The 4th Ersatz Division (''4. 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 mobilization of the German Army in August 1914.
[4. Ersatz-Division (Chronik 1914/1918)](_blank)
/ref> The division was disbanded in 1919, during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.
Formation and recruitment
The 4th Ersatz Division was formed on mobilization from 13 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. Thus, collectively, the 13 brigade replacement battalions represented troop contributions from 26 different infantry regiments. The four battalions of the 9th Mixed Ersatz Brigade were from the Prussian Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...
, as were the brigade's artillery, cavalry and pioneer formations. Two battalions of the 13th Mixed Ersatz Brigade were from the Prussian Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg.
It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...
, one was a mixed battalion from Prussian Saxony and the Duchy of Anhalt
The Duchy of Anhalt () was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now ...
, and one was a mixed battalion from Prussian Saxony and the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg
Saxe-Altenburg () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a population of 207,000 (190 ...
. The brigade's artillery, cavalry and pioneer formations were primarily from Prussian Saxony. The five battalions of the 33rd Mixed Ersatz Brigade, from the IX Army Corps area in northern Germany, were even more mixed: the 33rd Brigade Replacement Battalion was from the Hanseatic Cities of Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
and 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 34th from the Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...
and Mecklenburg-Strelitz
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in Northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard) ...
; the 35th and 36th from Schleswig-Holstein; and the 81st from Schleswig-Holstein and the Hanseatic City of 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 ...
. The brigade's artillery, cavalry and pioneer formations were mainly from Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Hamburg.
Combat chronicle
The 4th Ersatz Division initially 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 and against the French defensive line from Nancy to Epinal. At the end of September 1914, the division was transferred from Lorraine to Belgium, where it participated in the Siege of Antwerp. After Antwerp fell, the division occupied the city and participated in follow-on fighting in Belgian Flanders. It fought in the Battle of the Yser
The Battle of the Yser (, ) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort, Belgium, Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee Canal, in Belgium. The front ...
and then went into the line on the Yser until November 1916. During this period, the division fought in the Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres was fought from 22 April – 25 May 1915, during the First World War, for control of the tactically-important high ground to the east and the south of the Flanders, Flemish town of Ypres, in western Belgium. The ...
in April/May 1915 and 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 ...
in October 1916. It was in the trenchlines in the Somme region from December 1916 to February 1917. After fighting before the German Siegfried position, the division participated in the Battle of Arras. In late May 1917, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front. In July, it resisted the Russian Kerensky Offensive, and then participated in follow-on fighting in eastern Galicia. In December 1917, the division returned to the Western Front. It was in the trenchlines in Flanders and the Artois until April 1918, when it fought in the Battle of Armentières, part of the Battle of the Lys, also known as the German Lys Offensive or the Fourth Battle of Ypres. The division later fought in the Second Battle of the Marne. Allied intelligence considered the division a fairly good division in 1917, but rated it third class in 1918, noting that it had not distinguished itself in the battles of 1918.[''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. 96-98.]
Order of battle on mobilization
The order of battle of the 4th Ersatz Division on mobilization was as follows:[Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''.]
* 9. gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 9
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 10
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 11
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 12
** Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung/III. Armeekorps
** Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 18 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 18)
** Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 39 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 39)
** 2. Ersatz-Kompanie/Brandenburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 3
* 13. gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 13
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 14
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 15
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 16
** Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung/IV. Armeekorps
** Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 40 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 40)
** Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 75 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 75)
** 1. Ersatz-Kompanie/Magdeburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 4
* 33. gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 33
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 34
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 35
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 36
** Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 81
** Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Wandsbeck/IX. Armeekorps
** Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 45 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 45)
** Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 60 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 60)
** 1. Ersatz-Kompanie/Schleswig-Holsteinsiches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 9
Order of battle on 15 July 1915
The division was restructured in the summer of 1915. The 33rd Ersatz Brigade was dissolved in July 1915. The other 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 infantry regiments. The order of battle on 15 July 1915 was as follows:
Order of battle on 1 March 1918
The division underwent more structural changes as the war progressed. The 4th Ersatz Division was triangularized in September 1916. The 359th Infantry regiment was transferred to the newly formed 206th Infantry Division in August 1916. Over the course of the war, 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 1 March 1918 was as follows:
References
4. 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:4th Ersatz Division (German Empire)
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