6th Bavarian Reserve Division (German Empire)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=6th Bavarian Reserve Division ("6. Bayerische Reserve-Division")
dates=1914-1919
country=Bavaria/Germany
branch=Army
type=Infantry
size=Approx. 15,000
battles=World War I: Race to the Sea, 1st Ypres, Fromelles, Somme (1916), Arras (1917), Spring Offensive, Aisne, Champagne-Marne

The 6th Bavarian Reserve Division ("6. Bayerische Reserve-Division") was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army, in World War I. [From the late 19th century, the Prussian Army was effectively the German Army, as during the period of German unification (1866-1871) the states of the German Empire entered into conventions with Prussia regarding their armies. Only the Bavarian Army remained fully autonomous and came under Prussian control only during wartime.] The division was formed on September 10, 1914 and organized over the next month. [Günter Wegner, "Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939." (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1, p. 670.] The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

The division was raised and recruited in Bavaria. As a reserve division, it included a large number of recalled reservists and war volunteers. Among the latter was perhaps the division's most famous, or notorious, soldier, Adolf Hitler, a "Gefreiter" in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment.

Combat chronicle

The division entered the war on October 30, 1914, when it entered the First Battle of Ypres, part of the so-called Race to the Sea. The division remained in Flanders thereafter, and fought in numerous actions, including the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916 and the latter phases of the Battle of the Somme in October 1916. In the Spring of 1917, the division fought in the Battle of Arras. It remained in the Flanders region until August 1917, when it was transferred to Upper Alsace for rest and then to the Chemin des Dames region. In 1918, it participated in the German Spring Offensive. In the Spring and Summer offensives and counteroffensives, it faced French and American troops in several battles, including on the Aisne and Champagne-Marne. The division returned to the Flanders region in August 1918, where it remained until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as a second class division, noting that while trained as an assault division, it was more often employed as a follow-on unit. [ [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=275 6.Bayerische-Reserve-Division (Chronik 1915/1919)] ] ["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. 138-141.]

Order of battle on December 8, 1914

The order of battle of the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division on December 8, 1914 was as follows: [Hermann Cron et al., "Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee" (Berlin, 1935).]

*12. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
**Kgl. Bayerisches 16. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
**Kgl. Bayerisches 17. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
*14. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
**Kgl. Bayerisches 20. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
**Kgl. Bayerisches 21. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
*Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Reserve-Kavallerie-Regiment
*Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment
*Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Reserve-Fußartillerie-Bataillon
*Kgl. Bayerische 6. Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie

Order of battle on April 10, 1918

Divisions underwent many changes during the war, with regiments moving from division to division, and some being destroyed and rebuilt. The 6th Bavarian Reserve Division was triangularized in January 1917, losing the 14th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade headquarters and the 21st Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. Cavalry was reduced, engineers increased, and an artillery command and a divisional signals command were created. The 6th Bavarian Reserve Division's order of battle on April 10, 1918 was as follows: [Cron et al., "Ruhmeshalle".]

*12. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
**Kgl. Bayerisches 16. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
**Kgl. Bayerisches 17. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
**Kgl. Bayerisches 20. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
*2.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Reserve-Kavallerie-Regiment
*Kgl. Bayerischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 18
**Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment
**Kgl. Bayerisches 12. Reserve-Fußartillerie-Bataillon
*Stab Kgl. Bayerisches 19. Pionier-Bataillon
**Kgl. Bayerische 6. Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie
**Kgl. Bayerische 7. Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie
**Kgl. Bayerische 206. Minenwerfer-Kompanie
*Kgl. Bayerischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 406

References

* [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=275 6.Bayerische-Reserve-Division (Chronik 1915/1919) - 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