54th (Württemberg) Reserve Division

54th (Württemberg) Reserve Division
active	August 1914 to August 1918
Country	Kingdom of Württemberg
Armed forces	Württemberg Army
Armed forces	army
Branch of service	infantry
Type	Infantry Division
structure	See: Outline
Location	See garrisons
First World War	Western front First Battle of Flanders Battle of the Somme Battle of the Aisne (1917) Great battle in France
management
Commanders	See list of commanders

The 54th (Württembergische) Reserve Division was from 1914 to 1918, a major unit of the Württemberg Army in the First World War .

history

In a letter dated August 16, 1914, the Prussian War Ministry asked the Saxon and Württemberg War Ministries to set up a Saxon-Württemberg Army Corps ( XXVII Reserve Corps ). The two war ministries then agreed that Württemberg would have a divisional staff (54th Reserve Division), three reserve infantry regiments, a reserve cavalry department, the staff of a reserve field artillery regiment, two reserve field artillery regiments, one Reserve medical company, a reserve artillery ammunition column, two reserve field hospitals and a reserve horse depot should set up. The rest of the troops belonging to the division were to be drawn up by the Saxon contingent. By order of August 21, 1914, the division was also assigned an infantry brigade commander. All units were to be mobile by September 10, 1914 and ready for use by October 10, 1914 at the latest.

The reserve infantry regiments were formed from the 3rd and 4th replacement companies of the replacement battalions of the active regiments, which were set up in August 1914, as well as members of the reserve and Landwehr available there, as well as volunteers. After the formation and mobilization, the Wuerttemberg troops moved on October 11, 1914 from the Münsingen military training area to the Leuze area in Belgium . The Saxon formations belonging to the 54th (Württ.) Reserve Division also arrived here. By the spring of 1917, these were gradually withdrawn and the division became a purely Württemberg association.

On August 25, 1918, the Supreme Army Command applied to the Württemberg War Ministry to dissolve the worn and bled division. The dissolution was approved by King Wilhelm II and carried out by order of August 30, 1918.

The staff of the 54th (Württ.) Reserve Division and the Württ. Artillery Commander No. 70 were later used as the chief construction staff in the area of ​​the Army Group Duke Albrecht . The Württ. Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 54 and II. Battalion / Reserve Foot Artillery Regiment No. 24 were used as an army unit. All other staffs and formations were disbanded; the remnants of the reserve infantry regiments were used to replenish other Württemberg divisions. The regiment No. 246 came to the 204th (Württemberg) Division , the regiment No. 247 to the 27th Division (2. Kgl. Württ.) And the regiment No. 248 to the 243rd (Württemberg) Division .

The division's four-year history officially ended on August 31, 1918.

Garrisons

Set up as a war formation, the division had no peace garrison.

Deployment of the division on the western front in 1916.

Battle calendar

The 1917 division in Champagne.

The division was at the beginning of the First World War with the mobilization as part of the XXVII. Reserve corps formed and deployed exclusively on the western front during the course of the war .

From October 18 to November 30, 1914 he took part in the Battle of Ypres . Between October 20 and 30, Becelaere was captured and the advance on Gheluvelt . From December 1, 1914 to April 21, 1915 positional battles at In-den-Ster-Reutel, in the Polygonewald and on the Yser .

From April 22nd to May 25th 1915 fighting for Ypres . From May 26th to January 31st, 1916 trench warfare on the Yser.

From January 31 to March 30, 1916 reserve of the OHL . From March 31st to June 23rd, trench warfare in Flanders and Artois . From June 24th to July 7th, reconnaissance and demonstration battles by the 6th Army . From July 7th to August 26th, trench warfare in Flanders and Artois again. Participation in the Battle of the Somme from 6 to 25 September . From 25 September to 15 December again trench warfare in Flanders and Artois, in between from 12 October to 3 December trench warfare in Lorraine . From December 15 to January 30, 1917 trench warfare at Verdun .

From January 31 to May 3, 1917 trench warfare in Champagne . Participation in the Aisne-Champagne double battle from May 3rd to 27th . From May 28th to June 10th, trench warfare in front of Reims . From June 10th to August 20th, trench warfare in Champagne. From August 20 to October 9, deployed in the defensive battle at Verdun. From October 9th to 20th, trench warfare near Verdun. From October 22nd to December 3rd take part in the autumn battle in Flanders. From December 4th to March 13th 1918 trench warfare in Flanders.

From 14th to 20th March 1918 fighting in the Siegfriedstellung and preparation for the Great Battle in France. Participation in the Great Battle of France from March 21st to April 6th . From April 7th to August 7th fighting on the Ancre , Somme and Avre . From 8th to 20th August, deployed in the defensive battle between Somme and Avre. Participation in the Battle of Albert - Péronne from August 22nd to August 23rd . The division was then dissolved on August 31.

organization

Association membership

The division was at the establishment of the XXVII. Reserve Corps under General von Carlowitz and was part of the 4th Army under the command of Duke Albrecht von Württemberg .

In March 1916 there was a change of subordination to the 6th Army . With army orders of September 30, 1916, the division from the XXVII. Reserve corps dissolved and subordinated to Army Division A as an independent Württemberg division . As the current reserve of the Supreme Army Command , it was given to VI in December 1916 . Reserve Corps and thus reassigned to the 6th Army. The division stayed there only for a short time, as in mid-December 1916 it switched to the XIV Army Corps .

Towards the end of January 1917 she was in the area of ​​the XII. Army Corps and was subordinate to the 3rd Army . Still used as an Army Group Reserve, the division was subordinated to the Prosnes Group ( 1st Army , III Army Corps ) in May 1917 as an intervention division. Back in the 4th Army in October 1917, from March 1918 she belonged to the Caudry group of the Württemberg XIII. Army Corps of the 2nd Army .

With army orders of April 6, 1918, the division was assigned to the XXIII. Reserve Corps made available and resigned from the area of ​​command of the XIII. Army Corps again. Then the division was assigned to the General Command in the fall . b. V. 54 and finally dissolved in August 1918.

structure

Division of war on October 10, 1914

• Division staff
• Württemberg infantry brigade commander
  • Saxon Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 245
  • Württemberg Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 246
  • Württemberg Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 247
  • Württemberg Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 248
  • Saxon Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 26
• Württemberg Reserve Cavalry Division No. 54
• Württemberg Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 54
• Saxon Reserve Pioneer Company No. 54
• Saxon Reserve Division Bridge Train No. 54
• Württemberg Reserve Medical Company No. 54
• Württemberg Reserve Field Hospital No. 93
• Württemberg Reserve Field Hospital No. 94
• Saxon Reserve Infantry Ammunition Column No. 55
• Saxon reserve artillery ammunition column No. 73
• Württemberg Reserve Artillery Ammunition Column No. 74
• Saxon reserve fleet column No. 88
• Saxon reserve fleet column No. 89
• Saxon Reserve Bakery Column No. 34
• Württemberg reserve horse depot No. 27

Division of War of March 8, 1918

• 107th Reserve Infantry Brigade
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 246
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 247
  • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 248
  • Reserve Cavalry Division No. 54
• Artillery Commander No. 70
  • Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 54
  • 2nd Battalion / Reserve Foot Artillery Regiment No. 24
• Engineer Battalion No. 354
• Division News Commander # 454

Division of war in August 1918

• Division staff
• 107th (Württemberg) Reserve Infantry Brigade
  • Württemberg Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 246
  • Württemberg Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 247
  • Württemberg Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 248
• Württemberg Reserve Cavalry Division No. 54
• Württemberg artillery commander No. 70
  • Württemberg Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 54
• Württemberg Pioneer Battalion No. 354
• Wuerttemberg Division News Commander No. 454
• Württemberg Medical Company No. 536
• Württemberg Reserve Field Hospital No. 93
• Württemberg Reserve Field Hospital No. 94
  • Württemberg division radio operator department No. 140
• Württemberg division motor vehicle column No. 741
• Württemberg field recruits depot of the 54th Reserve Division
• Württemberg horse hospital No. 246

Commanders

Rank	Surname	date
General of the Infantry	Friedrich von Gerok	September 1-11, 1914
General of the Infantry	Paul von Schaefer	September 12, 1914 to January 17, 1916
Lieutenant General	Karl Albert von Knoerzer	January 18, 1916 to July 27, 1917
Lieutenant General	Adolf von Wencher	July 28, 1917 to June 28, 1918
Major general	Gustav Koehler	June 29 to August 31, 1918 (dissolution)

Others

Combat value

After the hard fighting in the summer of 1918, the Allies judged the division to be second class. Towards the end of its existence it was used up and bled to death. On August 12, 1918, the combat strength of the Reserve Infantry Regiments No. 246 was 323 men, No. 247 was 280 men and No. 248 was still 231 men. In comparison: a mobilized regiment had a strength of up to 3,200 men in wartime.

See also

• List of the Württemberg military units from 1914 to 1918

References

swell

• Main State Archives Stuttgart , holdings M 44, M 410, M 433/1 and M 457

literature

• Hall of Fame of our Old Army. Published on the basis of official material from the Reich Archives . Military Publishing House, Berlin 1927, pp. 71, 146–147.
• Fritz von Graevenitz: The development of the württemb. Heerwesens and the German top leadership in the world war in their meaning for the Württ. Armed Forces (Württemberg's Army in World War I, Issues 1 and 2. [double volume]) , Bergers Literar. Office and publishing house, Stuttgart 1921
• Otto von Moser : The Wuerttembergians in the World War. Belser-Verlag, Stuttgart 1927.
• Ernst Reinhardt: The 54th (Württ.) Reserve Division in the World War 1914-18 (Württemberg's Army in World War I, issue 7) , Bergers literary. Office and publishing house, Stuttgart 1934
• United States Army, American Expeditionary Forces General Staff, G-2: Histories of two hundred and fifty-one divisions of the German Army which participated in the war (1914–1918) , Chaumont, France, 1919 (1920)

Web links

• Allied assessment of the 54th Reserve Division

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 28.
2. ↑ Reichsarchiv Volume V., Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1929, card supplement 12
3. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 163.
4. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 164.
5. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, pp. 166f.
6. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 91.
7. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 56.
8. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 97.
9. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, pp. 171ff.
10. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 28 and Moser 1927, p. 130.
11. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 112f.
12. ↑ See Reinhardt 1934, p. 156.

Remarks

1. ↑ Was used for the formation of the 107th (Württemberg) Reserve Infantry Brigade formed on December 6, 1914.
2. ↑ Some of the dates mentioned later in the literature, such as September 3 or 7, 1918, refer to the fact that the liquidation process naturally took several days.
3. ↑ On October 23, 1916, the regiment was transferred to the 192nd Infantry Division and left the division.
4. Jumped out of the division association in March 1916.
5. ↑ On January 17, 1917, the company was placed under the 219th Infantry Division.
6. ↑ A corresponding proof is still missing here.
7. ↑ By order of the Württemberg War Ministry of December 6, 1914, the 107th and 108th (Württemberg) Reserve Infantry Brigades were formed after a second infantry brigade commander had already joined the division by order of November 22, 1914 . Major General von Erpf, appointed for this purpose, arrived there on December 4, 1914.
8. ↑ Von Knoerzer and his successor von Wencher "swapped" the divisions. Von Knoerzer took over from Wencher's 7th (Württ.) Landwehr Division on July 28, 1917.