Part 43

COMPOSITION.

─────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1914 │ 1915 │ 1916 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │53 Res. │84 Res. │35 Res. │84 Res. │35 Res. │31 Res. │ │86 Res. │ │86 Res. │ │84 Res. │36 Res. │31 Res. │36 Res. │31 Res. │ │86 Res. │ │90 Res. │ │90 Res. │ │ │ 9 Res. Jag. Btn. │ 9 Res. Jag. Btn. │ 9 Res. Jag. Btn. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Cavalry. │7 Res. Hus. Rgt. (3│7 Res. Hus. Rgt. │7 Res. Hus. Rgt. │ Sqns.). │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │18 Res. F. A. Rgt. │18 Res. F. A. Rgt. │18 Res. F. A. Rgt. │ (6 Btries.). │ (8 Btries.). │ (10 Btries.). │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│1 and 2 Res. Cos. 2│1 and 2 Res. Cos. 2│1 and 2 Res. Cos. 2 Liaisons. │ Pion. Btn. No. 9.│ Pion. Btn. No. 9.│ Pion. Btn. No. 9. │ │18 Res. Pont. Engs.│218 T. M. Co. │ │ │ │ │18 Res. Tel. Detch.│18 Res. Pont. Engs. │ │ │ │ │ │18 Res. Tel. Detch. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │ │ │ Veterinary.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Attached. │ │ │95 Labor Btn. Anti- │ │ │ Aircraft Section. ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────

─────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1917 │ 1918 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │35 Res. │31 Res. │35 Res. │31 Res. │ │84 Res. │ │84 Res. │ │86 Res. │ │86 Res. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │3 Sqn. 6 Res. Hus. │2 Sqn. 16 Hus. Rgt. │ Rgt. │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │112 Art. Command: │112 Art. Command: │ │ │ 18 Res. F. A. Rgt.│ 18 Res. F. A. Rgt. │ │ 126 Ft. A. Btn. │ │ 757 Light Am. Col. │ │ 1250 Light Am. │ │ Col. │ │ 1304 Light Am. │ │ Col. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│(318) Pion. Btn.: │318 Pion. Btn.: Liaisons. │ │ │ 1 Res. Co. 9 │ 1 Co. 9 Res. │ Pions. │ Pions. │ 2 Res. Co. 9 │ 2 Co. 9 Res. │ Pions. │ Pions. │ 218 T. M. Co. │ 218 T. M. Co. │ 9 Res. Searchlight│ 48 Searchlight │ Section. │ Section. │ 418 Tel. Detch. │418 Signal Command: │ │ 418 Tel. Detch. │ │ 115 Wireless │ │ Detch. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │513 Ambulance Co. │513 Ambulance Co. Veterinary.│ │ │400 Field Hospital.│400 Field Hospital. │Vet. Hospital. │44 Res. Field │ │ Hospital. │ │418 Vet. Hospital. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │M. T. Col. │717 M. T. Col. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Attached. │ │ │ │ ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────

HISTORY.

(9th Corps District—Schleswig—Holstein and Mecklenburg.)

1914.

1. The 18th Reserve Division formed the 9th Reserve Corps, with the 17th Reserve Division.

BELGIUM.

2. From the outbreak of the war until August 22, 1914, the 18th Reserve Division was guarding the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. Entraining about this time, it went into Belgium, where it advanced rapidly. After taking and sacking Louvain (Aug. 25) it occupied Hamme (Sept. 1), Termonde (Sept. 4).

OISE.

3. On the 9th it was hastily transferred by way of Tournai and Valenciennes to the Oise area. Entraining on the 13th at Chauny, it reenforced the front south of Noyon and went into action between Carlepont and Lassigny (Sept. 15–21).

4. At the beginning of October the 18th Reserve Division was taken to the valley of the Avre. It fought in the vicinity of Roye (Laucourt, Oct. 2–3). At the beginning of November the division front extended between the Avre and Beuvraignes.

LASSIGNY.

5. On November 15 it bore to the south and held the region of the Loges- Lassigny wood.

1915.

In March, 1915, it gave the 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment to the 54th Division, a new formation.

1. The 18th Reserve Division occupied the Lassigny area until October, 1915, without any serious engagements. In October it took over elements of the Hartz Division (6th Army), among others the 3d Battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment which contained four battalions from May, 1915, to September, 1916.

ARTOIS.

2. About October 23 the division was sent to Artois (Givenchy), where it launched several local attacks.

1916.

1. The 18th Reserve Division remained in the Liévin-Givenchy sector until July, 1916.

SOMME.

2. After a few days at rest, July 13 to July 28, it took part in the battle of the Somme, north of Pozieres, in several serious attacks.

3. It was reorganized in the Valenciennes area during the second half of August.

4. At the end of August, it was sent northeast of Lens (Pont a Vendin).

5. At the beginning of October the 18th Reserve Division again went into action along the Somme, north of Combles, (Morval, Sailly Saillisel). It suffered heavily in a series of local attacks.

FLANDERS.

6. Withdrawn from the front about October 12–16, the division was transferred to Belgium. On October 23–25 it went into line north of Ypres.

1917.

1. The 18th Reserve Division occupied the Ypres salient (Pilkem) until the end of March, 1917.

ARTOIS.

2. After a short rest at Roulers, the division was concentrated at Vitry en Artois (Apr. 1). Going into action southeast of Arras (Heninel), it underwent the British attack (Apr. 9), which caused it heavy losses (500 prisoners).

3. The division left the Artois front about April 15, and after a few days at rest took over the sector of Cherisy-Guemappe (southeast of Arras in May).

4. At the beginning of June the 18th Reserve Division was relieved and sent to rest.

FLANDERS.

5. Transferred to Flanders about June 16, it first remained in reserve behind the Messines front. On July 3 the division was in action west of Houthem and suffered severe losses in consequence of local actions and bombardments.

6. Relieved about August 8, it was at rest in the Cambrai area until August 16. It then occupied the quiet sector of Queant (west of Cambrai) until the middle of October.

7. It was sent to Flanders again on October 20, and went into line near the Ypres-Menin railroad (Oct. 28–29).

RECRUITING.

The 18th Reserve Division is recruited in Schleswig-Holstein.

The Mecklenburgers, according to an order in 1917, had to return to their national regiment, the 90th Infantry Reserve Regiment, which no longer belonged to the division. A limited number of men from the 7th and 10th Corps districts (Westphalia and Hanover) is found.

VALUE 1917—ESTIMATE.

The 18th Reserve Division has the same value as the 17th Reserve Division. At the end of 1917 it is difficult to form an opinion as to its combat value. It has not been in any serious action since the battle of Arras, having arrived in Flanders when the autumn operations were about at an end. The morale of the division may be considered as passable. (British Summary of Information, February, 1918.)

1918.

1. The 18th Reserve Division was relieved by the 214th Division in the Gheluvelt sector on January 6. It went to rest in the vicinity of Menin and while there was intensively trained in open warfare.

YPRES.

2. On February 18 the division relieved the 214th Division in its former sector north of Gheluvelt (east of Ypres). It was relieved by the 7th Reserve Division about March 31.

LA BASSEE.

3. It reinforced the battle front near Locon (northwest of La Bassee) on April 9, and was withdrawn about the 18th, going to rest in the Sainghin area (southeast of Lille).

4. On May 14 it relieved the 25th Division west of Locon, and was relieved by the extension of fronts of the neighboring divisions about the 18th of June, when it went to rest in the region of Gondecourt (east of La Bassee).

5. About the 14th of July it relieved the 1st Guard Reserve Division near Givenchy (north of the La Bassee Canal—west of La Bassee); relieved September 3, it went to rest in the region north of Denain.

CAMBRAI.

6. On the 29th of September the division reentered the line near Proville and Rumilly (south of Cambrai), and was still in line when the armistice was signed. It was thought that it had been withdrawn October 8, again on the 18th, and on the 4th of November, but considering the speed with which the German withdrawal was executed, the confusion necessarily incident thereto, and the fact that the division always turned up a day or two later in the same relative position it had previously occupied, it seems best to assume that it was continuously in line.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The 18th Reserve is considered a second-class division. It did not distinguish itself in the Lys offensive, and it is reported that thereafter it was to be used only as a holding division. At any rate, it engaged in no other German offensives, and, indeed, no other heavy fighting, until the beginning of October or sometime after practically the whole front had become active on account of the combined allied push.

18th Landwehr Division.

COMPOSITION.

─────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────── │ 1914–15 │ 1916 ─────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼──────────────┬────────────── │ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment. ─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼────────────── Infantry. │19 Ldw. │19 Ldw. │20 Ldw. │19 Ldw. │ │47 Ldw. │ │47 Ldw. │ │72 Ldw. │28 Ldw. │133 Ldw. │ │133 Ldw. │ │57 Ldw. │ │ │ │72 Ldw. ─────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────┼──────────────┴────────────── Cavalry. │ │Ers. Sqn. 1 Horse Jag. Rgt. │ │Ers. Sqn. 1 Uhlan Rgt. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Artillery. │ │5 Ldw. F. A. Rgt. │ │835 F. A. Btry. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Engineers and│ │2 Res. Co. 1 Pions. Liaisons. │ │ │ │344 Pion. Co. │ │166 T. M. Co. │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Medical and │ │ Veterinary.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Transports. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Odd Units. │ │Cyclist Co. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Attached. │ │43 Labor Btn. ─────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────

─────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────── │ 1917 │ 1918 ─────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼──────────────┬────────────── │ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment. ─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼────────────── Infantry. │19 Ldw. │47 Ldw. │19 Ldw. │47 Ldw. │ │57 Ldw. │ │57 Ldw. │ │72 Ldw. │ │72 Ldw. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────┼──────────────┴────────────── Cavalry. │Ers. Sqn. 12 Drag. Rgt. │4 Sqn. 4 Drag. Rgt. │Ers. Sqn. 2 Uhlan Rgt. │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Artillery. │Art. Command: │5 Ldw. F. A. Rgt. │ 5 Ldw. F. A. Rgt. │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Engineers and│43 Pion. Btn.: │2 Landst. Co. 3 C. Dist. Liaisons. │ │ Pions. │ 2 Res. Co. 1 Pions. │117 Searchlight Section. │ 344 Pion. Co. │518 Signal Command: │ 166 T. M. Co. │ 518 Tel. Detch. │ 218 Searchlight Section. │ │ Tel. Detch. │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Medical and │258 Ambulance Co. │258 Ambulance Co. Veterinary.│ │ │296 Field Hospital. │305 Field Hospital. │305 Field Hospital. │18 Ldw. Field Hospital. │18 Ldw. Field Hospital. │130 Vet. Hospital. │Vet. Hospital. │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Transports. │534 M. T. Col. │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Odd Units. │60 Cyclist Co. │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Attached. │43 Labor Btn. │ ─────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────

HISTORY.

(47th Landwehr Regiment: 5th Corps district.—Posen.) (57th Landwehr Regiment: 7th Corps district.—Westphalia.) (72d Landwehr Regiment: 4th Corps district.—Prussian Saxony.)

1914–15.

RUSSIA.

1. The 18th Landwehr Division is the former Bredow Division.

POLAND.

2. After being engaged in September, 1914, in the battle of the Mazurian Lakes, the Bredow Division fought in the Polish campaign: Battle of Warsaw (Oct. 9–19, 1914); battles on the Rawka (Oct. 22–28); near Czenstochow (Nov. 10-Dec. 15); between Pilica and Nidi, in the mountainous region of Kielce (December, 1914, to July, 1915).

3. In the middle of July, 1915, the division was in action near Sienno and before Ivangorod (breaking of the Russian front), crossed the Vistula (end of July), was in action between the Vistula and the Bug (Aug. 8–18), and advanced in action as far as Slonim and the Upper Chtchara (September). The front becoming stabilized in this area, the Bredow Division took up its position southeast of Novo-Grudok (near Goroditche in October and November). At the end of November it went into the sector southeast of Liakhovitchi (south of Baranovitchi). The number 18 appears to be given to the Bredow Division in December.

1916.

BARANOVITCHI.

1. The 18th Landwehr Division remained on the front south of Baranovitchi (Liakhovitchi) for more than two years (November, 1915, to the beginning of 1918). From July 2 to July 9, 1916, it withstood the Russian attacks in this area.

2. In June, 1916, two regiments of the division, the 57th Landwehr and the 133d Landwehr, were transferred to Volhynia (north of Lutsk), assigned to the Rusche Division and were in action against the offensive of Broussilov. The 57th Landwehr Regiment rejoined the 18th Landwehr Division near Baranovitchi in August. The 133d Landwehr Regiment was provisionally a part of the 92d Division.

1917.

1. The division held the sector Baranovitchi-Liakhovitchi.

2. In October 900 men from the 18th Landwehr Division, chosen from among the youngest, were entrained for the western front. In April a number had been taken from the 72d Landwehr Regiment for the 5th Reserve Division. In November the 47th Landwehr Regiment furnished men to the 15th Division. As the 18th Landwehr Division had received no replacements since the end of July, the trench strength of the 72d Landwehr Regiment had fallen, at the end of October, to 50–60 men per company (Russian interrogation).

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The division has been on the Russian front since the beginning of the war. Combat value appears to be mediocre.

1918.

1. In February, 1918, the 18th Landwehr Division advanced into the interior of Russia. The 72d Landwehr Regiment was identified between Mohilev and Gomel on February 2. In May the 57th Landwehr Regiment held the very long front from north of Kopys to south of Chklov.

2. In the middle of June the division was in the Orcha region. It was again identified in the region of Mohilev on the 22d of September.

3. There were rumors during October that the division had come to the Woevre, but since the division was never actually identified it is not believed that it left Russia.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The division was rated as fourth class.

19th Division.

COMPOSITION.

─────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1914 │ 1915 │ 1916 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │37. │78. │37. │78. │37. │74. │ │91. │ │91. │ │78. │38. │73 Fus. │38. │73 Fus. │ │91. │ │74. │ │74. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │17 Hus. Rgt. (3 │17 Hus. Rgt. (3 │17 Hus. Rgt. (2 │ Sqns.). │ Sqns.). │ Sqns.). ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │19 Brig.: │19 Brig.: │19 Brig.: │ 26 F. A. Rgt. │ 26 F. A. Rgt. │ 26 F. A. Rgt. │ 62 F. A. Rgt. │ 62 F. A. Rgt. │ 62 F. A. Rgt. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│ │1 Pion. Btn. No. │1 Pion. Btn. No. Liaisons. │ │ 10: │ 10: │ │ Field Co. 10 │ 1 Co. 10 Pions. │ │ Pions. │ │ │ 19 Pont. Engs. │ 19 T. M. Co. │ │ 19 Tel. Detch. │ 19 Pont. Engs. │ │ │ 19 Tel. Detch. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │ │ │ Veterinary.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │ │ │ ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────