Part 74
4. About August 11 the 52d Reserve Division left the Belgian front for Champagne, where it again took over its own sector east of the Butte de Souain about August 26. It remained there until the end of December.
RECRUITING.
At the time of its formation the 52d Reserve Division was made up of one Rhenish Regiment and three from Baden; to-day it is entirely Rhenish.
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
In May and June, 1917, the 52d Reserve Division held a very difficult sector south of Berry au Bac where it apparently lost very heavily. However, it acted like a good division.
During its rest in the vicinity of Vouziers, at the end of January, 1918, it was given very intensive training. It was considered as an attack division. (Interrogation of prisoners, February, 1918.)
1918.
CHAMPAGNE.
1. The 52d Reserve Division was relieved by the 52d Division in the Tahure sector on January 10 and went to the vicinity of Vouziers, where it was intensively trained in open warfare.
2. Early in March it returned to line and relieved the 52d Division. It was relieved on the 23d of April by the 1st Bavarian Division.
YPRES.
3. It proceeded to march to Vouziers, where it entrained on the 28th and, traveling via Mezières-Signy-Hirson-Mons-Tournai, detrained at Mouscron on the 30th. On May 4 it marched to Wervicq, and on the following day moved into line via Warneton and Messines, relieving the 3d Guard Division in the Voormezeele sector (south of Ypres). In the fighting before Dickebusch on the 8th heavy losses were suffered. It was withdrawn about the 25th, and went to rest near Menin.
4. During the night of the 13th–14th of June it relieved the 58th Division near Locre (south of Ypres). It was relieved on the 1st of July, the flanking divisions extending their fronts, and went to rest in the region southwest of Courtrai.
5. On the 6th of August it came back into line, relieving the 58th Division in the Kemmel sector (south of Ypres). It was withdrawn about the 26th.
CAMBRAI.
6. About the 2d of September it reenforced the front in the Bertincourt sector (east of Bapaume). After having suffered severe losses in killed and wounded, besides losing over 1,000 prisoners, it was relieved by the 6th Division near Havrincourt on the 16th.
COURTRAI.
7. About the 27th it entered line near Moorslede (southwest of Roulers). It suffered severe losses here, and was withdrawn early in October.
8. On October 14 it relieved the Guard Ersatz Division in the Iseghem sector (north of Courtrai). It was heavily engaged here, and was finally withdrawn on the 25th. It did not reenter line.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The 52d was rated as a second-class division, but it was probably not so good as other divisions similarly rated, for although it was intensively trained for use as a shock unit for almost two months in Champagne early in the year it was not used in any of the German offensives. It is to be noted, however, that the German communique of October 24 said, “Southwest of Deynze the veteran 52d Reserve Division, which has been in battle daily since October 14, repulsed the renewed attacks of the enemy along the Deynze-Waregem railway.”
53d Reserve Division.
COMPOSITION.
─────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1914 │ 1915 │ 1916 ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │105 Res. │241 Res. │105 Res. │241 Res. │105 Res. │241 Res. │ │242 Res. │ │242 Res. │ │243 Res. │106 Res. │243 Res. │106 Res. │243 Res. │106 Res. │242 Res. │ │244 Res. │ │244 Res. │ │244 Res. │ 25 Res. Jag. Btn.│ 25 Res. Jag. Btn. │ 25 Res. Jag. Btn. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Cavalry. │53 Res. Cav. Detch.│53 Res. Cav. Detch.│53 Res. Cav. Detch. │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │53 Res. F. A. Rgt. │53 Res. F. A. Rgt. │53 Res. F. A. Rgt. │ (9 Btries.). │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│53 Res. Pion. Co. │53 Res. Pion. Co. │53 Res. Pion. Co. Liaisons. │ │ │ │ │53 Res. Pont. Engs.│53 Res. Pont. Engs. │ │ │253 T. M. Co. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │ │53 Res. Ambulance │ Veterinary.│ │ Co. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │ │ │ ─────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────
─────────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────── │ 1917 │ 1918[23] ─────────────┼─────────┬─────────┼─────────┬───────── │Brigade. │Regiment.│Brigade. │Regiment. ─────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────── Infantry. │105 Res. │241 Res. │105 Res. │241 Res. │ │242 Res. │ │242 Res. │ │243 Res. │ │243 Res. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────┴─────────┼─────────┴───────── Cavalry. │53 Res. (?) Cav. │53 Res. Cav. Detch. │ Detch. │ (Saxon). ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Artillery. │(?) Art. Command: │(?) Art. Command: │ │ │ 53 Res. F. A. Rgt.│ 53 Res. F. A. Rgt. │ │ (Saxon). ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Engineers and│(353) Pion. Btn.: │53 Res. Pion. Co. Liaisons. │ │ (Saxon). │ 53 Res. Pion. Co. │279 Pion. Co. │ 279 Pion. Co. │253 Searchlight │ │ Section. │ 253 T. M. Co. │453 Tel. Detch. │ 453 Tel. Detch. │ ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Medical and │Ambulance Co. │535 (?) Ambulance Veterinary.│ │ Co. │94 Res. Field │92 Res. Field │ Hospital. │ Hospital (Saxon). │Vet. Hospital. │453 Vet. Hospital. ─────────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────── Transports. │M. T. Col. │M. T. Col. ─────────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────── Footnote 23:
Composition at the time of dissolution, October, 1918.
HISTORY.
(241st and 242d Reserve Infantry Regiments: 12th Corps District—Saxony. 243d Reserve Infantry Regiment: 19th Corps District—Saxony.)
1914.
FLANDERS-YPRES.
1. The 53d Reserve Division (of the 27th Reserve Corps with the 54th Reserve Division), formed between August and October, 1914, were sent to Belgium, and detrained on August 14 at Ath. It was engaged, with the divisions of the same series, in the battle of Ypres, against the British Army. Beginning on October 21, it fought on the front Poelcappelle-Becelaere; southeast of Gheluvelt on October 29, and near the Ypres-Menin road at the time of the great attack of November 11. It suffered very heavy losses—the 25th Reserve Chasseurs Battalion, already reduced to 225 men on October 31, had only 73 on November 4 (notebook). On November 25 the 6th Company of the 241st Reserve Infantry Regiment had only 7 of the men left who constituted it upon its departure from Saxony (letter).
1915.
FLANDERS.
1. The division remained in line north of Ypres during the winter of 1914–15, alternating with the 54th Reserve Division in the sector Broodseinde-Polygon wood.
2. It took part in the second battle of Ypres, near Frezenberg and Gravenstafel, where it again lost heavily.
3. In June it occupied the sector of Wytchaete-St. Éloi and returned northeast of Ypres (Verlorenhoek) in the middle of July.
CHAMPAGNE AND FLANDERS.
4. At the beginning of October the 105th Reserve Brigade was sent to Champagne to reenforce the lines near Tahure. The 106th Reserve Brigade took over the sector of the Lys.
5. In November the division was regrouped and sent to rest in the vicinity of Ingelmunster (north of Courtrai). It remained behind the front during the winter of 1915–16 in the vicinity of Roulers.
1916.
LA BASSEE.
1. At the end of March, 1916, the 53d Reserve Division left Flanders and went into line on both banks of the La Bassee Canal.
SOMME.
2. Sent to the Somme at the end of August, it was engaged southeast of Maurepas (Le Forest) at the time of the French attack of September 3, which ended in the capture of Le Forest and of Clery. It suffered heavy losses in counterattacking and in withstanding the new French offensive of September 13. Between September 6 and 12 the 241st Reserve Infantry Regiment listed 12 officers and 1,502 men as casualties. On September 3 the 244th Reserve Infantry Regiment had lost 400 prisoners.
LOOS.
3. Relieved on September 14, it was transferred to the Loos front (between Hulluch and the Lens-Béthune railroad), from September 21 to October 5.
CHAMPAGNE.
4. On October 9 it was in Champagne, where it occupied the sector of Prosnes, east of Rheims.
GALICIA.
5. Withdrawn from the Champagne front, the 53d Reserve Division entrained for the Eastern Front on November 17. (Itinerary: Bétheniville-Rethel-Sedan-Trèves-Coblenz-Ems-Cologne-Halle-Cottbus- Liegnitz-Breslau-Cracow-Tarnow-Jaroslaw-Przemysl-Lemberg-Rohatyn.) It detrained at Pukow (south of Lemberg) on the 26th.
6. It was sent into reserve behind the line of the Narajowka in December. In the autumn of 1916 the 244th Reserve Infantry Regiment was transferred to the 215th Division; later it was transferred to the 96th Division (Saxon).
1917.
1. At the beginning of January, 1917, the 53d Reserve Division went into line at the junction of the Narajowka and the Dniester, and remained in this sector until the middle of June without any important engagement.
2. Relieved and sent to rest in June, it took part in the German counteroffensive begun on July 20 and advanced north of the Dniester. It was identified on August 3 east of Krjivtche.
3. The division was withdrawn from the front at the end of November and entrained for Belgium in the middle of December.
RECRUITING.
The 53d Reserve Division is purely Saxon.
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
The 53d Reserve Division spent a year on the Eastern Front (November, 1916, to November, 1917). It is of mediocre quality.
1918.
1. The division was relieved in the Houthulst forest on February 12 and went to rest in the Bruges area.
BATTLE OF PICARDY.
2. On March 1–2 it relieved the 27th Division northeast of Flesquieres. It took part in the initial attack on March 21, was withdrawn on the 22d and went to rest near Bourlon wood. The division was in General Headquarters reserve and on March 27 marched via Havrincourt- Ruyaulcourt-Moislains-Bouchavesnes, crossing the Somme at Clery, and continued to march via Raincourt to Rosieres en Santerre. The 241st Reserve Regiment went into line near Moreuil on the night of April 1–2 and relieved the 426th Regiment (88th Division); the 242d Reserve Regiment went into line on the night of April 3–4, relieving the 100th Body Grenadier Regiment (23d Division). On the morning of April 4 the division attacked in the vicinity of Arriese Cour wood. The division at this date was operating under the 18th German Army. About the middle of April it was withdrawn from the Moreuil sector.
VERDUN.
3. About May 1 the division was resting in rear of the Verdun front. It relieved the 84th Division west of Bethincourt in the first week of May. It held that quiet sector until the 11th of June, when a tired division took its place and the 53d Reserve Division returned to an active front.
SOISSONS.
4. The division detrained near Laon on June 14–15, and the next night relieved the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division north of Le Port. Here it participated in heavy fighting in July and August until its relief about August 10. In this engagement the 243d Reserve Regiment was reduced to three companies per battalion as a result of heavy losses.
5. The division was taken to the region in rear of the Argonne front and the process of dissolution begun. Before its completion the American offensive in the Argonne began and elements of the division were used on the United States front between September 29 and October 15.
According to the available evidence, the 242d Reserve Regiment was drafted to the 24th and 58th Divisions, the 241st Regiment to the 23d Division, and the 243d Reserve Regiment to the 40th and 58th Divisions.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was rated as third class. It participated in the spring Somme offensive, but thereafter did not play an important part in the fighting. The low effective strength was directly responsible for the dissolution of the division.
54th Division.
COMPOSITION.
─────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────── │ 1915 │ 1916 ─────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼──────────────┬────────────── │ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment. ─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼────────────── Infantry. │108. │27 Res. │108. │84. │ │90 Res. │ │27 Res. │ │84. │ │90 Res. ─────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────┼──────────────┴────────────── Cavalry. │ (?) │17 Hus. Rgt. (Sqn.). ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Artillery. │54 Brig.: │54 Brig.: │ 107 F. A. Rgt. (6 Btries.). │ 107 F. A. Rgt. │ 108 F. A. Rgt. (6 Btries.). │ 108 F. A. Rgt. │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Engineers and│107 Pion. Co. │107 Pion. Co. Liaisons. │ │ │108 Pion. Co. │108 Pion. Co. │ │54 T. M. Co. │ │54 Pont. Engs. │ │54 Tel. Detch. │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Medical and │ │ Veterinary.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Transport. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Odd Units. │ │54 Cyclist Co. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Attached. │54 Ft. A. Btn. │24 Labor Btn. ─────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────
─────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────── │ 1917 │ 1918 ─────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼──────────────┬────────────── │ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment. ─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼────────────── Infantry. │108. │84. │(?) │84. │ │27 Res. │ │27 Res. │ │90 Res. │ │90 Res. ─────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────┼──────────────┴────────────── Cavalry. │1 Sqn. 17 Hus. Rgt. │1 Sqn. 17 Hus. Rgt. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Artillery. │54 Art. Command: │55 Art. Command: │ 108 F. A. Rgt. (9 Btries.). │ 108 F. A. Rgt. │ │ 54 Ft. A. Btn. │ │ 746 Light Am. Col. │ │ 955 Light Am. Col. │ │ 966 Light Am. Col. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Engineers and│Pion. Btn.: │138 Pion. Btn.: Liaisons. │ │ │ 107 Pion. Co. │ 107 Pion. Co. │ 108 Pion. Co. │ 108 Pion. Co. │ 1 Ldw. Co., 16 Pions. │ 97 Searchlight Section. │ 54 T. M. Co. │54 Signal Command: │ 107 Searchlight Section. │ 54 Tel. Detch. │ 54 Tel. Detch. │ 87 Wireless Detch. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Medical and │54 Ambulance Co. │54 Ambulance Co. Veterinary.│ │ │345 Field Hospital. │345 Field Hospital. │348 Field Hospital. │348 Field Hospital. │Vet. Hospital. │54 Vet. Hospital. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Transport. │578 M. T. Col. │578 M. T. Col. ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Odd Units. │ │ ─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────── Attached. │119 Labor Btn. │ ─────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────
HISTORY.
(84th and 90th Reserve Infantry Regiments: 9th Corps District—Schleswig—Holstein and Mecklenburg. 27th Reserve Infantry Regiment: 4th Corps District—Prussian Saxony.)
1915.
1. The 54th Division was formed in March, 1915, by the removal of regiments from divisions engaged at this time between the north of Noyon and east of Soissons.
Two of these regiments, the 84th (18th Division) and the 90th Reserve (18th Reserve Division), came from the 9th Corps District (Schleswig- Holstein and Mecklenburg); the third regiment, the 27th Reserve (7th Reserve Division) was originally from Prussian Saxony (4th Corps District).
CHAMPAGNE.
2. Concentrated in March near Guise, the 54th Division was sent to Champagne in the middle of April (vicinity of Perthes), where it remained until July, 1915.
RUSSIA.
3. In July it was transferred to Russia. It fought on the Narew (July and August) and on the Niemen, southeast of Grodno, in September.
FRANCE-OISE.
4. Brought back to France at the beginning of October, it went into line on the 12th on the left bank of the Oise (Quennevières-Moulin sous Touvent).
1916.
1. Withdrawn from the Oise front in January, 1916, the 54th Division rested in the vicinity of La Fère until May. During this time it was occupied in defensive works in the vicinity of Soissons-Craonne.
VERDUN.
2. In May it was transferred to Verdun. It occupied the sector of Hill 304 on May 14.
3. About September 11 it crossed to the right bank of the Meuse and advanced north of Fleury. On October 24 it was dislodged by the French attacks and thrown back with heavy losses north of Douaumont Fort. It was relieved at the beginning of November.
LORRAINE.
4. Having scarcely made good its losses, it went back into line on November 5 north of Flirey en Haye.
1917.
1. The division remained in the calm sector of Flirey during the winter of 1916–17.
AISNE.
2. Relieved in the middle of April, 1917, it was sent behind the Champagne front (vicinity of Asfeld). On April 21 it reenforced the lines at Berry au Bac. It underwent the French attack of May 4, to which it opposed a serious resistance on the Juvincourt Ridge, but suffered heavy losses (650 prisoners).
3. It was withdrawn from the Aisne front on May 10.
CHAMPAGNE.
4. Sent to the east of Rheims, the division occupied the sector south of Somme Py from May 15 to July 24. It was filled up there in June by several reenforcements, totaling about 2,000 men.
YPRES.
5. On July 25 it entrained at Machault (southwest of Vouziers) for Charleville, from which place it went to Belgium after a short rest. It was in action east of Ypres from August 5 to 19, and suffered new losses during the British attack of August 16. One company of the 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment was reduced to one officer and four men.
CAMBRAI.
6. Sent back into line at the end of August on the Cambrai front (Havrincourt-Villers Plouich), the division again lost very heavily in this sector, principally in the course of a tank attack on November 20 (2,789 prisoners).
LORRAINE.
7. Relieved immediately after this attack, it was sent to rest in Lorraine and reorganized. Between August and November the division received more than 3,000 replacements. (British Summary of Information.)
RECRUITING.
Mixed upon its formation (Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Prussian Saxony,) the 54th Division remained so with a tendency, nevertheless, to make the 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment a pure Mecklenburg regiment and to reserve the drafts from the rest of the 9th Corps District for the 84th Infantry Regiment.
In January 1918, the 1919 class did not seem to be represented; the 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment had just received replacements made up of men put back in the 1917 and 1918 classes who entered the service in September, 1917.
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
The 54th Division held the most active sectors on the Western front; it has everywhere given proof of great energy in its resistance, especially at Cambrai in November, 1917. However, before the affair of Cambrai rather frequent desertions proved that the losses incurred at Ypres had weakened the morale of the troops; besides, the replacements received in Lorraine were mostly composed of returned wounded of all ages.
However, the 54th Division tried, during its stay in Lorraine, to amalgamate all these elements and to renew their combat value by intensive training and careful instruction (March, 1918).
1918.
BATTLE OF PICARDY.
The division was relieved in the sector north of Nancy about February 17 by the 48th Landwehr Division. It remained in Lorraine in March undergoing training for open warfare. It entrained near Dieuze on the 24th and traveled via Metz-Sedan-Charleville-Mons-Valenciennes to a place about 10 miles east of Douai. The division expected to come into line near Arras, but after resting one night at Douai it marched off toward Peronne and arrived at Rosieres on April 2. It moved up to the line north of Moreuil on the night of April 3–4, taking part in the attack. The division withdrew on the night of the 5th–6th. It returned to line south of Thennes on April 10 and stayed in about eight days.
SOMME.