The 14th Reserve Division (''14. Reserve-Division'') was a unit of the

Imperial German (, literally translated ) is an archaic term for those ethnic Germans who resided within the German state that was founded in 1871. In contemporary usage, it referred to German citizens, the word signifying people from the German ', i.e., Imp ...

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 the mobilization of the German Army in August 1914.14. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> The division was disbanded in 1919, during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was a reserve division of the VII Reserve Corps and was recruited primarily in the

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

and the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

. The division included an active infantry brigade from the 14th Division.

Combat chronicle

The 14th 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 ...

, including the capture of

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and

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. Thereafter, the division remained in the line in the Aisne region until October 1915, and then went into Army reserve for two months. It fought in 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 ...

from February to September 1916, and remained in the line at Verdun thereafter. It went to the Somme region at the end of 1916 and to the Champagne region in late January 1917, fighting in the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne ( or , 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a French Third Republic, Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the German Empire, German armies in France. The Entente ...

, also called the Third Battle of Champagne, from April to May. After a few months near

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, the division went to the region along the Ailette River. In 1918, it participated in the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

. It was then primarily on the defensive, resisting various Allied offensives including those of the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 14th Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *28. Infanterie-Brigade **Niederrheinisches Füsilier-Regiment Nr. 39 **8. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 159 *27. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 16 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 53 *Reserve-Husaren-Regiment Nr. 8 *Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 14 *1. Reserve-Kompanie/Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7 *2. Reserve-Kompanie/Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7

Order of battle on January 1, 1918

The 14th Reserve Division was triangularized in March 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 January 1, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *27. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 16 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 53 **8. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 159 *1.Eskadron/Reserve-Husaren-Regiment Nr. 5 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 102 **Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 14 *Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 314 **1.Reserve-Kompanie/Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7 **2.Reserve-Kompanie/Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 214 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 414

References

14. 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:14 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