Part 58

─────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1914 │ 1915 │ 1916 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │32. │70. │32. │70. │32. │70. │ │174. │ │174. │ │174. │62. │60. │62. │137. │ │166. │ │137. │ │166. │ │ │ │166. │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │7 Uhlan Rgt. │ │5 Sqn. 7 Uhlan Rgt. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │31 Brig.: │31 Brig.: │31 Brig.: │ 31 F. A. Rgt. │ 31 F. A. Rgt. │ 31 F. A. Rgt. │ 67 F. A. Rgt. │ 67 F. A. Rgt. │ 67 F. A. Rgt. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│ │1 Pion. Btn. No. │1 Pion. Btn. No. Liaisons. │ │ 27. │ 27. │ │ Field Co. 27. │ 1 and 2 27 Pion. │ │ Pion. │ │ │ 31 Pont. Engs. │ 31 T. M. Co. │ │ │ │ │ 31 Tel. Detch. │ 31 Tel. Detch. │ │ │ │ │ │ 31 Pont. Engs. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │ │ │ Veterinary.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Attached. │ │ │Field Recruit Depot │ │ │ 31 Div. │ │ │153 Cyclist Co. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────

─────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1917 │ 1918 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │32. │70. │32. │70. │ │174. │ │166. │ │166. │ │174. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │ │5 Sqn. 7 Uhlan Rgt. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │31 Art. Command: │31 Art. Command: │ 31 F. A. Rgt. │ 31 F. A. Rgt. │ │ 44 Ft. A. Btn. │ │ 1005 Light Am. │ │ Col. │ │ 1011 Light Am. │ │ Col. │ │ 1012 Light Am. │ │ Col. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│136 Pion. Btn.: │93 Pion. Btn.: Liaisons. │ │ │ 1 Co. 27 Pion. │ 1 Co. 27 Pion. │ │ │ 31 T. M. Co. │ 3 Co. 32 Res. │ │ Pion. │ 505 Searchlight │ 31 T. M. Co. │ Section. │ │ 31 Tel. Detch. │ 40 Searchlight │ │ Section. │ │31 Signal Command: │ │ 31 Tel. Detch. │ │ 116 Wireless │ │ Detch. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │262 Ambulance Co. │262 Ambulance Co. Veterinary.│ │ │Field Hospital. │326 Field Hospital. │Vet. Hospital. │333 Field Hospital. │ │161 Vet. Hospital. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │Light Mun. Col. │564 M. T. Col. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Attached. │ │24 M. G. S. S. │ │ Detch. │ │2 and 3d Abt. 44 F. │ │ A. Rgt. │ │121 Ft. A. Rgt. │ │1 Abt. 44 Ft. A. │ │ Rgt. │ │2 Abt. 6 Ft. A. │ │ Rgt. │ │1 Abt. 74 Ft. A. │ │ Rgt. │ │134 Art. │ │ Observation │ │ Section. │ │75 Sound Ranging │ │ Detch. │ │134 Balloon Sqn. │ │105 Balloon Sqn. │ │256 Reconnaissance │ │ Flight. │ │(Elements attached │ │ May 15, 1918. │ │ German document.) ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────

HISTORY.

(21st Corps District—Lorraine, part of Lower Alsace, and southern portion of the Rhine Province.)

1914.

Upon mobilization, the 31st Division, with the 42d Division, constituted the 21st Army Corps.

LORRAINE.

1. At the beginning of the war the 31st Division was a part of the 6th Army (Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria). In August, 1914, it was on the Lorraine frontier; on the 12th of August at Chateau Salins, Rechicourt. It fought at Dieuze on August 20, where the 174th Infantry Regiment lost half of its effectives. The division was at Luneville on the 23d, marched upon Rehainviller, Gerbeviller on the 24th; at Rozelieure Essey on the 26th; in the vicinity of Moyen-Domptail at the beginning of September; it withdrew to Dieuze about September 11.

SOMME.

2. Transferred to the vicinity of St. Quentin-Vermand, about September 18, the division occupied the vicinity of Fouquescourt on September 26 and 27; attacked in the direction of Bouchoir on October 6. At the end of October the division took over the front of Fouquescourt-Chaulnes and kept it until the end of January, 1915. At this date the losses of the 174th Infantry Regiment, since the beginning of the war, amounted to 81 officers and 3,521 men. (Official List of Casualties.)

1915.

RUSSIA.

1. About January 25, 1915, the 31st Division left the Somme for the Eastern Front, leaving the 60th Infantry Regiment in France, and detrained at Tilsit.

2. Concentrated in Eastern Prussia, at the beginning of February, it was a part of the Hindenburg Army.

3. On February 14 it left the region of Augustowo to advance to the east. It reached Sopockin on the 20th and took up its position with the 21st Army Corps on the line Sopockin-Chatbine (north of Grodno). On the 9th of March, in a counterattack of the Russians, it suffered heavy losses.

4. From March 29 to April 24 it took part in the battles in the vicinity Kalwaria-Mariampol.

5. At the end of April it was withdrawn from the front and reorganized. From the time of its arrival in Russia until April 10, the first battalion of the 166th Infantry Regiment had lost 17 officers and 1,022 men, the 1st Company alone losing 5 officers and 336 men.

6. At the end of July the division again occupied the lines near Mariampol.

VILNA.

7. In the month of August it took part in the offensive upon Vilna. It advanced to Kovno on August 19, to Vilna at the end of September, and reached the area Smorgoni-Soly, where it stopped in October.

8. The division was relieved on October 6. It went back into line about October 24, in the sector of Postawy-Lake Narotch.

NAROTCH.

1. The 31st Division occupied the vicinity of Lake Narotch until its departure for the Western Front in December, 1917.

2. At the end of March, 1916, it opposed the Russian offensive in the vicinity of this lake; it lost very heavily.

1917.

BELGIUM.

1. On December 5, 1917, it was relieved from the Russian front, and after a few days rest at Vilna entrained for Belgium on December 16. (Itinerary: Wirballen-Koenigsberg-Elbing-Dirschau-Ramberg (?) Aix la Chapelle-Verviers.) It detrained about the 21st, in the vicinity of Ghent and took up its position at the end of January, 1918 south of the Ypres-Roulers line where it alternated with the 12th Reserve Division.

RECRUITING.

The 31st Division is recruited mostly from the vicinity of Sarrebrucken and St. Wendel in the Rhine Province. Most of the replacements are furnished by Westphalia.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The 31st Division was on the Russian front from February, 1915 to December 1917. The quality is mediocre.

1918.

YPRES.

1. From January 19 to February 4 the division held the Moorslede sector (south of Ypres-Roulers railway). The division rested until the 14th in the vicinity of Lendelede. It relieved the 12th Reserve Division on the 14th in its old sector at Moorslede which it held until March 3, and again from March 21 until April 4.

BATTLE OF THE LYS.

2. About April 4 the division was withdrawn and marched to the Messines front. The route lay through Menin, Werwicq, Comines, Warneton. It was engaged on April 10 to 12 in the Bois de Ploegsteert. For its fighting in this area the division was mentioned by the German communique of April 13. From the 12th to the 17th, it was in second line. It fought south and southwest of Kemmel from April 18 to 24 when it passed into close support until the 26th. The division’s losses were large in this severe engagement. The 3d Battalion of the 174th Regiment is known to have lost from 60 to 70 per cent of its effectives.

3. When relieved in the Kemmel area, the division rested north of Tourcoing until May 6, undergoing reconstitution. It returned to line north of Kemmel on the night of May 6–7, relieving the Alpine Corps. It suffered heavily from the French attack of May 21, losing many prisoners. It was relieved on May 24, and rested in the Courtrai-Menin area until June 15. It was engaged in the sector south of Ypres from June 15 until July 27.

WOEVRE.

4. Following its arduous service on the Ypres front, the division was moved to a quiet sector on the Woevre. It was moved from Belgium by way of Brussels, Namur, Charleville, Sedan to Mars la Tour from where it marched to the front and took over the St. Mihiel sector on July 29, which it held until September 3.

BATTLE OF ST. MIHIEL.

5. The division was resting in the area north of Dampvitoux when the American attack was made on the St. Mihiel salient. It was brought into line north of Thiaucourt on the 14th and held this sector until October 28.

MEUSE-ARGONNE.

6. On the 31st, the division was engaged at Imecourt (northeast of Grandpre) and took part in the final combats in that area. It was still in line on November 11.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The division was rated as third class. In spite of its relatively low quality it appears to have been used as an attack division in the Lys offensive. The losses in the spring and the presence of numerous Lorrainers in its composition lowered the value of the division after May, 1918.

32d Division.

COMPOSITION.

─────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1914 │ 1915 │ 1916 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │63. │102. │63. │102. │64. │102. │ │103. │ │103. │ │177. │64. │177. │64. │177. │ │103. │ │178. │ │178. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │18 Hus. Rgt. │ │20 Hus. Rgt. (3 │ │ │ Squadrons). ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │32 Brig.: │32 Brig.: │32 Brig.: │ 28 F. A. Rgt. │ 28 F. A. Rgt. │ 28 F. A. Rgt. │ 64 F. A. Rgt. │ 64 F. A. Rgt. │ 64 F. A. Rgt. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│ │1 Pion. Btn. No. │1 Pion. No. 12: Liaisons. │ │ 12: │ │ │ Field Co. 12 Pion.│ 2 Co. 12 Pion. │ │ │ │ │ 32 Pont. Engs. │ 32 T. M. Co. │ │ 32 Tel. Detch. │ 32 Tel. Detch. │ │ │ │ │ │ 32 Pont. Engs. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │ │ │ Veterinary.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Attached. │ │ │115 Labor Btn. │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────

─────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1917 │ 1918 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │63. │102. │63. │102. │ │177. │ │103. │ │103. │ │177. │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │4 Sqn. 20 Hus. Rgt.│4 Sqn. 20 Hus. Rgt. │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │32 Art. Command: │32 Art. Command: │ 64 F. A. Rgt. │ 64 F. A. Rgt. │ │ 80 Ft. A. Btn. │ │ 943 Light Am. Col. │ │ 1063 Light Am. │ │ Col. │ │ 1266 Light Am. │ │ Col. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│140 Pion. Btn.: │140 Pion. Btn.: Liaisons. │ │ │ 2 and 5 Cos. 12 │ 2 Co. 12 Pions. │ Pion. │ │ 32 T. M. Co. │ 5 Co. 12 Pions. │ 32 Tel. Detch. │ 3 Res. Co. 12 │ │ Pions. │ │ 32 T. M. Co. │ │ 220 Searchlight │ │ Section. │ │32 Signal Command: │ │ 32 Tel. Detch. │ │ 20 (Saxon) │ │ Wireless Detch. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │28 Ambulance Co. │28 Ambulance Co. Veterinary.│ │ │308 Field Hospital.│308 Field Hospital. │Vet. Hospital. │116 Field Hospital. │ │32 Vet. Hospital. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │Light Mun. Col. │565 M. T. Col. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Attached. │61 M. G. │ │ Sharpshooter │ │ Detachment. │ ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────

HISTORY.

(12th Corps District—Saxony.)

1914.

BELGIUM-MARNE.

1. Upon the declaration of war the 32d Division, with the 23d Division, formed the 12th Army Corps (1st Saxon Army Corps). On the night of August 2, 1914, its 64th Brigade entrained for the frontier north of Luxemburg to act as covering troops. The 32d Division was concentrated there on the 10th and entered Belgium on the 13th. In August, it marched with the 3d Army (von Hausen), fought on the right bank of the Meuse on August 23 near Dinant, entered France, went into action on the 28th at Signy l’Abbaye, and from there went down to Chalons. It took part in the battle of the Marne to the left of the Guard at Lenharree on the extreme right flank of the 6th Army and retired by way of Chalons, Mourmelon, Betheniville to the northwest of Rheims.

CHAMPAGNE.

2. Reattached to the 7th Army (Von Heeringen), it took part in the attacks in the vicinity of Rheims (northwest).

3. When the front became stabilized it retained the sector of Berry au Bac-Craonne and remained there until the month of July, 1915.

1915.

AISNE.

1. Sector Berry au Bac-Craonne. (During this period the losses of the division were very small.) In April, 1915, the 178th Infantry Regiment was taken from the 32d Division and assigned to the 123d Division (a new formation).

1916.

1. Retained in the same calm sector and having taken part in no important affair since October, 1914, the 32d Division retained its combat value intact at the end of June, 1916.

SOMME.

2. During the first days of the Franco-British offensive on the Somme the 32d Division sent one battalion from reserve there, which went into action from July 4 to July 7 in the vicinity of Belloy.

3. Toward the end of July two of its regiments (102d and 103d Infantry Regiments) helped to form (with elements from the 23d Division) the provisional Franke Division, which fought on the Somme until September 10 (Deniecourt-Vermandovillers). The losses were very heavy.

4. On the 4th of September the 177th Infantry Regiment was sent up in its turn, but was in action only a few days in the vicinity of Vermandovillers from September 4 to 10. Its losses were enormous (1,600 men in 6 days).

5. The Franke Division was withdrawn on September 10 and dissolved.

ARGONNE.

6. The 32d Division, reformed (102d, 103d, 177th Infantry Regiments) and reorganized, was sent north of Rheims and then to the Argonne (Four de Paris and Avocourt wood).

SOMME.

7. Relieved at the beginning of November, it entrained on the 3d and 4th near Grandpre, detrained at Hirson, and on November 15 began to occupy the sector between Bouchavesnes and northeast of Clery.

1917.

1. The 32d Division was retained in the Bouchavesnes sector until the time of the German retirement in March, 1917.

2. It left the Somme front at the end of March.

CHAMPAGNE.

3. After a period of rest in the vicinity of Sissonne, the division went into action in the sector of Mont sans Nom (4 kilometers west of Vaudesincourt on Apr. 17 and 18). Having lost heavily, the 3 regiments were withdrawn on the 19th.

4. On May 5 the division again went into line west of Tahure.

FLANDERS.

5. About June 10 it was relieved, and after a few days of rest entrained at Machault for Flanders. There it went into line near the Ypres-Menin road.

6. At the beginning of September it was withdrawn from the Ypres front and sent to rest, then took over the sector Warneton-Messines and was not relieved until the middle of January, 1918.

RECRUITING.

The 32d Division is exclusively Saxon.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

In June, 1917, the morale of the division was very low because of the losses suffered at Mont Haut.

However, during the division’s stay in the Tahure sector from May to June, 1917, there were only two desertions.

Besides, Gen. von Der Decken is considered an energetic commander and it is very probable that under his influence the morale has become more satisfactory (September, 1917).

1918.

BATTLE OF THE LYS.