The 75th Reserve Division (75. Reserve-Division) was a unit of the Imperial German

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The 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...

 in 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 was formed at the end of December 1914 and organized over the next month, arriving in the line in early February 1915. It was part of the second large wave of new divisions formed at the outset of World War I, which were numbered the 75th through 82nd Reserve Divisions. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. The division was primarily raised in the XIV Corps area (Grand Duchy of Baden

Grand Duchy of Baden

The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...

) and the XI Corps area (Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel, Waldeck and the Thuringian states).

Combat chronicle

The 75th Reserve Division initially fought on the Eastern Front

Eastern Front (World War I)

The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...

. Its baptism of fire was in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes

Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes

The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, also known as the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes, was the northern part of the Central Powers' offensive on the Eastern Front in the winter of 1915...

. It fought along the Narew in July and August 1915 and participated in the conquest of Grodno and the Battle of Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

. From October 1915 to August 1916, the division remained in positional warfare and then fought at Kovel

Kovel

Kovel is a city located in the Volyn Oblast , in northwestern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kovelskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. The current estimated population is around 65,777.Kovel gives its name to one of the...

. Afterwards, it returned to the trenchlines until late June 1917. The division then fought against the Russian Kerensky Offensive

Kerensky Offensive

The Kerensky Offensive was the last Russian offensive in World War I. It took place in July 1917.- Background :...

 and was part of Oskar von Hutier

Oskar von Hutier

Oskar von Hutier was one of Imperial Germany's most successful and innovative generals of World War I.-Biography:Hutier was born in Erfurt, in the Prussian Province of Saxony...

's Eighth Army in the Battle of Riga in September 1917. In December 1917, the division was transferred to 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...

 and went into 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....

, above the Chemin des Dames

Chemin des Dames

In France, the Chemin des Dames is part of the D18 and runs east and west in the département of Aisne, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2, and in the east, the D1044 at Corbeny. It is some thirty kilometres long and runs along a ridge between the valleys of the rivers Aisne and Ailette...

. It participated 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 Third Battle of the Aisne

Third Battle of the Aisne

The Third Battle of the Aisne was a battle of the German Spring Offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Force could arrive completely in France. It was one of a series of desperate offensives, known as the Kaiserschlacht,...

. It then occupied various parts of the line and fought against the various Allied counteroffensives, ending the war fighting against the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Meuse-Argonne Offensive

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...

. Allied intelligence rated the division as third class.

Order of battle on formation

The 75th Reserve Division, like the other divisions of its wave and unlike prior German divisions, was organized from the outset as a triangular division

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...

. The order of battle of the 75th Reserve Division on December 29, 1914 was as follows:

• 75.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 249
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 250
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 251
  • Reserve-Radfahrer-Kompanie Nr. 75
• Reserve-Kavallerie-Abteilung Nr. 75
• 75.Reserve-Feldartillerie-Brigade
  • Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 55
  • Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 57
• Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 75

Order of battle on January 1, 1918

The most significant wartime structural change in the divisions of this wave was the reduction from two field artillery regiments to one. Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of artillery and signals commands and the enlargement of combat engineer support to a full pioneer battalion. The order of battle on January 1, 1918 was as follows:

• 75.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 249
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 250
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 251
• 3.Eskadron/Garde-Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 2
• Artillerie-Kommandeur 75
  • Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 55
  • Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 82 (from May 2, 1918)
• Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 375
  • Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 75
  • Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 384
  • Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 275
• Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 475