The 28th Reserve Division (''28. 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 191428. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> as part of the XIV Reserve Corps. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was raised primarily in the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

Combat chronicle

The 28th Reserve Division spent World War I on the Western Front. 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 ...

and 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 the Somme region. It occupied the line in the

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

region from October 1914 to August 1916, and then 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 ...

. From October 1916 to April 1917, the division occupied the line near Verdun. It then went to the Chemin des Dames region and fought 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 known as the Third Battle of Champagne (and to the Germans as the Double Battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne). After a month back in Verdun, it remained mainly in the Champagne region. In 1918, after being retrained and reorganized as an assault division, it fought in several German offensives and against the Allied offensives and counteroffensives. It was heavily engaged against the Americans in this period, fighting in the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne () was part of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in French Third Republic, France. It w ...

, the

Battle of Belleau Wood The Battle of Belleau Wood (1–26 June 1918) was a major battle that occurred during the German spring offensive in World War I, near the Marne (river), Marne River in France. The battle was fought by the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division (United State ...

, the Champagne-Marne Offensive, the Aisne-Marne Offensive, the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12 to 15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States again ...

, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Allied intelligence rated the division as mediocre in 1917, but, by 1918, it was rated as first class, one of the best divisions in the German Army.

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 28th Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: * 55. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade ** Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 40 ** Badisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 109 ** Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 8 * 56. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade ** Badisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 110 ** Badisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 111 ** Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 14 * Reserve-Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 8 * Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 29 * 1. Reserve-Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 * 2. Reserve-Kompanie/Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13

Order of battle on January 1, 1918

The 28th Reserve Division was triangularized in April 1915, sending the 40th Reserve Infantry Regiment to the 115th Infantry Division. 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: * 56. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade ** Badisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 109 ** Badisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 110 ** Badisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 111 * 4. Eskadron/3. badisches Dragoner-Regiment Prinz Karl Nr. 22 * Artillerie-Kommandeur 144 ** Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 29 ** II./1. Garde-Fußartillerie-Regiment (from May 27, 1918) * Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 328 ** 4. Kompanie/1. Lothringisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 16 ** 1. Ersatz-Kompanie/1. Lothringisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 16 ** Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 228 * Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 428

Winterberg tunnel

On May 4, 1917, the 10th and 11th Companies of Badisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 111 were trapped in the Winterberg tunnel near Craonne; of the 273 men only 3 survived. 6 days later; the ''de facto'' tomb was resealed. In March 2021 the tunnel was rediscovered after nearly 104 years.BBC World News March 15,2021
/ref>

References

28. 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 the Intelligence Section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919'' (1920)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:28 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