8th Replacement Division (German Empire)

8. Replacement Division
active	August 2, 1914 to March 1, 1917
Country	German Empire
Armed forces	German army
Type	Infantry division
structure	See: Outline
First World War	Western front Battle of the Somme
Commanders
Please refer:	List of commanders

The eighth Replacement Division was a major unit of the Prussian army in the First World War .

structure

• 29th mixed replacement brigade
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 29
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 30
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 31
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 32
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 80
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 86
  • Cavalry replacement department Bonn / VIII. Army Corps
  • Field Artillery Replacement Division No. 23
  • Field Artillery Replacement Division No. 44
• 51st Mixed Replacement Brigade
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 51
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 52
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 53
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 54
  • Cavalry replacement department Ludwigsburg / XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps
  • Field Artillery Replacement Division No. 29
  • Field Artillery Replacement Division No. 65
• 41st Mixed Replacement Brigade
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 41
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 42
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 49
  • Brigade Replacement Battalion No. 50
  • Cavalry replacement department Darmstadt / XVIII. Army Corps
  • Field Artillery Replacement Division No. 25
  • Field Artillery Replacement Division No. 67
  • 1st Replacement Company / Engineer Battalion No. 21

history

Installation and subordination

The division was set up with the mobilization on August 2, 1914 and used exclusively on the Western Front. The formation phase came to an end with the concentration of all troops on the evening of August 17, 1914 in Saarbrücken . The division was after the establishment of the XXI. Army Corps and was part of the 6th Army at the beginning of the First World War . Towards the end of 1914 the division switched to the XIV. Army Corps in the Artois and was subordinated to the Strantz Army Division on the Moselle front in mid-December . The division stayed there for more than 21 months until it was transferred to "Gruppe D" ( von Garnier ) of the 1st Army on the Somme in early October 1916 . In mid-November she returned to her old positions in Army Division C.

Skirmishes

From August 20 to 22, 1914, the XXI. Army Corps took part in the Battle of Lorraine and from August 22 to September 14 in the Battle of Nancy - Épinal . Afterwards on the Moselle section the trench warfare began in the Priesterwald (Bois de Pretre) and fighting at Remenauville, Regnièville , Féy . Between September 17 and 27, the division fought on the Delmer Ridge and from October 21 to 23 on Mort-Mare. From November 1st to 2nd, battles followed near Norrey.

In 1915 and 1916, the 8th Replacement Division was consistently engaged in positional warfare between the Maas and Mosel, and formed the left wing of the Strantz Army Division.

From December 7, 1914 to May 6, 1915, the division was back in the Priesterwald, fought on the Croix des Carmes from January 17 to 25, 1915, and from February 16, on the Croix des Carmes. From the end of March to the beginning of July, positional battles followed at Regnièville, Fey, on April 7th and July 4th especially at Regniéville and Fey. Between February 21 and the beginning of October 1916 the trench warfare between the Meuse and Moselle continued, with more intense battles in the Priesterwald from March 2 to October 6. Major fights at Remenauville, Regnièville and again at Fey until October 6th.

From October 12th to November 18th, the 8th Reserve Division was deployed in the Battle of the Somme as part of the 5th Reserve Corps (Group D) . On October 17, she replaced the worn-out 9th Reserve Division in the Bouchavesnes area. After the return to the old positions between the Maas and Moselle from November 23, 1916, there were new position battles in the Priesterwald, near Regniéville and Fey until February 23, 1917; By March 1, 1917, the 8th replacement division was back in position at Remeanuville, Regniéville and Fey en Haye.

From February 2, 1917, the 8th replacement division consisted only of Württemberg units and was converted shortly afterwards on April 1, 1917 to the 243rd ( Württemberg ) Infantry Division .

Battle calendar

1914

• August 20-22 --- Battle of Lorraine
• August 22nd to September 14th --- Battle of Nancy - Épinal
• from September 13th --- Fights in the priest forest
• from September 13th --- Fights near Remenauville, Regnièville , Féy
  • September 17th to 27th --- Battles on the Delmer Ridge
• from September 18th --- Fights between Meuse and Moselle
  • October 21-23 --- Battles at Mort-Mare
  • November 1 to 2 --- Battles near Norrey
  • December 7th to 10th --- Battles in the priest forest

1915

• until May 6th --- Fights in the priest forest
  • January 17th to 25th --- Battles on the Croix des Carmes
  • February 16-17 --- Battles on the Croix des Carmes
  • March 30th to April 15th --- Battles in the priest forest
  • March 31 to April 7 - Battles near Regniéville - Fey-en-Haye
• Fights at Remenauville, Regnièville, Fey-en-Haye
  • July 4th --- Battle at Fey
• Fight between Meuse and Moselle

1916

• until February 20th --- Fights between Meuse and Moselle
• February 21st to August 25th --- Fights between Meuse and Moselle
  • March 2nd to October 6th --- Battles in the priest forest
• August 26th to October 6th --- to October 6th --- position battles between the Meuse and the Moselle
• to October 6th --- Fights near Remenauville, Regnièville, Fey
• October 12th to November 18th --- Battle of the Somme
• from November 23rd --- Fights in the priest forest, near Regniéville and Fey; Trench warfare between the Meuse and the Moselle

1917

• until February 23rd --- Fights in the Priesterwald, near Regniéville and Fey; Trench warfare between the Meuse and the Moselle
• until March 1st --- Trench warfare at Remeanuville, Regniéville and Fey-en-Haye

Commanders

Rank	Surname	date
Lieutenant General	Friedrich von Hausmann	August 16 to September 1, 1914
Lieutenant General	Hermann Kosch	0September 2, 1914 to April 3, 1915
Major general	Karl von Stumpff	0April 4, 1915 to January 1, 1917
Major general	Hans von Leyser	0January 2 to February 8, 1917
Major general	Friedrich von Schippert	0February 9 to March 1, 1917

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. 63, 102.
• 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. 741-743.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914-1918, Volume 11, Map supplement No. 4., 5. Troop allocation Sketch with location on October 7th and 17th.
2. ↑ Dermot Bradley (ed.), Günter Wegner: Occupation of the German Army 1815-1939. Volume 1: The higher command posts 1815–1939. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1990. ISBN 3-7648-1780-1 . P. 199.