The 11th Reserve Division (''11. Reserve-Division'') was a unit of the Imperial German

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 191411. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> as part of VI Reserve Corps. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was recruited in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

, with some troops from other areas due to the large Polish population of Silesia. It received the regular 23rd Infantry Brigade from the 12th Division on mobilization.

Combat chronicle

The 11th Reserve Division fought on the Western Front, participating in the opening German offensive which led to the Allied

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

. Thereafter, the division remained in the line in the Verdun region until February 1916, when it entered the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. The division later fought in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. It remained in the Flanders-Artois region for the rest of the war, and fought in the Battle of Arras in 1917. Allied intelligence rated the division as second class.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 11th Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *23. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment Keith (1. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 22 **3. Schlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 156 *21. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 10 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 11 *Reserve-Husaren-Regiment Nr. 4 *Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 11 *4.Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 6

Order of battle on October 19, 1918

The 11th Reserve Division was triangularized in April 1915. Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of artillery and signals commands and a pioneer battalion. The order of battle on October 19, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *23. Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 10 **Infanterie-Regiment Keith (1. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 22 **3. Schlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 156 *1.Eskadron/Reserve-Husaren-Regiment Nr. 4 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 98 **Schlesisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 11 **I.Bataillon/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 5 *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 311 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 411

References

11. 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:11 Reserve divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1914 establishments in Germany