The 46th Reserve Division (''46. 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 in August 1914 and organized over the next two months.46. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)
/ref> It was part of the first wave of new divisions formed at the outset of World War I, which were numbered the 43rd through 54th Reserve Divisions. The division was originally part of XXIII Reserve Corps. It was disbanded in August 1918.

Recruitment

The 213th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the Prussian

Province of Schleswig-Holstein The Province of Schleswig-Holstein ( ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (from 1868 to 1918) and the Free State of Prussia (from 1918 to 1946). History It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquere ...

. The 214th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German C ...

, but included some troops from

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

and Schleswig-Holstein. The 215th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the Prussian

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1866 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, alo ...

. The 216th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised primarily in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. The 18th Reserve Jäger Battalion was raised in Schleswig-Holstein and included many students from Kiel.

Combat chronicle

The 46th Reserve Division fought on the Western Front, entering the line in October along the Yser and remaining there until April 1915, when it went into the fight for Ypres. The division remained in the Yser region until September 1916. In September, the division 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 ...

. Thereafter, it remained in the trenchlines in the Champagne until late December 1916, when it went to Lorraine. In April and May 1917, it 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). The division fought in the Lorraine and Vosges region from December 1917 to April 1918. It then fought in the Montdidier-Noyon region including the German Montdidier-Noyon Offensive in June. It later saw action in the Second Battle of the Marne. The division was disbanded in August 1918. In 1917, Allied intelligence rated the division as a good division and in 1918 it was rated second class, but it was noted that its strength had been allowed to diminish without replenishment, leading to its dissolution.

Order of battle on formation

The 46th Reserve Division was initially organized as a

square division A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four "maneuver," i.e., infantry regimental elements. Other types of regiments, such as artiller ...

, with essentially the same organization as the reserve divisions formed on mobilization. The order of battle of the 46th Reserve Division on September 10, 1914, was as follows: *91. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade ** Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 213 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 215 *92. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 214 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 216 **Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 18 *Reserve-Kavallerie-Abteilung Nr. 46 *Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 46 *Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 46

Order of battle on February 8, 1918

The 46th Reserve Division was triangularized in September 1916. 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 February 8, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''. *92. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 214 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 215 **Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 216 *Reserve-Kavallerie-Abteilung Nr. 46 *Artillerie-Kommandeur 46 **Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 46 **III.Bataillon/Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 24 *Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 346 *Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 446

References

46. 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:46 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