5th Ersatz Division (German Empire)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=5th Ersatz Division ("5. Ersatz-Division")
dates=1915-1919
country=Germany
branch=Army
type=Infantry
size=Approx. 12,500
battles=World War I

The 5th Ersatz Division ("5. Ersatz-Division") was a unit of the German Army, in World War I. [From the late 1800s, 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 in June 1915 as a temporary division known as the Division Basedow, named after its commander, Heino von Basedow. [ [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=75 Division Basedow (Chronik 1915/1916)] ] It was formed from the previously independent 37th Mixed Landwehr Brigade and 2nd Reserve Ersatz Brigade. [ [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=75 Division Basedow (Chronik 1915/1916)] ] The division was converted into the 5th Ersatz Division in June 1916. [ [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=118 5. Ersatz-Division (Chronik 1914/1917)] ] The 5th Ersatz Division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

Combat chronicle

The division initially occupied defensive positions in the Yser region. In October 1916, it entered the Battle of the Somme. Thereafter, it occupied positions in the Champagne region until December 1916, when it was transferred to the Eastern Front. It fought in Lithuania until the armistice on the Eastern Front, and then participated in police actions in Estonia and Latvia until February 1919. Allied intelligence rated the division as fourth class, with only moderate fighting value. [ [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=118 5. Ersatz-Division (Chronik 1914/1917)] ] ["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. 741-743.]

Order of battle on June 3, 1915

The order of battle of the Division Basedow on June 3, 1915 was as follows: [Hermann Cron et al., "Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee" (Berlin, 1935).]

*2.Reserve-Ersatz-Brigade
**Reserve-Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 3
**Reserve-Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 4
*37.Landwehr-Brigade
**Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 73
**Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 74
*2.Landwehr-Eskadron/VIII. Armeekorps
*2.Landwehr-Eskadron/X. Armeekorps
*2.Landwehr-Eskadron/I. Bayerisches Armeekorps
*2.Landsturm-Eskadron/II. Bayerisches Armeekorps
*Ersatz-Abteilung/2. Hannoversches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26
*3.Kompanie/2. Westfälisches (Festungs-) Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 24
*2.Landsturm-Pionier-Kompanie/IX. Armeekorps

Order of battle on November 15, 1916

The order of battle of the 5th Ersatz Division on November 15, 1916 was as follows: [Cron et al., "Ruhmeshalle".]

*37.Landwehr-Brigade
**Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 73
**Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 74
**Reserve-Ersatz-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 3
*1.Eskadron/2. Hannoversches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 16
*Feldartillerie-Abteilung Nr. 102
*2.Landsturm-Pionier-Kompanie/IX. Armeekorps
*Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 405

Order of battle on January 1, 1918

The 5th Ersatz Division's order of battle on January 1, 1918 was as follows: [Cron et al., "Ruhmeshalle".]

*37.Landwehr-Brigade
**Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 73
**Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 74
**Landsturm-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 8
*1.Eskadron/2. Hannoversches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 16
*Feldartillerie-Abteilung Nr. 102
*2.Landsturm-Pionier-Kompanie/IX. Armeekorps
*Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 405
*Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 6

References

* [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=118 5. Ersatz-Division (Chronik 1914/1917) - Der erste Weltkrieg]
* [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=75 Division Basedow (Chronik 1915/1916) - 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