The 3rd Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army

German Army (German Empire)

The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...

. The division was formed on November 27, 1815 as an Infantry Division of the Würzburg

Würzburg

Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....

 General Command (Infanterie-Division des Generalkommandos Würzburg). It was called the 3rd Army Division between 1822 and 1848, again between 1851 and 1859, and again from 1869 to 1872. It was called the 3rd Infantry Division from 1848 to 1851 (as well as during wartime) and was named the Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

 General Command from 1859 to 1869. From April 1, 1872 until mobilization for World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, it was the 3rd Division. In 1901, it had swapped division numbers with the 5th Division. In Bavarian sources, it was not generally referred to as a "Royal Bavarian" division, as this was considered self-evident, but outside Bavaria, this designation was used for it, and other Bavarian units, to distinguish them from similarly numbered Prussian units. The division was headquartered in Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

 from 1815 to 1843, in Ansbach

Ansbach

Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...

 from 1843 to 1848, and then again in Nuremberg until 1901, when after the renumbering of divisions, it became the 3rd Division in Landau

Landau

Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...

 and the division in Nuremberg became the 5th Division. The division was part of the II Royal Bavarian Army Corps.

Combat chronicle

The division fought against Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War

Austro-Prussian War

The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

 of 1866, seeing action at Zella, Kissingen, and Helmstadt. In the Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

 of 1870-71, the division fought alongside the Prussians. It saw action in battles of Wörth and Sedan

Battle of Sedan

The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...

, and in the siege of Paris

Siege of Paris

The Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 – January 28, 1871, and the consequent capture of the city by Prussian forces led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the establishment of the German Empire as well as the Paris Commune....

.

During World War I, the division served on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

. It fought in the Battle of the Frontiers

Battle of the Frontiers

The Battle of the Frontiers was a series of battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium shortly after the outbreak of World War I. The battles represented a collision between the military strategies of the French Plan XVII and the German Schlieffen Plan...

 against French forces in the early stages, and then participated in the Race to the Sea

Race to the Sea

The Race to the Sea is a name given to the period early in the First World War when the two sides were still engaged in mobile warfare on the Western Front. With the German advance stalled at the First Battle of the Marne, the opponents continually attempted to outflank each other through...

, fighting along the Somme and in Flanders, including the First Battle of Ypres. It remained in the trenchlines in Flanders and the Artois, and fought in the Second Battle of Artois

Second Battle of Artois

The Second Battle of Artois, of which the British contribution was the Battle of Aubers Ridge, was a battle on the Western Front of the First World War, it was fought at the same time as the Second Battle of Ypres. Even though the French under General Philippe Pétain gained some initial victories,...

 and the Battle of Loos

Battle of Loos

The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. It marked the first time the British used poison gas during the war, and is also famous for the fact that it witnessed the first large-scale use of 'new' or Kitchener's Army...

. In 1916, the division fought in the Battle of the Somme. In 1917, the division fought in the Battle of Arras

Battle of Arras (1917)

The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....

 and the Battle of Messines

Battle of Messines

The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...

, after which it went to the trenchlines in Verdun and Lorraine to rest. After several months in the line north of the Ailette

Ailette (river)

The Ailette is a long river in the Aisne département, eastern France. Its source is at Sainte-Croix. It flows generally west-northwest. It is a left tributary of the Oise into which it flows between Manicamp and Quierzy, northeast of Compiègne....

 River, the division participated in the German Spring Offensive

Spring Offensive

The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...

, fighting in the First Battle of the Somme (1918), also known as the Second Battle of the Somme (to distinguish it from the 1916 battle). In the subsequent Allied counteroffensives known as the Hundred Days Offensive

Hundred Days Offensive

The Hundred Days Offensive was the final period of the First World War, during which the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August to 11 November 1918, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. The offensive forced the German armies to retreat...

, the division fought in the Battle of Amiens and the Second Battle of the Somme (1918)

Second Battle of the Somme (1918)

During the First World War, the Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought on the Western Front from the end of the summer, in the basin of the Somme River...

, also known as the Third Battle of the Somme. Thereafter, it remained in the line and resisted various Allied attacks until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as one of the best German divisions.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

The order of battle at the outset of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows:

• 5. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Infanterie-Regiment
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 7. Infanterie-Regiment
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 8. Jäger-Bataillon
• 6. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 14. Infanterie-Regiment
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 15. Infanterie-Regiment
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Jäger-Bataillon
• 3. bayerische Kavallerie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 1. Chevaulegers-Regiment
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Chevaulegers-Regiment
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Ulanen-Regiment

Pre-World War I peacetime organization

In 1914, the peacetime organization of the 3rd Royal Bavarian Division was as follows:

• 5. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 22. Infanterie-Regiment Fürst Wilhelm von Hohenzollern
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 23. Infanterie-Regiment
• 6. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 17. Infanterie-Regiment Orff
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 18. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand
• 3. bayerische Kavallerie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Chevaulegers-Regiment Herzog Karl Theodor
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Chevaulegers-Regiment Erzherzog Friedrich von Österreich
• 3. bayerische Feldartillerie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Feldartillerie-Regiment König Alfons XIII. von Spanien
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 12. Feldartillerie-Regiment
• Landwehr-Inspektion Landau

Order of battle on mobilization

On mobilization in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I, most divisional cavalry, including brigade headquarters, was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from their higher headquarters. The 3rd Bavarian Division was renamed the 3rd Bavarian Infantry Division. Its initial wartime organization (major units) was as follows:

• 5. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 22. Infanterie-Regiment Fürst Wilhelm von Hohenzollern
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 23. Infanterie-Regiment
• 6. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 17. Infanterie-Regiment Orff
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 18. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand
• Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Chevaulegers-Regiment Herzog Karl Theodor
• 3. bayerische Feldartillerie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Feldartillerie-Regiment König Alfons XIII. von Spanien
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 12. Feldartillerie-Regiment
• 1.Kompanie/Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Pionier-Bataillon
• 3.Kompanie/Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Pionier-Bataillon

Late World War I organization

Divisions underwent many changes during the war, with regiments moving from division to division, and some being destroyed and rebuilt. During the war, most divisions became triangular

Triangular division

A triangular division is a designation given to the way divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade headquarters or directly subordinated to the division commander...

 - one infantry brigade with three infantry regiments rather than two infantry brigades of two regiments (a "square division

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 regimental elements. Since a regiment could be split into separate battalions for tactical purposes, the natural division within a division...

"). The 3rd Bavarian Infantry Division was triangularized in April 1915, sending the 22nd Bavarian Infantry Regiment to the newly-formed 11th Bavarian Infantry Division

11th Bavarian Infantry Division (German Empire)

The 11th Bavarian Infantry Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the Imperial German Army, in World War I. The division was formed on March 24, 1915 and organized over the next few weeks. It was part of a wave of new infantry divisions formed in the spring of 1915...

. An artillery commander replaced the artillery brigade headquarters, the cavalry was further reduced, and the engineer contingent was increased. Divisional signals commanders were established to better control communications, a major problem in coordinating infantry and artillery operations during World War I. The division's order of battle on March 31, 1918 was as follows:

• 6. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 17. Infanterie-Regiment Orff
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 18. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 23. Infanterie-Regiment
• 4.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Chevaulegers-Regiment Herzog Karl Theodor
• Kgl. Bayerischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 3
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 12. Feldartillerie-Regiment
  • Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 43
• Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Pionier-Bataillon
  • Kgl. Bayerische Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 5
  • Kgl. Bayerische Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 7
  • Kgl. Bayerische Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 3
• Kgl. Bayerischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 3