1. Royal Bavarian Reserve Division

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The 1st Reserve Division was a major unit of the Bavarian army , which is part of the German army in World War I was.

1. Royal Bavarian Reserve Division

active August 2, 1914 to 1919
Country Flag of Bavaria (striped) .svg Kingdom of Bavaria
Armed forces Bavarian Army
Type Infantry Division
structure see: Outline
Insinuation I. Reserve Corps

structure

Division of war on August 2, 1914

Division of War of October 19, 1918

The association was restructured several times, so the Reserve Infantry Regiment 12 came to the 5th Reserve Division . Due to the war experience, only one squadron remained of cavalry , while artillery and technical troops were reinforced.

  • 1st Reserve Infantry Brigade
    • Reserve Infantry Regiment 1st
    • Reserve Infantry Regiment 2nd
    • Reserve Infantry Regiment 3rd
  • 3rd Squadron / 3rd Chevaulegers Regiment "Duke Karl Theodor"
  • Artillery Commander No. 13
    • Reserve Field Artillery Regiment 1
    • 2nd Battalion / Reserve Foot Artillery Regiment 2
  • Engineer Battalion 17th
    • Reserve Engineer Company 1
    • Reserve Engineer Company 17th
    • Mine Thrower Company 201
    • Handheld Searchlight Squad 18
  • Division Message Command 401
    • Divisional Telephone Department 401
    • Division radio operator department 106
  • Medical company 15
  • Field Hospital 45
  • Field Hospital 48
  • Horse hospital 21
  • Motor vehicle column 750
  • Field Post Expedition 948

history

1914

The Division was to 2 August 1914 largely of reservists and militia people mobilized . The first commander was Lieutenant General Alfred Göringer, who served before the war as commander of the capital and residence city of Munich . The division marched as part of the 6th Army / 1st Reserve Corps in the west in the second line near Sarreguemines . Following upstream of the Saar , she reached Finstingen by August 17, 1914 and was initially charged with protecting the right flank of the I. Reserve Corps, but then moved into the first line south of Finstingen , where there was a connection with the left neighbor, the 2nd Infantry Division , which of the 7th army was under, as well as the right neighbor, the 5th reserve Division , created. The latter led to the battle near Mittersheim on August 18, 1914, where the division faced the French and demonstrated "that the Bavarian Reserve and Landwehr units were in no way inferior to the active troops in terms of fighting power and bravery". At the beginning of the Battle of Lorraine on August 20, 1914, they attacked the interface between the French 1st Army (VIII Army Corps) and the French 2nd Army (XVI Army Corps) from Finstingen, broke through enemy lines and reached Rodt in the evening by August 21, 1914. In the course of the pursuit, the division should take the town of Baccarat an der Meurthe. On August 22, 1914, the division was in Avricourt . On August 24, 1914, the Manonviller fort was enclosed and taken on August 27. At the beginning of September several large associations, including the I. and II. Bavarian. Army Corps, withdrawn from the area east of Nancy - Epinal to counter the Franco-British large-scale attack between Verdun and Paris . The division moved from the Maixe - Lunéville line to the position between Château-Salins and Geistkirch . The right neighbor was now the 8th Replacement Division , the left neighbor the Prussian XIV Army Corps , and the 5th Landwehr Brigade in Dieuze behind . At the end of September 1914, the division was moved to Brebières and Corbehem. On October 2, she went from there with the aim of taking Arras . On October 6th in the evening she reached the St. Laurent - Thélus line, but then had to stop the attack on the Vimy Heights because of newly thrown French troops. On October 26, 1914, the 1st Reserve Infantry Regiment succeeded, despite being numerically inferior, in taking the town of St. Laurent and taking position on the western edge of the town. It took five officers and 360 men of the French alpine fighters prisoner. In the course of the line reached, the division dug in and remained there through the turn of the year.

1915

During the spring battle of La Bassée-Arras on May 9, 1915, the French XVII. Army Corps and X Army Corps, which were assigned to the French 10th Army , with four divisions side by side (French troops from north to south: 33rd Infantry Division, 34th Infantry Division, 19th Infantry Division and 20th Infantry -Division) to the entire front section of the division, which had to position all of its reserve regiments in front. Every attempt by the enemy to push through the lines of the division was bloodily refused. Local break-ins were immediately rectified by counter-attacks. Thousands of fallen French infantrymen lay in front of the division's positions, and the division took 750 French prisoners. The division did not give up an foot's breadth of land and held positions, especially on the right flank, where the 12th Reserve Infantry Regiment had to cope with a particularly critical situation. However, the division suffered losses of 2,300 men in these days. After the failed major French offensive, the division of the division remained relatively calm until autumn. Parts of the French 10th Army attacked between Ecurie and Roclincourt from September 24-25, 1915. However, with the help of massive artillery support from the I. Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps , the enemy was already hit in his installation rooms, his attacks remained in concentrated fire and were all repulsed. The division gave on September 26, 1915 to the right neighbor, the Prussian VI. Army Corps , 2 half battalions, which took up position to the right of Reserve Infantry Regiment 12 east of Neuville. On the same day the French tried to break through the Bavarian lines from Neuville, but this attack also failed due to the steadfastness of the two half battalions. By October 11, 1915, the division within the I. Reserve Corps was first replaced by the "von Hartz" division, then by the I. Army Corps .

1916

During the Battle of the Somme from June 24th to November 26th 1916, the division, now assigned to the 1st Army , was introduced north of the Somme at the interface with the 2nd Army south of the Somme in July 1916 . The Reserve Infantry Regiment 12 was transferred to the already heavily used 5th Reserve Division. The three reserve infantry regiments were placed side by side between Maurepas and Cléry. After it had repulsed the French attacks on August 12, 1916 and thwarted all attempts at break-in, it was released from the front a few days later and used as an army reserve. She was kept in constant readiness and was often used as a front fire brigade.

1917

On February 19, 1917, Major General Friedrich Freiherr von Pechmann was appointed division commander. In the spring of 1917 the I. Reserve Corps was reinforced by the 14th Infantry Division , which - but already heavily fought - occupied the division's former positions east of Arras between Roclincourt and St. Laurent. The division moved further north to the positions east of the Roclincourt - Neuville line. Its right neighbor was the Prussian 79th Reserve Division, subordinate to the I. Reserve Corps . On April 9, 1917, the English broke into the 79th Reserve Division, so that the positions of the division on the Vimy Heights could no longer be held. Towards evening she had to move into positions on the Farbus - Bailleul line, which was about 4 km behind the positions occupied in the morning. From the Vimy Heights the positions of the division could be seen by the enemy, therefore the commanding general of the I. Reserve Corps, General von Fasbender , requested that the units of the corps be relocated another 3 km to the rear. The division moved back to the Arleux - Oppy line on April 13, 1917 and took up positions there. The division was later subordinated to the 4th Army and deployed eastwards to Hollebeke.

1918

For the Georg Battle (April 9 to 29, 1918), the division south of Neuve-Chapelle was assigned to attack on April 9, 1918. Proceeding over the muddy terrain interspersed with obstacles, she pierced the Portuguese lines and reached Vieille-Chapelle on the river Lawe by evening. Until April 13, 1918, she fought her way to Riet du Vinage, then had to stop the attack due to increasing enemy resistance and terrain that was unfavorable for the division. She was then withdrawn to a position at Lens . She had lost 2,000 men during the fighting. In the course of the retreat from Flanders, the division was used to strengthen the Flanders position on September 30, 1918 at Ledeghem. On October 20, 1918, it was used behind the Hermann position as an army reserve near Waereghem. On October 30, 1918, she took up position east of the Scheldt near Gavere . At the end of the war the division was in Diest . From there she returned home via Liège , Aachen and Düsseldorf to the area north of Barmen .

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Lieutenant General Alfred Ritter von Göringer August 2, 1914 to February 19, 1917
Major general Friedrich Freiherr von Pechmann February 19, 1917 until the end of the war

literature