• Source: Bavarian Ersatz Division

      • The Bavarian Ersatz Division (Bayerische Ersatz Division) was a Bavarian division of the Imperial German Army in World War I. It was formed in August 1914 and dissolved on 6 October 1918. It was initially a Bavarian formation but soon received several non-Bavarian units which served with the division until 1917.


      Combat narrative


      The division first saw action in 1914 in the Battle of the Frontiers, including the battles before Nancy and Epinal. The division participated in the Race to the Sea and then settled into trench warfare. The divisional commander, General der Infanterie Eugen Ritter von Benzino, was killed in action on November 28, 1915. In 1916, the division entered into the Battle of Verdun and fought on the Somme in October. The division also was engaged in 1917 in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also called the Third Battle of Champagne and referred to in German sources as the Dual Battle of Aisne-Champagne (Doppelschlacht Aisne-Champagne). After a short spell in the trenches near Verdun, in the latter part of 1917, the division was sent to Flanders in response to the Allied offensive there. In October 1917, the division went to the Romanian Front and then to Ukraine after the armistice in Romania. It returned to the Western Front in April 1918, occupying the line near Verdun, then Reims and then engaged in mobile defense. It ended the war facing Allied forces in the Hundred Days Offensive. The division was rated as a third class division by Allied intelligence.


      Formation and organization on mobilization


      On mobilization, the Bavarian Army formed twelve Brigade Replacement Battalions (Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillone) by grouping companies taken from the replacement (Ersatz) battalion of each infantry regiment. These battalions were then formed into three mixed brigades of four battalions each, together with Ersatz cavalry, artillery and engineer units, which were formed from the replacement detachments and companies of the cavalry and artillery regiments and the engineer battalions.
      The order of battle of the Bavarian Ersatz Division on mobilization was:

      Stab/1. Königlich Bayerische gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 1
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 2
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 3
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 4
      Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung München/I. Königlich Bayerisches Armeekorps (1⁄3 squadron)
      Königlich Bayerische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 1 (2 batteries)
      Königlich Bayerische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 4 (2 batteries)
      2. Ersatz-Kompanie/Königlich Bayerisches 1. Pionier-Bataillon
      Stab/5. Königlich Bayerische gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 5
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 6
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 7
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 8
      Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Landau/II. Königlich Bayerisches Armeekorps (1⁄3 squadron)
      Königlich Bayerische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 2 (2 batteries)
      Königlich Bayerische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 12 (2 batteries)
      Stab/9. Königlich Bayerische gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 9
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 10
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 11
      Königlich Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 12
      Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nürnberg/III. Königlich Bayerisches Armeekorps (1⁄3 squadron)
      Königlich Bayerische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 8 (2 batteries)
      Königlich Bayerische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 10 (2 batteries)
      1. Ersatz-Kompanie/Königlich Bayerisches 3. Pionier-Bataillon


      Organizational changes and late-war organization


      The 5th Mixed Replacement Brigade (5. gemischte Ersatz-Brigade) was transferred to the 30th Reserve Division on August 17, 1914.
      The order of battle of the Bavarian Ersatz Division on September 15, 1914 was:
      Bavarian Ersatz Division

      1st Bavarian Ersatz Brigade
      1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Bavarian Brigade Ersatz Battalions
      Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 4 (four battalions)
      Cavalry Ersatz Abteilung Munich (1⁄3 sq.)
      1st & 4th Bavarian Field Artillery Ersatz Abteilungen (four batteries)
      2nd Ersatz Co./Bavarian Pioneer 1
      9th Bavarian Ersatz Brigade
      9th, 10th, 11th & 12th Bavarian Brigade Ersatz Battalions
      Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 15
      II. Battalion/ Reserve Infantry Regiment 60
      Cavalry Ersatz Abteilung Nuremberg (1⁄3 sq.)
      8th & 10th Bavarian Field Artillery Ersatz Abteilungen (four batteries)
      1st Ersatz Co./Bavarian Pioneer 3
      Divisional Troops
      3rd Squadron/ Reserve Hussar Regiment 9
      Bavarian Cavalry Ersatz Abteilung
      Bavarian Field Artillery Ersatz Abteilungen 1 (two batteries), 2 & 3 (each three batteries)
      7th Battery/ Foot Artillery Rgt. 13 (10-cm cannons)
      3rd Battery/ Reserve Foot Artillery 13 (heavy field howitzers)
      2nd Bavarian Ersatz Pioneer Company
      On October 3, 1914, the new Bavarian 3rd Reserve Brigade joined the division from the 30th Reserve Division. In addition, the 1st and 9th Mixed Replacement Brigades were redesignated as the 1st and 9th Replacement Brigades and their cavalry, artillery and engineer units were moved to division level. Three battalions from each brigade were reorganized into Kgl. Bayer. Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr.1 (1st Replacement Brigade) and Kgl. Bayer. Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr.3 (9th Replacement Brigade). Prior to November 20, these two regiments were transferred to "Division von Rekowski" (which later became the 39th Bavarian Reserve Division). Kgl. Bayer. Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr.2 was formed from two battalions of the 5th Mixed Replacement Brigade as well as troops drawn from elsewhere in the Bavarian Army; it was attached to the Bavarian Ersatz Division.
      On November 22, 1914, the 59th Replacement Infantry Brigade (Ersatz-Infanterie-Brigade), a non-Bavarian unit, was renamed the 59th Landwehr Infantry Brigade (59. Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade) and attached to the Bavarian Ersatz Division.
      On December 10, 1914, the division consisted of:

      Bavarian 3rd Reserve Infantry Brigade:
      Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 4 (4 battalions)
      Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 15
      59th Landwehr Infantry Brigade
      Landwehr Infantry Regiment 120
      Ersatz Infantry Regiment 28
      Divisional Troops
      Cavalry Ersatz Abteilungen des I, II & III Bavarian A.K.
      Bavarian Field Artillery Ersatz Abteilungen 1, 2, 12
      1st Battery/Bavarian Field Artillery Ersatz Abteilung 4
      2d Battery/Bavarian Field Artillery Ersatz Abteilung 8
      1st Company/Reserve Pioneer Battalion 15
      The organization of the division on April 7, 1918 was as follows:

      3.Kgl. Bayer. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade:
      Kgl. Bayer. 4. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
      Kgl. Bayer. 15. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
      Kgl. Bayer. 18. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
      1. Eskadron/Kgl. Bayer. 6. Reserve-Kavallerie-Regiment
      Kgl. Bayer. Artillerie-Kommandeur 19:
      Kgl. Bayer. Ersatz-Feldartillerie-Regiment
      Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 89
      Stab Kgl. Bayer. 13. Pionier-Bataillon:
      Kgl. Bayer. 4. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie
      Kgl. Bayer. 6. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie
      Kgl. Bayer. 100. Minenwerfer-Kompanie
      Kgl. Bayer. Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 551


      Notes




      References

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