47th Reserve Division (German Empire)

47th Reserve Division
active	August 25, 1914 to August 2, 1918
Country	German Empire
Armed forces	Prussian Army
Type	Infantry division
structure	See: Outline

The 47th Reserve Division was a major unit of the Prussian army in the First World War .

structure

Division of war on September 10, 1914

• 93rd Reserve Infantry Brigade
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 217
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 218
• 94th Reserve Infantry Brigade
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 219
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 220
• Reserve Cavalry Division No. 47
• Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 47
• Foot Artillery Battalion / Posen 1
• Reserve Engineer Company No. 47

Division of war on May 26, 1918

• 94th Reserve Infantry Brigade
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 218
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 219
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 220
  • Machine gun sniper division No. 47
  • 4th Squadron / Jäger Regiment on Horseback No. 4
• Artillery Commander No. 47
  • Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 47
  • Foot Artillery Battalion No. 158
• Engineer Battalion No. 347
• Division News Commander # 447

history

The division was set up on August 25, 1914. She was the part XXIV. Reserve Corps under General of Infantry Friedrich von Gerok on the Western Front , was in September 1914 to the 5th Army moved and stood between Maas and Moselle in trench warfare . At the end of November the division was evacuated to the Eastern Front . There she was unloaded in the Kraków area and sent to the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army of Archduke Joseph Ferdinand on the Carpathian Front. She fought in early December 1914 during the battle of Limanowa-Lapanow on the Stradomka near Muchowka. The division under the leadership of Lieutenant General Alfred von Besser formed a strong front pillar in the counter-offensive of the corps group "Roth" on the Orlowka-Höhe 597 and at Raibrot and played a major role in the Austrian success. After the Russian withdrawal, the division secured the Dunajec until March 1915 .

In early May 1915, the division took part in the front breakout between Gorlice – Tarnów . She was in turn in the association of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army. Between May 15 and June 23, the division completed further position battles on the San section near Nieroda and Maziarnia and then advanced to the Wisznia section. After fighting near Krasnik, the further advance from the Wysnika to the Wieprz river took place at the end of July . Between August 20 and September 3, 1915, the division followed the advance of the German 11th Army between Bug and Jasiolda to the north. Advancing in the Slonim area in September 1915 , the division was subordinated to the Landwehr Corps Woyrsch . This was followed by positional battles on the Upper Shchara in the Ostrow area at the turn of the year . The division was thereby the XXXVIII. Assigned to reserve corps . In July and August 1916, the division successfully fought in the defensive battle at Baranowitschi -Goroditsche against Russian attacks and remained for the next few months under the command of the Woyrsch army division .

In early May 1917, the division returned to the Western Front. It was used in the Toul area on the Remenauville- Regnieville line until the beginning of June . After the Battle of the Aisne , in June 1917, the division strengthened its positions at the Chemin des Dames , and by the end of November 1917, the division consisted of position battles at the Ailette .

From March 21, 1918, the division fought in the German spring offensive on the south wing of the 18th Army, which was concentrated on both sides in the St. Quentin area . The division advanced in the association of the group "Gayl" (13th Landwehr and 47th Reserve Division) across the Oise from the La Fère area to the west, on March 22nd it crossed the Crozat Canal at Tergnier . Until March 24th, the division occupied Chauny and strengthened the action of the now superordinate group “Conta” ( IV Reserve Corps ) on Noyon and Lassigny.

After transfer to the 7th Army ( Max von Boehn ) in the Laon area , the advance across the Vesle to Soissons took place on May 28th . The division stood as a reserve in the federation of the VIII. Reserve Corps ( Wichura group ) and participated in the advance on Villers-Cotterêts . The division intervened in the center of Wichura on June 2 and then remained as a reserve in the hinterland of Hartennes until mid-July. After the Allied counter-offensive, the necessary retreat behind the Aisne took place. The division defended a Vesle section of the heavily crowded front between Soissons and Reims until the end of July and was then pulled out. On August 2, 1918, the division in Lorraine was dissolved.

Battle calendar

1914

• October 12th to November 19th - fighting between Meuse and Moselle
• November 20-28 - Transport from Lorraine to Krakow
• 0December 5th to 17th - Battle of Limanowa-Lapanow
• from December 18 - trench warfare at the lower Dunajek

1915

• until March 1st - trench warfare at lower Dunajek
• 0May 1st to 3rd - Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów
• 03rd to 5th May - crossing over the Dunajec
• 0May 4-14 - pursuit battles after the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów
• May 15 to June 23 - positional battle on the Leg-San section
• June 24-30 - Pursuit battles from the San to the Wisznia section
• 0July 1st to 19th - Second battle near Krasnik
• July 20th to August 9th - battles of persecution from the Wysnika to the Wieprz
• August 10th to 19th - pursuit battles from Wieprz to Bug
• August 20 to September 3 - Chase battles between Bug and Jasiolda
• 0September 4 to 9 - Battle near Bereza-Kartuska
• 0September 9th to 12th - Fights at the Jasiolda-Zelwianke
• September 13-18 - Battle of Slonim
• September 19 to 24 - fighting on the upper Shchara-Servetsch
• from September 25th - trench warfare on the upper Shchara-Serwetsch

1916

• • 0July 2-9 - Battle of Baranovichi
  • 10 July to 9 August - Battle of Baranovichi-Gorodishche
  • 0November 9-10 - Skrobowo battle

1917

• 0January 1st to May 1st - trench warfare on the upper Shchara-Servetsch
• 0May 1st to 7th - transport to the west
• 0May 7th to June 10th - trench warfare in front of Verdun
• June 11th to October 23rd - Trench warfare at Chemin des Dames
• October 23 - Battle of Chavignon
• October 24th to November 2nd - rearguard battles on and south of the Ailette

from November 3rd - trench warfare north of the Ailette

1918

• until March 20 - trench warfare north of the Ailette
• March 21 to April 6 - Great battle in France
  • March 21-22 - Breakthrough battle at St. Quentin-La Fère
  • March 23 to 24 - Fighting in the crossing of the Somme and Crozat Canal between St. Christ and Tergnier
  • March 25th to 31st - pursuit battles to Montdidier-Noyon
• 0April 7th to May 26th - fighting on the Avre and near Montdidier and Noyon
• May 27th to June 13th - Battle of Soissons and Reims
  • May 28th to June 1st - chase battles between Oise and Aisne and over the Vesle to the Marne
• June 14th to July 4th - trench warfare between Oise, Aisne and Marne
• 0July 5th to 17th - Trench warfare west of Soissons
• July 18-25 - Defensive battle between Soissons and Reims
• 01st to 2nd August - Trench warfare in Lorraine
• 0August 2nd - Division dissolved

Commanders

Rank	Surname	date
Lieutenant General	Bogislav from Bagenski	August 25, 1914 to November 10, 1914
Lieutenant General	Alfred von Besser	November 11, 1914 to April 25, 1917
Major general	Hartwig von Eichendorff	April 26, 1917 to August 2, 1918

literature

• 47th Reserve Division (Ed.): In West and East. War images from the history of the 47th Reserve Division . F. Bruckmann Verlag, Munich 1917.
• Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reich Archives . Military publishing house, Berlin 1927, pp. 70, 141.
• Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army Which Participated in the War (1914-1918). United States War Office as War Department Document No. 905. Office of the Adjutant. 1920, pp. 33-35.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Austria-Hungary's last war. Volume 1. Vienna 1930. pp. 805 ff and sketch 55.
2. ^ Reichsarchiv (ed.): The fights for Baranowitschi. Volume 9, Berlin 1925. p. 32 ff and sketch 2.
3. ↑ Reichsarchiv (ed.): The World War 1914–1918. Volume XIV., P. 126 f.
4. ↑ Reichsarchiv (ed.): The World War 1914–1918. Supplement volume XIV, location maps Supplement 18, 24.
5. ↑ Dermot Bradley (ed.), Günter Wegner: Occupation of the German Army 1815-1939. Volume 1: The higher command posts 1815–1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1780-1 , p. 180.