Part 24
1915.
ALSACE.
1. In March, 1915, the 52d Brigade was in line in the valleys of the Fecht and the Lauch. The 119th Landwehr was south of Cernay. In April the 40th Landwehr (Baden) left the division and was transferred for some time to the 6th Landwehr Division (Bavarian).
2. The 7th Landwehr Division then contained the 119th, 121st and 123d Landwehr, to which a fourth regiment was joined, the 126th Landwehr, formed by drafts from the three others. The division, from then on exclusively Wurtemberger, from that time held the sector Wattwiller- Rhone-Rhine Canal (Cernay-Altkirch).
1916.
ALSACE.
1. Cernay-Altkirch sector.
1917.
ALSACE-LORRAINE.
1. The division remained on the Mulhouse front (Cernay-Altkirch) until February 20, 1917. Relieved on that date and sent to Lorraine (Leintrey- Badonviller sector), where it replaced the 33d Reserve Division. It was at this time that the division was decreased to three regiments; its 119th Landwehr and 123d Landwehr were transferred to the 26th Landwehr Division and it obtained the 122d Reserves from the 54th Reserve Division.
RUSSIA-VOLHYNIA.
2. The division left the Lorraine front in the middle of May. Entrained beginning May 14 at Sarrebourg and sent to the Eastern Front via Nurnberg-Warsaw-Lublin-Kovel-Vladimir Volynski. It took over the Kisselin sector (Volhynia).
RECRUITING.
From April, 1915 on, the division was entirely composed from men from Wurtemberg.
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
A mediocre division, much reduced by transferring its most energetic units to active regiments and Wurtemberg reserve regiments and receiving in exchange older men.
1918.
UKRAINE.
1. In February, 1918, the 7th Landwehr Division left the Kisselin region and advanced into the Ukraine. “We are going into Russia to succor the Ukrainians,” wrote a man of the 122d Reserve Regiment from the Rovno region on February 26. On April 1, the 126th Landwehr Regiment was identified between Kiev and Odessa; along with the 122d Reserve Regiment it was identified near Odessa on the 9th.
2. On May 11 the division was identified south of Ekaterinoslav and on the 4th of July at Rostov on the Don.
3. The division was reported to have been sent to the Danube front about the middle of October, but it was never actually identified there.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was rated as fourth class.
7th Cavalry Division (Dismounted).
COMPOSITION.
───────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────── │ 1918 ───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┬─────────────────────── │ Brigade. │ Regiment. ───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┼─────────────────────── Cavalry. │28 Cav. │11 Uhlan. │ │15 Uhlan. │ │4 Res. Uhlan. │30 Cav. │9 Hus. │ │15 Drag. │ │25 Drag. │41 Cav. │26 Drag. │ │5 Cuirassier. │ │4 Uhlan. ───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┴─────────────────────── Engineers and Liaisons.│19 Pion. Btn. (1, 2, and 3 Cos.): │ 6 Cav. Pion. Detch. │ 312 T. M. Co. │ 186 Wireless Detch. ───────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────── Medical and Veterinary.│606 Ambulance Co. ───────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────── Odd Units │10 M. G. S. S. Detch. (1, 2, and 3 Cos.). ───────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────── Attached │5 F. A. Rgt. (10 and 11 Btries.). ───────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────
HISTORY.
1918.
1. The division held the Guebwiller (Alsace) sector until the end of May. It rested in the Saarebourg area until mid-July, when it was railed to Belgium (Courtrai area).
2. After resting near Courtrai for two weeks, the division entrained at Lauwe on August 13 for Armentieres, where it remained until August 23. It went into line in the Kemmel area for three days. The division was then railed back to Tourcoing, from where it was transferred by trucks to Lagnicourt on August 26 and came into line on the following day at Ecoust.
ARRAS-CAMBRAI.
3. In two weeks the division was heavily engaged in the Arras battle. It was relieved on September 9, after losing more than 700 prisoners. The division rested in the Cambrai area until September 22, when it relieved the 1st Guard Reserve Division north of Moeuvres. It was withdrawn on September 30.
BELGIUM.
4. The division entrained at Solesmes on October 5 and detrained at Mouscron. It remained here until October 14, when it moved to Deerlyck, and on the 17th elements counterattacked between Courtrai and Harlebeke. It was engaged until its relief on October 29 by the 49th Reserve Division northwest of Anseghem. The division was considered to be in reserve of the 10th German Army at the time of the armistice.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was rated as fourth class. Its use on the Cambrai and Belgium fronts in September and October indicate that it might have been considered a third-class division after its reorganization.
8th Division.
COMPOSITION.
─────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1914 │ 1915 │ 1916 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │15. │36 Fus. │15. │36 Fus. │16. │72. │ │93. │ │93. │ │93. │16. │72. │16. │72. │ │153. │ │153. │ │153. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │10 Hus. Rgt. (3 │10 Hus. Rgt. (3 │10 Hus. Rgt. (3 │ Sqns.). │ Sqns.). │ Sqns.). ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │8 Brig.: │8 Brig.: │8 Brig.: │ 74 F. A. Rgt. │ 74 F. A. Rgt. │ 74 F. A. Rgt. │ 75 F. A. Rgt. │ 75 F. A. Rgt. │ 75 F. A. Rgt. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│ │1 Pion. Btn. No. 4:│1 Pion. Btn. No. 4: Liaisons. │ │ │ │ │ Field Co. 4 Pions.│ 2 Co. 4 Pions. │ │ 8 Pont. Engs. │ 8 T. M. Co. │ │ 8 Tel. Detch. │ 8 Pont. Engs. │ │ │ 8 Tel. Detch. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │ │ │ Veterinary.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Attached. │ │ │72 Anti-Aircraft │ │ │ Section. │ │ │7 Balloon Sqn. ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────
─────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1917 │ 1918 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │16. │72. │16. │72. │ │93. │ │93. │ │153. │ │153. │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │10 Hus. Rgt. ( │5 Sqns. 10 Hus. │ Sqns.). │ Rgt. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │8 Art. Command: │8 Art. Command: │ 74 F. A. Rgt. │ 74 F. A. Rgt. │ │ 1 Abt. 1 Res. Ft. │ │ A. Rgt. │ │ 815 Light Am. Col. │ │ 983 Light Am. Col. │ │ 1247 Light Am. │ │ Col. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│118 Pion. Btn. or 1│118 Pion. Btn.: Liaisons. │ Pion. Btn. No. 4:│ │ 2 Co. 4 Pions. │ 2 Co. 4 Pions. │ 5 Co. 4 Pions. │ 5 Co. 4 Pions. │ 8 T. M. Co. │ 8 T. M. Co. │ 8 Tel. Detch. │ 95 Searchlight │ │ Section. │ │8 Signal Command: │ │ 8 Tel. Detch. │ │ 95 Wireless Detch. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │Ambulance Co. │11 Ambulance Co. Veterinary.│ │ │31 Field Hospital. │36 Field Hospital. │Vet. Hospital. │39 Field Hospital. │ │8 Vet. Hospital. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │M. T. Col. │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Attached. │72 Anti-Aircraft │ │ Section. │ │ │ ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────
HISTORY.
(Fourth District—Prussian Saxony.)
1914.
FRANCE.
1. With the 7th Division, the 8th Division formed the 4th Army Corps. It detrained August 10 to 12 near Dusseldorf and, with that corps, was part of the 1st Army (Von Kluck). Entered Belgium the 15th, passed through Louvain the 19th, and through Brussels the 20th, and executed with the 7th Division an enveloping movement on the left of the Allies. Fought at Solesmes the 26th and arrived east of Coulommiers September 6, from where it was sent in a great hurry to the right of the 1st Army, with the 7th Division (Lizy sur Ourcq-Plessis, Placy, etc.). September 8 the 11th Company of the 93d Infantry was reduced to 96 men (notebook).
2. After the retreat, beginning the 15th, it was engaged against the left wing of the British north of Soissons (battle of the Aisne, Cuffies, Chavigny, Pasly, etc.).
3. At the end of September it went with the 4th Army Corps to Artois with the 6th Army.
4. At the beginning of October it took part in the attacks south of Arras and held the lines near Monchy aux Bois.
1915.
1. The division held the Monchy sector during the first few months of 1915. At the end of May it was relieved from this sector and put in the reserve of the army near Douai after transferring the 36th Fusiliers to the 113th Division, newly formed (March).
2. During the first two weeks of June it went into line in the Souchez sector and opposed the French attacks. Relieved at the beginning of September and became army reserve near Tourcoing and Roubaix.
LOOS.
3. At the battle of Loos during the counterattack the division suffered heavy losses in September and October.
1916.
1. In 1916 until the battle of the Somme the division did not take part in any serious engagements. It was established in the Loos sector. July 3 it left this front for the Somme.
SOMME.
2. In the middle of July it went into battle on the Pozieres-Longueval- Bois Delville front and suffered very heavy losses.
3. Toward the end of July it was relieved and sent to rest in the region of Valenciennes.
4. August 9 it took over a quiet sector before Arras and stayed there about five weeks.
5. About September 18 it again went into the battle of the Somme. It held the Thiepval-Courcelette sector, where it had some hard fighting, which caused it heavy losses.
ARTOIS.
6. October 1 it left this sector to again hold the trenches northeast of Loos.
1917.
1. During the winter of 1916–17 the division had no heavy fighting. However, in April, May, and June it had serious losses due to the many raids executed by the British.
2. Toward the end of July and the beginning of August the division suffered considerably from artillery fire. It was relieved before the attack of the British before Lens.
CHAMPAGNE.
3. August 5 it entrained for Rethel. Rested for some time in the region of Semide, then held the sector west of Butte du Mesnil from August 15 to September 15.
BELGIUM.
4. About September 18 it was sent in the region of Bouziers and October 4 went into line west of Becelaere (Belgium), and shortly afterwards, October 9, south of Hollebeke. It was still there January 20, 1918.
RECRUITING.
Province of Prussian Saxony, Duchy of Anhalt, and part of Thuringia. Same remarks as for the 7th Division. The fluctuations in the resources of the region are evidenced by the following facts: On November 4, 1917, a man came to the 5th Company of the 93d Infantry who was born in 1898 in the Eighth District, was a farmer, and had been called up September 3, having had just two months of training. He was sent by a depot in Cologne.
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
Since the battles of 1914 the division remained entirely on the offensive. It always defended itself well in attacks and held its positions with tenacity.
During its stay on the Champagne it did not show any activity, but also it had no desertions. It may be said that its morale is good. (September, 1917).
1918.
1. The division was relieved by the 17th Reserve Division in the Hollebeke sector about January 31. It rested and trained near Coutrai during February and until March 7.
2. On March 7 it was engaged west of Zandvoorde, where it was in line until April 11.
BATTLE OF THE LYS.
3. The division came into the battle line west of Merville on April 11, which town it captured. About the 23d it passed to the second line.
4. The division rested for two weeks at Canteleu (a suburb of Lille). It returned to a rest camp north of Kemmel about May 12th.
YPRES.
5. It was engaged south of Ypres from May 15 until the 1st of July in the sector, with division headquarters at Halluin.
6. The division rested near Coutrai during July, from where it returned to its former sector south of Ypres on July 26 and was in line until the night of September 17–18.
LE CATELET.
7. It was moved south to relieve the Alpine Corps at Vendhuile, where it came in on September 23. In the fighting the division was driven back by Aubencheul-Villers Cutreaux on Maretz-Clary early in October. After suffering heavy casualties and losing over 400 prisoners, it was withdrawn on October 14.
8. The division rested in the Guise area until October 22.
9. It was reengaged north of Le Cateau on October 22–23, but withdrew about November 1. On the 5th it was identified in line north of Maulde, where it remained until the end.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was regarded as a first-class division. A majority of its men came from the younger classes. Its effectives were high and the morale good. Apart from the Armentieres offensive in April, the division was on the defensive during 1918.
8th Landwehr Division.
COMPOSITION.
─────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────── │ 1915 │ 1916 ─────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼──────────────┬────────────── │ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment. ─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼────────────── Infantry. │56 Ldw. │109 Ldw. │56 Ldw. │109 Ldw. │ │110 Ldw. │ │110 Ldw. │ │109 Landst. │ │109 Landst. ─────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────┼──────────────┴────────────── Cavalry. │2 Ldw. Sqn. 14 C. Dist. │2 Ldw. Sqn. 14 C. Dist. │ │ (dissolved late 1916). │ │3 Landst. Sqn. 14 C. Dist. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Artillery. │Landst. F. A. Abt. (14 C. │8 Ldw. F. A. Regt. │ Dist.). │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Engineers and│4 Co. 14 Pions. │4 Co. 14 Pions. Liaisons. │ │ │2 Res. Co. 14 Pions. │2 Res. Co. 14 Pions. │ │308 T. M. Co. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Medical and │ │ Veterinary.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Transports. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Odd. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Attached. │Fribourg Landst. Inf. Btn. │68 Labor Btn. │ (14 C. Dist. Btn. No. 7). │ │2 Heidelberg Landst. Inf. │Pforzheim Landst. Inf. Btn. │ Btn. (14 C. Dist. Btn. No. │ (14 C. Dist. Btn. No. 21). │ 13). │ ─────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────
─────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────── │ 1917 │ 1918 ─────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼──────────────┬────────────── │ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment. ─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼────────────── Infantry. │56 Ldw. │109 Ldw. │56 Ldw. │109 Ldw. │ │110 Ldw. │ │110 Ldw. │ │111 Ldw. │ │111 Ldw. ─────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────┼──────────────┴────────────── Cavalry. │1 Sqn. 5 Horse Jag. Rgt. │1 Sqn. 5 Horse Jag. Rgt. │ │ │ (?) │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Artillery. │Art. Command: │8 Ldw. F. A. Rgt. │ │ │ 8 Ldw. F. A. Rgt. │803 Light Am. Col. │ │1416 Light Am. Col. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Engineers and│408 Pion. Btn.: │408 Pion. Btn.: Liaisons. │ │ │ 1 Res. Co. 14 Pions. │ 1 Res. Co. 14 Pions. │ 2 Res. Co. 14 Pions. │ 2 Res. Co. 14 Pions. │ 308 T. M. Co. │ 308 T. M. Co. │ 305 Searchlight Section. │ 216 Searchlight Section. │ 508 Tel. Detch. │508 Signal Command: │ │ 508 Tel. Detch. │ │ 177 Wireless Detch. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Medical and │559 Ambulance Co. │559 Ambulance Co. Veterinary.│ │ │321 (?) Field Hospital. │321 Field Hospital. │Vet. Hospital. │7 Field Hospital. │ │563 Vet. Hospital. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Transports. │777 M. T. Col. │777 M. T. Col. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Odd. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Attached. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────
HISTORY.
(Fourteenth District—Grand Duchy of Baden.)
1915.
The 8th Landwehr Division was formed February, 1915, from Baden troops, which entered Alsace at the beginning of the campaign (the 110th Landwehr detrained Aug. 11, 1914, at Neuenburg near Mullheim and the 109th Landwehr on the same date), and the 109th Landsturm organized at the beginning of 1915 from five Baden Landsturm battalions.
ALSACE.
The division held the same sector between Altkirch and the Swiss Frontier from its formation until January, 1917.
1916.
1. In February, 1916, the 109th Landwehr and the 110th Landwehr, which had up to that time remained on the defensive, took part in the attacks between Seppois and Largitzen and against the Scoonholz, northwest of Altkirch. They executed many raids during 1916.
2. The 109th Landsturm, which was in line at one end of the front, was broken up in May, 1916, and replaced in the division by the 111th Landwehr, newly formed, consisting in reality of three Landsturm battalions already stationed in Alsace, of which two were part of the 109th Landsturm (XIV 23 and XIV 25).
COTES DE MEUSE.
About January 23, 1917, the division was withdrawn from the Alsace front and sent to the Cotes de Meuse, where it took over the sector west of Fresnes en Woevre. April 15 the division moved toward the north and held the lines to the Etain-Verdun road.
RECRUITING.
Entirely from Baden.
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
The division was a defense division (May, 1918). Each company had one shock-troop squad per platoon (prisoners’ statements Dec. 8, 1917).
Like the 2d and 7th Landwehr Divisions, but to a smaller degree, the 8th Landwehr Division had some of its men transferred to active units; thus, in November, 1917, it transferred some men to 121st Division, then near it.
1918.
The division continued in the Woevre sector during 1918. Through failure to identify it, it was considered as out of line September 21 and September 25.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
It was rated as a fourth-class division. Its losses apart from the St. Mihiel attack were negligible. In the attack it did fairly well, without heavy loss. The morale was fair.