18th Reserve Division (German Empire)
| 18th Reserve Division (18. Reserve-Division) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1914-1919 |
| Country | Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Approx. 15,000 |
| Engagements | World War I: Battle of the Somme, Battle of Arras (1917), Passchendaele, Battle of Cambrai (1918) |
The 18th Reserve Division (18. Reserve-Division) was a unit of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 1914. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. At the beginning of the war, it formed the IX Reserve Corps with the 17th Reserve Division.
The division was composed primarily of troops from Schleswig-Holstein, the Hanseatic Cities, and the Mecklenburg grand duchies. The 31st Reserve Infantry Regiment was a Hanseatic regiment, primarily recruited in Hamburg and Bremen. The 84th and 86th Reserve Infantry Regiments were raised in Schleswig, with one battalion of the 84th Reserve Infantry Regiment raised in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The 9th Reserve Jäger Battalion was raised in Lauenburg, a former duchy on the Baltic coast which had passed from Denmark to Prussia in 1864.
The 18th Reserve Division fought on the Western Front alongside its sister division, the 17th Reserve Division. It fought across Belgium in August 1914 and then occupied the line on the Aisne until September 1915. It then went to Flanders and the Artois, where it remained engaged in positional warfare until June 1916. From mid-July to late October 1916, it fought in the Battle of the Somme with only one interlude away from the front. The division then remained in the trenchlines along the Yser until May 1917. In May it fought in the Battle of Arras. It remained in the Flanders region for the rest of the year and into 1918 and fought in the Battle of Passchendaele. In 1918, it occupied various parts of the line and fought against several Allied offensives, including in the second Battle of Cambrai. In 1918, Allied intelligence rated the division as second class.
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