22nd Reserve Division (German Empire)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=22nd Reserve Division ("22. Reserve-Division")
dates=1914-1919
country=Prussia/Germany
branch=Army
type=Infantry
size=Approx. 15,000
battles=World War I: Battle of Mons, Great Retreat, First Battle of the Marne, Battle of Verdun, Battle of the Somme, Passchendaele, Spring Offensive, Battle of the Lys

The 22nd Reserve Division ("22. Reserve-Division") was a unit of the German Army in World War I. The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 1914. [ [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=384 22. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)] ] The division was disbanded during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

Recruitment

The division was a reserve division of the IV Reserve Corps and was raised primarily in the Province of Prussian Saxony and the Thuringian states. The 32nd Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the Reuss principalities. The 71st Reserve Infantry Regiment had one battalion each from Saxe-Meiningen, Prussian Saxony and Electoral Hesse. The 82nd Reserve Infantry Regiment had one battalion each from Prussian Saxony, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The 94th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The 11th Jäger Battalion came from Electoral Hesse. Divisional cavalry, artillery and pioneer troops came from Prussian Saxony and Electoral Hesse.

Combat chronicle

The 22nd Reserve Division began the war on the Western Front. It fought in the opening campaigns against the Belgian Army and the British Expeditionary Force, including the Battle of Mons, and pursued the Allies during the Great Retreat, culminating in the First Battle of the Marne. After 1st Marne, the division held the line between the Aisne and the Oise until the Autumn of 1915, when it went to the Champagne region. In 1916, it fought in the Battle of Verdun. It then saw action in the later phases of the Battle of the Somme. The division occupied various parts of the line in 1917, and then fought in the Battle of Passchendaele. In 1918, it saw action in the German Spring Offensive, including the Battle of the Lys. Allied intelligence rated the division as second class. [ [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=384 22. Reserve-Division (Chronik 1914-1918)] ] ["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. 327-331.]

Order of battle on mobilization

The order of battle of the 22nd Reserve Division on mobilization was as follows: [Hermann Cron et al., "Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee" (Berlin, 1935).]

*43. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
**Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 71
**Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 94
**Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 11
*44. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
**Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32
**Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82
*Reserve-Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 1
*Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 221.Reserve-Kompanie/Magdeburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 42.Reserve-Kompanie/Magdeburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 4

Order of battle on March 28, 1918

The 22nd Reserve Division was triangularized in March 1915. Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of the artillery and signals commands. The order of battle on March 28, 1918 was as follows: [Cron et al., "Ruhmeshalle".]

*43. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
**Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 71
**Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82
**Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 94
*2.Eskadron/schweres-Reserve-Reiter-Regiment Nr. 1
*Artillerie-Kommandeur 96
**Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 22
**I.Abteilung/Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Fußartillerie-Regiment
*Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 322
*Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 422

References

* [http://www.1914-18.info/erster-weltkrieg.php?u=384 22. 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