The 54th Reserve Division (''54. Reserve-Division'') was a unit of the Imperial German

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The division was formed in September 1914 and organized over the next month, arriving in the line in October.54. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> It was part of the first wave of new divisions formed at the outset of World War I, which were numbered the 43rd through 54th Reserve Divisions. The division was initially part of XXVII Reserve Corps. The division was disbanded in September 1918 and its assets distributed to other units. The division was primarily raised in the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...

, but the division's 245th Reserve Infantry Regiment, 26th Reserve Jäger Battalion, and several support units were from the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxo ...

. These non-Württemberg elements were all transferred out of the division at various points, making the division all-Württemberg by early 1917.

Combat chronicle

The 54th Reserve Division fought on the Western Front, entering the line in mid-October, participating in the so-called

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...

and fighting in the

Battle of the Yser The Battle of the Yser (french: Bataille de l'Yser, nl, Slag om de IJzer) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee ...

. The division then remained in the trenchlines along the Yser until April 1915, when it entered the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

. After the battle the division remained in the line along the Yser into 1916. After two months in army reserve in the winter of 1916, the division returned to the trenchlines in the Flanders and Artois regions. It was engaged heavily in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and returned to the line in Flanders and the Artois until the end of the year. In December 1916 and January 1917, it saw action at Verdun, and then went to the line in the Champagne region. In May 1917, it fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also called the Third Battle of Champagne. The division went back to Verdun in August 1917 in response to the French offensive there. In late October, it went to Flanders and saw action in the Battle of Passchendaele, also called the Third Battle of Ypres. It remained in Flanders until March 1918, and then participated in the German spring offensive, fighting in the

First Battle of the Somme (1918) Operation Michael was a major German military offensive during the First World War that began the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was to ...

, also known as the Second Battle of the Somme (to distinguish it from the 1916 battle). The division remained in the region and fought against the Allied offensive known as the

Second Battle of the Somme (1918) The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to the ...

, also known as the Third Battle of the Somme. Allied intelligence rated the division as second class.

Order of battle on formation

The 54th Reserve Division was initially organized as a

square division A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four "maneuver," i.e., infantry regimental elements. Other types of regiments, such as artillery ...

, with essentially the same organization as the reserve divisions formed on mobilization. The order of battle of the 54th Reserve Division on September 10, 1914, was as follows: *107. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Königlich Sächsisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 245 **Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 246 **Königlich Sächsisches Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 26 *108. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 247 **Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 248 *Königlich Württembergische Reserve-Kavallerie-Abteilung Nr. 54 *Königlich Württembergisches und Königlich Sächsisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 54 (the I. Abteilung was Saxon; the II. and III. Abteilungen were from Württemberg) *Königlich Sächsische Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 54

Order of battle on March 14, 1918

The 54th Reserve Division was triangularized in January 1917, dissolving the 108th Reserve Infantry Brigade headquarters and sending the 245th Royal Saxon Reserve Infantry Regiment to the Saxon 192nd Infantry Division. Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of artillery and signals commands and the enlargement of combat engineer support to a full pioneer battalion. The order of battle on March 14, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *107.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 246 **Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 247 **Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 248 *Königlich Württembergische Reserve-Kavallerie-Abteilung Nr. 54 *Königlich Württembergischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 70: **Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 54 **II.Bataillon/Königlich Württembergisches Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 24 *Königlich Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 354 **1.Reserve-Kompanie/Königlich Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 **2.Reserve-Kompanie/Königlich Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 **Königlich Württembergische Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 254 *Königlich Württembergischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 454

References

54. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914/1918) - Der erste Weltkrieg
* Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937) * Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939.'' (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1 * ''Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919'' (1920)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:54 Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 1914 establishments in Germany