The 25th Reserve Division (''25. 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 ...

, 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 mobilization of the German Army in August 1914 as part of XVIII Reserve Corps and was disbanded in October 1918, with its assets being distributed to other units.25. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914–1918)
/ref> The division was raised in the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...

and the Prussian

Province of Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the ...

, while its 83rd Reserve Infantry Regiment included troops from the

Principality of Waldeck The County of Waldeck (later the Principality of Waldeck and Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and ...

Combat chronicle

The 25th Reserve Division began World War I on the Western Front, fighting through Belgium and France in what became known as 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 ...

, culminating in the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by oc ...

. It then participated in the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from 17 September to 19 October 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German Empire, German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of ...

, fighting in Flanders and the Artois, including at Lille. In December 1914, it was sent to the Eastern Front. In 1915, it participated in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive, including the battles at Lemberg (now

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

) and

Brest-Litovsk Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the admini ...

. It then fought in the

Serbian campaign The Serbian campaign was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915 by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia during the First World War. The first campaign began after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 ...

. After this campaign, the division was transferred from Macedonia back to the Western Front. After several months' fighting in the Argonne Forest, the division 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 ...

in July 1916, where it suffered heavy losses. It also faced the French offensive in August 1917 at Verdun, where it again suffered heavy losses. In 1918, the division faced Allied offensives at the

Battle of Cantigny The Battle of Cantigny, fought May 28, 1918, was the first major American battle and offensive of World War I. The U.S. 1st Division, the most experienced of the five American divisions then in France and in reserve for the French Army near th ...

, Montdidier and Noyon, and in the

Somme Offensive 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 ...

, again taking heavy losses. The division was dissolved on 20 October 1918. Until 1918, Allied intelligence rated the division as second class, but downgraded it based on its use by the German high command and performance in battle.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 25th Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: *49. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Großherzoglich Hessisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 116 **Großherzoglich Hessisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 118 *50. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **5. Großherzoglich Hessisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 168 **Kurhessisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 83 *Reserve-Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 4 *Großherzoglich Hessisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 25 *1. Reserve-Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 *2. Reserve-Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11

Order of battle on 13 February 1918

The 25th Reserve Division was triangularized in May 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 13 February 1918 was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *50. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Kurhessisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 83 **Großherzoglich Hessisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 118 **5. Großherzoglich Hessisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 168 *2.Eskadron/Reserve-Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 4 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 127 **Großherzoglich Hessisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 25 **II.Bataillon/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 15 (from 27 April 1918) *Stab Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 **1. Reserve-Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 **2. Reserve-Kompanie/Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 **Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 225 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 425

References

25. 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:25 Reserve 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