The 19th Ersatz Division (''19. Ersatz-Division'') was a unit of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

, in

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 1914.19. Ersatz-Division (Chronik 1914/1918)
/ref> The division was disbanded in 1919, during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

Formation and recruitment

The 19th Ersatz Division was formed on mobilization from 11 brigade replacement battalions (''Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillone''). Each brigade replacement battalion was numbered after its parent infantry brigade, and was formed with two companies taken from the replacement battalion of each of the brigade's two infantry regiments. One brigade replacement battalion was formed by three regiments. Thus, collectively, the 11 brigade replacement battalions represented troop contributions from 23 different infantry regiments. The units of the 21st Mixed Ersatz Brigade were raised from the VI Army Corps area, which covered most of the Prussian

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 ...

. These units were disbanded after the opening fighting in Lorraine, with their troops sent to other units in mid-September 1914. Alternatively, it is possible that the brigade remained in Silesia and was attached to the 4th Landwehr Division. The sources are in conflict. On 26 August the brigade was with the 4th Landwehr Division in the east. The other two brigades of the division were from the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

. The units of the 45th Mixed Ersatz Brigade were raised from the

XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps The XII (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps / XII AK () was a Saxon corps level command of the Saxon and German Armies before and during World War I. The Corps was formed as the Royal Saxon Corps on 1 April 1867 and headquartered in Dresden. Initially, ...

area, which covered eastern Saxony. The units of the 47th Mixed Ersatz Brigade were raised from the

XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps The XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Army Corps / XIX AK () was a Saxon corps level command of the German Army, before and during World War I. As the German Army expanded in the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, the XIX Arm ...

area, which covered western and southern Saxony. Thus, after the dissolution of the 21st Mixed Ersatz Brigade, the division became a fully Saxon unit.

Combat chronicle

The 19th Ersatz Division fought on the Western Front in World War I. It fought in the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (; ; ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of French Third Republic, France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategy, milita ...

, seeing action in Lorraine. With occasional rests, it remained in the trenchlines in Lorraine until October 1916. It was then in the line near Verdun until July 1918. That month, it went into the line near

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. It was there when it met the Allied Aisne-Marne Offensive, part of the Second Battle of the Marne. After the severe fighting there, the division left the line for rest and reconstruction. In late August, it fought against the Allied Oise-Aisne Offensive. It was then returned to a quiet sector in Lorraine, where it remained until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as third class.''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), pp. 303-305.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 19th Ersatz Division on mobilization in August 1914 was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *21. gemischte Ersatz-Brigade (detached to 4 Landwehr Division) **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 21 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 22 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 23 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 24 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 78 **Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Breslau/VI. Armeekorps **Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 6 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 6) **Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 57 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 57) *Kgl. Sächsische 45. gemischte Ersatz-Brigade **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 45 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 46 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 63 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 64 **Kgl. Sächsische Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Dresden/XII. Armeekorps **Kgl. Sächsische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 28 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 28) **Kgl. Sächsische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 48 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 48) **1.Ersatz-Kompanie/Kgl. Sächsisches 1. Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 12 *Kgl. Sächsische 47. gemischte Ersatz-Brigade **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 47 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 48 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 88 **Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 89 **Kgl. Sächsische Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Leipzig/XIX. Armeekorps **Kgl. Sächsische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 32 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 32) **Kgl. Sächsische Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 77 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 77) **1.Ersatz-Kompanie/Kgl. Sächsisches 2. Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 22

Order of battle on 12 July 1918

The division underwent several structural changes as the war progressed. As noted above, the Silesian brigade was dissolved early in the war. The other Saxon mixed Ersatz brigades were converted to Ersatz infantry brigades as cavalry, artillery, and pioneer Ersatz units were grouped and reorganized. The brigade replacement battalions were grouped into Ersatz infantry regiments. The 19th Ersatz Division was triangularized in October 1916. Cavalry was reduced, pioneers were increased to a full battalion, and an artillery command and a divisional signals command were created. The division's order of battle on 12 July 1918 was as follows: *45. Ersatz-Brigade **Kgl. Sächsisches Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 23 **Kgl. Sächsisches Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 24 **Kgl. Sächsisches Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32 *5.Eskadron/Kgl. Sächsisches 2. Husaren-Regiment Nr. 19 *Kgl. Sächsischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 137 **Kgl. Sächsisches Ersatz-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 47 *Kgl. Sächsisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 519 **1.Ersatz-Kompanie/Kgl. Sächsisches 1. Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 12 **1.Ersatz-Kompanie/Kgl. Sächsisches 2. Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 22 **Kgl. Sächsische Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 164 *Kgl. Sächsischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 569

References

19. Ersatz-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:19 Ersatz 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