third class. It was used only in defensive sectors during 1918.

Jaeger Division.

COMPOSITION.

HISTORY.

1917.

The Jaeger Division appears to have been formed about November, 1917.

In November and December the Division was engaged on the Italian front at Monte-Tomba. Relieved at the beginning of January, 1918, it was sent to rest.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The Jaeger Division is a very good Division.

1918.

1. The division again entrained March 20 and was transported to the area northeast of St. Quentin by way of Strasbourg, Treves, Cologne, Liege, Namur, Charleroi, Maubeuge, Bohain. From there it marched to the region south of Chaulnes and rested three weeks.

Somme.

2. It was in line in the Villers-Bretonneux sector from April 27 to May 19–20. After its withdrawal from line it rested southwest of Guise (Bernot, Hauteville) from 25th to 30th. The division marched toward the front by Ham (May 30) and arrived in the neighborhood of Lassigny on June 7–8.

Oise.

3. The division was engaged near Lassigny (Le Plessier) on June 9 and advanced as far as Elincourt. It was relieved about mid-June.

4. It rested between St. Quentin and Guise for a time, and was then railed to Alsace (near Mulhausen), where it rested during four weeks. It entrained at Mulhausen about July 24–27 and was moved to Liesse (northeast of Laon) on July 30. From there it marched toward the front north of Soissons.

Second Battle of the Marne.

5. The division was engaged at Soissons and Pommiers, then at Bieuxy-Juvigny, from August 2 to 28. It rested for two weeks and returned to line at Gouzaucourt on September 12. Between September 27–30 it was forced to fall back on La Vacquerie and Gonnelieu. It was relieved at the end of the month after suffering very heavy losses.

Cambresis.

6. On October 6–7 the division was reengaged south of Cambrai (Walincourt). It fell back on Briastre by Caudry and on the 15th retired from the front. It rested from October 15 to 22. On the 12th the division is known to have received a reinforcement of 600 men.

7. It was engaged southwest of Le Quesnoy from October 22 to November 1, losing numerous prisoners on the 24th. After a short rest it was again in line at Etreux and south of Le Quesnoy on November 4–5. It retreated by Pont-sur-Sambre on November 6.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The division was rated as second class. It was used as an attack division in the Matz offensive, but in general the division was used to replace assault divisions and hold an important sector.

1st Guard Division.

COMPOSITION.

HISTORY.

1914.

Belgium.

1. Detrained on the 11th and 12th of August in “Prussian Wallonia,” at Weismes and neighboring stations. Entered Belgium August 13, via Stavelot; crossed the Meuse at Huy on the 18th. The 23d it fought at Fosse and St. Gerard, after having crossed the Sambre at Jemmapes. Fought at Fournaux on the 24th. Was engaged, August 29, between Guise and Vervins (le Sourd, Leme).

Marne.

2. It fought next on the Marne (St. Gond marsh).

3. It was in Artois near Hebuterne the end of September.

Flanders.

4. In November the 1st Bde. was in Flanders (Gheluvelt); the 2d Bde. remained at Hebuterne. From the beginning of the campaign until January 19, 1915, the 3d Ft. Gd. Regt. suffered casualties of 49 officers and 2,707 men.

1915.

Champagne.

1. The beginning of January the 1st Bde. went from Gheluvelt to Champagne.

2. The beginning of February the 2d Bde. rejoined the 1st.

3. In March the division went to Alsace, where the whole Guard Corps was brought together again.

Russia.

4. In April the division went to Russia (Galicia), detraining at Bochnia the 22d.

5. It fought at Tarnow and Krasnoslaw, skirted Brest-Litowsk, and pushed on to Krobin. The losses of the 3d Ft. Gd. Regt. in Russia (May 15-Aug. 31) were 17 officers and 2,116 men. The 1st Ft. Gd. Regt. lost 53 officers and 3,005 men.

France.

6. Brought back by stages to Warsaw; entrained about the 15th of September for the western front. Itinerary: Thorn, Posen, Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Berlin, Cassel, Giessen, Coblentz, Treves, Luxemburg, Namur, Charleroi.

Artois.

7. Reassembled at Charleroi, the division was alerted September 25, and engaged on the Artois front (Folie). Losses of the 1st Ft. Gd. Regt. in the fighting of the end of September amounted to 1,522.

8. Relieved October 20, it took over the Lassigny-Beuvraignes sector.

1916.

1. The division remained in the calm Lassigny sector until July 20, 1916.

2. After some days rest in the neighborhood of Nesles, the division went by stages to the Peronne region, where it was put in reserve.

Somme.

3. August 15 it relieved, in the course of the battle of the Somme, what was left of the 1st Bavarian Reserve Division.

4. The division lost heavily (5,000 men, only 300 of whom were prisoners) during the attacks of the 19th and 20th of August and at the time of the costly defense of Clery (Sept. 3), and therefore it was relieved.

5. Reassembled in the Catelet region, and having received reenforcements, it went back into line south of the Somme, in the Biaches-Barleux sector. Its losses there were considerably less.

1917.

1. The division was withdrawn from the Biaches-Barleux sector the end of January.

2. It reformed, went through a course of training, and then proceeded to the Guiscard region. During February, 1917, it received 500 reenforcements (1917 class, recuperated men). In March its depot was empty (all the men having been sent to the division).

3. The beginning of April the division reassembled in the Sissonne region.

Chemin des Dames.

4. As early as April 12, before the French attack on the Aisne front, it was alerted. April 17 it was engaged in the Ailles-Hurtebise sector. There it went through the attack of May 5. (Losses, 2,500 to 3,000 men for the whole division, only 141 prisoners.)

5. Relieved a few days later, it took over a sector in the Argonne (Grand Courte-Chaussee), where it remained the month of June.

Russia.

6. On July 4 it left for Russia. (Itinerary: Namur, Liège, Aix-la-Chapelle, Duesseldorf, Minden, Hanover, Berlin, Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Posen, Lodz, Brest-Litowsk, Kovel, Lemberg, Ozidow; it detrained July 9.)

7. The division participated in the counterattack against the Russians, and later in the attack of Riga.

France.

8. It was brought back to France in the middle of October. (Entrained at Riga Oct. 16. Itinerary: Koenigsberg, Posen, Halle, Cassel, Coblentz, Sedan, Novion-Porcien; detrained near Rethel, Oct. 21.)

9. The division took over the Marquise sector in Champagne the end of October.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The 1st Guard Division may be considered one of the very best German divisions. Excellent conduct under fire.

It displayed on the Aisne as well as on the Somme energy and determination while on the defensive.

Among its heavy losses there was an exceedingly small number of prisoners.

Again on the Aisne (April-May, 1917), it displayed remarkable military qualities.

It received important reenforcements of the younger classes (15–16–17), 30 per cent from the class of 1917.

Its normal value was reduced temporarily on account of the arrival of elements which had never been under fire (June, 1917).

Prisoners taken in the Argonne (June, 1917) seemed less keen for fighting.

1918.

France.

1. The division remained in line until the 21st of January.

2. It was withdrawn at that date and put through a course of training in open warfare until March 1, when it entered line east of Reims (relieving 203d Division), remaining in until the 15th in order to become familiar with the terrain.

Somme.

3. It remained in close support north of Montdidier, and finally entered line March 28 near Hangest-en-Santerre, fighting until April 5, and giving a good account of itself.

Chimay.

4. The division went through another course of training in the Chimay area until May 27.

Aisne.

5. The division entered line in the Grivesnes sector. It fought very well in this the Aisne offensive, immediately after which its commander, Prince Eitel Friedrich, was promoted from colonel to major general, but suffered exceedingly heavy losses. It was withdrawn June 7, going to rest in the Charleroi region, where it remained until July 16.

Marne.

6. It entered line on that date east of Dormans, and despite stubborn resistance by the French succeeded in making some headway. July 22–23 it moved slightly to the west, relieving the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division near Passy-sur-Marne. It moved back, giving ground to the Allied counter offensive, and was finally withdrawn from line north of Fere-en-Tardenois August 5.

Crecy-au-Mont.

7. The division rested then until August 25 in the vicinity of Rethel, and then came into line near Crecy-au-Mont and fought until September 6.

Argonne.

8. September 20 the division moved eastward and relieved the 53d Reserve Division in the Varennes sector, where it was when (Sept. 26) it was swamped by the opening of the American Meuse-Argonne offensive. It did not resist as strongly as it might have, and so the 5th Guard Division moved to its support. Withdrawn on the 29th, it, in turn, returned October 3 to support the 5th Guard. It was finally withdrawn on the 8th after it had most of its battalions reduced to one company. It left 1,788 prisoners in our hands; its total losses probably being about 4,000.

Champagne.

The division was identified in line farther to the west October 14 at Olizy, and near Chestres on the 21st. It remained in line in this region contesting the French advance until the Armistice.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

Throughout the war the division was rated as one of the very best German shock divisions. During the last year it fought a great deal and, until the last stages, very well. It suffered severe losses, and finally, due to the lack of effectives, it was found impossible to refill its depleted ranks; its morale deteriorated and it did not fight well.

1st Guard Reserve Division.

COMPOSITION.

HISTORY.

1914.

Belgium.

1. At the beginning of the war the 1st Guard Reserve Division forming, together with the 3d Guard Division, the Guard Reserve Corps swept into Belgium—as part of the 2d Army under von Buelow—the 16th of August, crossed the Meuse at Ardenne (massacres) the 20th, and pushed on as far as Namur. On the 29th the two divisions (Guard Reserve Corps) were brought back to Aix-la-Chapelle, and left for east Prussia September 1.

Poland.

2. The beginning of October the Guard Reserve Corps, attached to the Southern Army Group, took part in the invasion of the southern part of Poland, fought at Opatow (Oct. 4), and suffered severe losses at Lodz while retreating from the Russian armies.

3. During the winter of 1914–15 it fought on the Bzura.

1915.

Poland.

1. In February, 1915, the Guard Reserve Corps was split up. The 1st Guard Reserve Division was sent to the north of the Vistula, in the Mlawa-Prasnysz region. By the 6th of March the 1st Guard Reserve Infantry Regiment had already had its thirty-ninth engagement there (letter).

2. In March the 93d Reserve Regiment was attached to the 4th Guard Division (new). During the summer of 1915 the 1st Guard Reserve Division was engaged in the operations to the north of the Vistula (von Gallwitz’s army).

Smorgoni.

3. The pursuit of the Russians brought the division as far as the neighborhood of Smogorni-Vishnev, where it took part in violent fighting and where it was relieved the middle of September.

France.

4. During the early days of October it entrained at Grodno for the western front. (Itinerary: Warsaw, Posen, Berlin, Hanover, Aix-la-Chapelle, Liège, Cambrai.)

Cambrai.

5. It went into rest cantonments on the banks of the Scheldt between Marcoing and Bouchain (November-December).

1916.

1. The 1st Guard Reserve Division and the 4th Guard Division then formed the reconstituted Guard Reserve Corps.

2. During January and February, 1916, the division was employed on defensive works in the Wytschaete-Messines sector; it also held a sector in that region. At the same time it underwent a course of training in the neighborhood of Cambrai.

Artois.

3. The beginning of May the division took over the sector south of Neuville-St. Vaast.

Somme.

4. At the end of July it was engaged on the Somme (Belloy-Barleux).

5. After August 19 it spent some days at rest near Cambrai, and came back into line until September 8 between the Mouquet Farm and Martinpuich. It suffered local attacks, in which it was constantly pushed back with heavy losses.

Flanders.

6. After a rest in the neighborhood of Cambrai it was sent to a calm sector to the north of Ypres, near the Ypres-Pilkem road.

Somme.

7. November 5 the division returned to the Somme (Warlencourt) where it spent the winter of 1916–17.

1917.

Somme.

1. In March, 1917, the 1st Guard Reserve Division commenced the withdrawal movement on the Hindenburg Line, leaving prisoners in rear-guard actions (PysGrevillers region). It was withdrawn from the front about March 20 to go to rest near Tournai.

2. The 1st Guard Reserve Division and the 4th Guard Division then became independent divisions.

Artois.

3. April 25 the division took over the Oppy-Gavrelle sector and fought off the British attacks.

4. Relieved the beginning of May, it was sent to rest at Templeuve, and was later employed in the construction of defensive works near Cambrai (May).

Flanders.

5. The 1st of June it was carried to Tourcoing, and from there to Warneton, June 8 it went into line to the east of Messines, where it relieved the 3d Bavarian Division, very much worn out the day before. It was itself withdrawn as early as the 12th.

Artois.

6. The division then went back to Artois and held the Moeuvres-Pronville front (June 21–22 to Aug. 16) taking part in no important action.

Lens.

7. After some days rest at Douai, it became reengaged August 21, on the Lens front, in a series of very heavy conflicts following the attack of August 15. The 64th Reserve Infantry Regiment was particularly exhausted. Gas attacks caused it to suffer equally heavy losses in September and December.

8. The division remained in this sector until the end of 1917. In November it sent some elements to reinforce the Cambrai front against the British attack.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The division was recruited in all provinces of Prussia, like the rest of the Guard. Despite their numbers, the 64th and 93d Reserve Infantry Regiments do not come (to any considerable extent) from the 3d and 4th Corps Districts. The 93d Reserve Infantry Regiments came from what was, before its dissolution, a “guard landwehr battalion (Magdeburg)” (seal of pay book).

The 1st Guard Reserve Division is not above the average German division in value. The Alsatians in its ranks were withdrawn and sent to Russia in 1916, but there are still numerous Poles, who do not constitute an element of strength. It seems much less to be feared than most of the Prussian organizations that do not have the “Litze” (braiding), less, too, than the Wurttemburgers of the 13th Corps District and the better Bavarian troops. (British document, February, 1918.)

1918.

Lens.

1. The 1st Guard Reserve Division was relieved in the Lens sector by the 220th Division the first of the year and was withdrawn, remaining at rest in this region until it relieved the 220th Division, February 4.

Carvin.

2. The division was relieved by the 220th Division February 20 and went to the Carvin area, where it went through a course of training in open warfare so as to become the assault division of the Souchez Group.

Somme.

3. The opening day of the March 21 offensive the division was identified at Lagnicourt (northeast of Bapaume). It was very probably “leap-frogged” by some other division the next day, but it reappeared the 27th near Bucquoy, in a straight line with the advance taken as a whole. It suffered exceedingly heavy losses, finally having to utilize its pioneers as Infantry.

La Bassée.

4. April 20 the division was withdrawn from the Somme front and marched to Givenchy (just north of the La Bassée Canal) the next day, where it relieved the 4th Ersatz Division. It fought there until about May 21, giving a good account of itself, considering its weakened condition, and as a result its brigade commander was promoted a lieutenant general, and the division commander received Pour le Mérite.

Grammont.

5. The division moved to the Grammont area, where it underwent a course of training with artillery and aeroplanes in preparation for a coming offensive.

La Bassée.

6. It relieved the 38th Division at Festubert, north of the La Bassée Canal July 5; it was relieved July 14 by the 18th Reserve Division.

7. The division rested in the Fauquissart area, and then relieved the 12th Reserve Division north of Hinges the night of August 2–3. It was relieved about August 26 by extension of front of the neighboring divisions.

Cambrai.

8. The 2d of September the division reinforced the front north of the Arras-Cambrai Road. About the 10th it side-slipped south, for it was identified southwest of Moeuvres. It remained here, suffering heavy casualties (450 prisoners), and was relieved by the 7th Cavalry Division during the night of September 22–23.

9. It remained in this region, however, and was thrown back into line in attempt to stem the British advance, being identified at Bourlon September 28; withdrawn about October 5.