The 6th 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 April 1, 1900 and was headquartered in Regensburg

Regensburg

Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...

. 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 part of the III Royal Bavarian Army Corps.

Combat chronicle

During 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...

, 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 initially 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...

. It then served in the area between the Meuse and Moselle Rivers until July 1916, seeing action on the Meuse heights, by St. Mihiel, and in the Bois-brulé. In July and August 1916, the division fought in the Battle of Verdun

Battle of Verdun

The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...

, and afterwards went into combat in the Argonne Forest. At the end of September 1916, it fought in the Battle of the Somme. The division suffered heavy losses in both of these battles. From October 1916 into 1918, the division occupied the trenchlines in Flanders and the Artois, and 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 Passchendaele. It then fought in the 1918 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). After a period in the trenches in Flanders and near Verdun, the division fought in 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. It continued resisting various Allied offensives until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as one of the very best German divisions.

Pre–World War I peacetime organization

In 1914, the peacetime organization of the 6th Royal Bavarian Division was as follows:

• 11. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 10. Infanterie-Regiment König
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 13. Infanterie-Regiment Franz Josef I., Kaiser von Österreich und Apostolischer König von Ungarn
• 12. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 11. Infanterie-Regiment von der Tann
• 6. bayerische Kavallerie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Chevaulegers-Regiment Taxis
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 7. Chevaulegers-Regiment Prinz Alfons
• 6. bayerische Feldartillerie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Leopold
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 8. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Heinrich von Preußen

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 6th Bavarian Division was renamed the 6th Bavarian Infantry Division. The division's initial wartime organization (major units) was as follows:

• 11. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 10. Infanterie-Regiment König
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 13. Infanterie-Regiment Franz Josef I., Kaiser von Österreich und Apostolischer König von Ungarn
• 12. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 11. Infanterie-Regiment von der Tann
• Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Chevaulegers-Regiment Taxis
• 6. bayerische Feldartillerie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Leopold
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 8. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Heinrich von Preußen
• 2.Kompanie/Kgl. Bayerisches 3. 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 6th Bavarian Infantry Division was triangularized in January 1917, dissolving the 12th Bavarian Infantry Brigade headquarters and sending the 11th Bavarian Infantry Regiment to the newly-formed 16th Bavarian Infantry Division. 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 February 21, 1918 was as follows:

• 11. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 10. Infanterie-Regiment König
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 13. Infanterie-Regiment Franz Josef I., Kaiser von Österreich und Apostolischer König von Ungarn
  • Kgl. Bayerische Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 3
• 3.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Chevaulegers-Regiment Herzog Karl Theodor
• Kgl. Bayerischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 6
  • Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Leopold
  • II.Bataillon/Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 1
• Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Pionier-Bataillon
  • Kgl. Bayerische Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 11
  • Kgl. Bayerische Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 12
  • Kgl. Bayerische Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 6
• Kgl. Bayerischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 6