rested until August 10, when it was engaged east of Morlancourt, north
of the Somme. It was forced back by Chuignolles, Proyart, Fouconcourt,
Fay, Dompierre until its relief on August 29. Four hundred prisoners
were lost in that engagement. It was again in line between September 2
and 9 east of Bouchavesnes.
5. The division rested in upper Alsace during September. It returned to
Coutrai on October 6 and was engaged south and east of Le Cateau (St.
Benin, Bazeul, Catillon and later east of Landrecies), mid-October to
1st of November. On November 6 it was again engaged south of Aulnoye and
retreated east of Maubeuge, where it was last identified on November 9.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was rated as third class. It was largely used on active
fronts and did creditably.
255th Division.
COMPOSITION.
─────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────
│ 1915 │ 1916
─────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────
│ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment.
─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────
Infantry. │31 Ldw. │30 Ldw. │31 Ldw. │30 Ldw.
│ │68 Ldw. │ │68 Ldw.
│ │1 Ers. Ldw. │ (?) │2 Ers. Ldw.
│ │2 Ers. Ldw. │ │3 Ers. Ldw.
│ │3 Ers. Ldw. │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
─────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────
Cavalry. │Hus. Detch. │
│ │
│ │
─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────
Artillery. │ │
│ │
─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────
Engineers and│ │2 Ldw. Co. 11 C. Dist. Pions.
Liaisons. │ │
│ │1 Ldw. Co. 16 C. Dist. Pions.
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────
Medical and │ │
Veterinary.│ │
│ │
│ │
─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────
Transport. │ │
─────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────
─────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────
│ 1917 │ 1918
─────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────
│ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment.
─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────
Infantry. │31 Ldw. │30 Ldw. │82 Ldw. │68 Ldw.
│ │86 Ldw. │ │94 Ldw.
│32 Ldw. │68 Ldw. │ │153 Ldw.
│ │94 Ldw. │ │
│ │153 Ldw. │ │
│ (Composition after August, │ │
│ 1917.) │ │
│31 Ldw. │68 Ldw. │ │
│ │94 Ldw. │ │
│ │153 Ldw. │ │
─────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────┼──────────────┴──────────────
Cavalry. │4 Sqn. 7 Hus. Rgt. │4 Sqn. 7 Hus. Rgt.
│1 Sqn. 15 C. Dist. Landst. │
│ Cav. Detch. │
─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────
Artillery. │Art. Command: │301 F. A. Rgt.
│ 301 F. A. Rgt. │
─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────
Engineers and│(255) Pion. Btn.: │255 Pion. Btn.:
Liaisons. │ │
│ 1 Ldw. Co. 8 C. Dist. Pions.│ 1 Ldw. Co. 8 C. Dist. Pions.
│ Metz Landst. Pion. Co. │ Landst. Ers. Co. 11 C. Dist.
│ │ Pions.
│ 455 T. M. Co. │ 209 Searchlight Section.
│ 15 Searchlight Section. │255 Signal Command:
│ 255 Tel. Detch. │ 255 Tel. Detch.
─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────
Medical and │623 (?) Ambulance Co. │627 Ambulance Co.
Veterinary.│ │
│Field Hospital. │192 Field Hospital.
│566 Vet. Hospital. │
─────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────
Transport. │M. T. Col. │
─────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────
HISTORY.
(Former Metz Detachment. 68th Landwehr: 16th Corps District—Lorraine and
the Rhine Province. 94th Landwehr: 11th Corps District—Electorate of
Hesse and Thuringia. 153d Landwehr: 4th Corps District—Prussian Saxony.)
1915–16.
LORRAINE.
1. The 255th Division is the former Metz Detachment, the composition of
which was remodeled and which was changed into a division in May, 1917.
2. The Metz Detachment, composed of the 31st Landwehr Brigade (30th and
68th Landwehr Regiments) and of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Ersatz Landwehr
Regiments, occupied the same sector of Lorraine between the Moselle and
Abaucourt (north of Pont à Mousson) from the end of October, 1914, to
1917.
1917.
1. About May, 1917, the Metz Detachment became the 255th Division. It
then comprised the 31st Landwehr Brigade (30th and 68th Landwehr
Regiments) and three regiments of recent organization, the 86th, 94th,
and 153d Landwehr, formed by grouping the battalions of the old
dissolved Ersatz regiments.
2. With this composition, the 255th Division continued to hold the front
along the Moselle (right bank) until the month of October.
3. In July and August the 30th and 86th Landwehr Regiments left the
255th Division to form the new 31st Independent Landwehr Brigade. The
latter remained in line on the right bank of the Moselle. The 255th
Division, reduced to three regiments (68th, 94th, and 153d Landwehr),
went to the left bank (Le Prêtre wood) about October 13.
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
Mediocre.
1918.
1. The division continued to hold its sector in the Bois le Pretre until
the American attack on September 12. At that time the company strength
was 180 to 200, with an effective rifle strength of 100. The men were
mostly between 37 and 45 years of age.
2. The attack of the 12th of September threw the division back on
Vandieres and Preny, where it was still in line at the time of the
armistice.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was rated as fourth class.
301st Division.
COMPOSITION.
─────────────┬───────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────
│ 1917 │ 1918
─────────────┼─────────────┬─────────────┼─────────────┬─────────────
│ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment.
─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────
Infantry. │ │ │ │48 Landst.
─────────────┼─────────────┴─────────────┼─────────────┴─────────────
Cavalry. │ │1 Sqn. 9 Res. Hus. Rgt.
│ │3 Sqn. 9 Res. Hus. Rgt.
│ │4 Sqn. 9 Res. Hus. Rgt.
─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
Artillery. │ │217 F. A. Rgt.
─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
Engineers and│ │342 Pion. Co.
Liaisons. │ │
│ │410 T. M. Co.
│ │310 Tel. Detch.
─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
Medical and │ │Ambulance Co.
Veterinary.│ │
│ │Field Hospital.
│ │Vet. Hospital.
─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
Transport. │ │M. T. Col.
─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
Attached. │84 Brig.: │1 Rastatt Landst. Inf. Btn.
│ │ (XIV/5).
│ 70 Res. Inf. Rgt. │10 Ldw. Rgt.
│ 9 Res. Hus. Rgt. │56 Ldw. Rgt.
│ 252 F. A. Rgt. │3 Btn. 2 Bav. Ers. Rgt.
│ │ Landst. Inf. Btns.
│ 342 Pion. Co. │2 Koeln (8 C. Dist. Btn.
│ │ No. 14).
│ 410 T. M. Co. Landst. Inf.│8 C. D. No. 7 (Bonn).
│ Btns. │
│ 3 Bav. C. Dist. No. 13 (2 │14 C. D. No. 1 (Mosbach).
│ Nurnberg). │
│ 16 C. D. No. 7 (2 Sarre- │18 C. D. No. 10
│ Louis). │ (Friedberg).
│ 14 C. D. No. 5 (Rastatt). │1 Bav. C. D. No. 15
│ │ (Dillingen).
│ │1 Bav. C. D. No. 9
│ │ (Augsburg).
│ │7 C. D. No. 49 (Elberfeld).
│ │ (According to order of
│ │ battle, Aug. 12, 1918.)
─────────────┴───────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────
HISTORY.
(10th Landwehr Regiment: 6th Corps District—Silesia. 56th Landwehr
Regiment: 7th Corps District—Westphalia.)
1917.
VOSGES.
1. The 301st Division, apparently formed about the middle of 1917, was
simply a military unit without permanent elements.
2. To this division were attached the 70th Reserve (84th Landwehr
Brigade) from April, 1917, until the beginning of June, 1918 (Vosges
front west of Senones and in the vicinity of Ban de Sapt), the 2d
Bavarian Ersatz Regiment (an organic part of the 39th Bavarian Reserve
Division) from June, 1917, and several Landsturm Battalions.
3. The sector of the 301st Division extends on the Vosges front from La
Plaine as far as Provenchères. The headquarters of the division was at
Saulxures.
VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.
The division was mostly made up of elderly men. The troops assigned to
the 301st Division were supposed to occupy calm sectors.
The 10th Landwehr Regiment was made up for the most part (three-
quarters) of Silesians and Prussians from the Province of Posen. There
were some Alsatians (4 in the 6th Company).
1918.
1. The division remained in its sector in Army Detachment A without
event throughout 1918. Its losses were negligible. The companies had an
average ration strength of 170 men; an average trench strength of 105.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was rated as fourth class. It was one of the lowest of that
class in value. The morale was low and desertions frequent.
302d Division.
COMPOSITION.
─────────────┬───────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────
│ 1917 │ 1918
─────────────┼─────────────┬─────────────┼─────────────┬─────────────
│ Brigade. │ Regiment. │ Brigade. │ Regiment.
─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────
Infantry. │ (?) │42. │22. │11 Gren.
│ │45. │ │9 Jag.
│ │10 Jag. │ │10 Jag.
│ (After June 1917.) │ │
│22. │45. │ │
│ │21 Res. │ │
│ │10 Jag. │ │
─────────────┼─────────────┴─────────────┼─────────────┴─────────────
Artillery. │Art. Command: │
│ 10 F. A. Rgt. (elements). │
─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
Engineers and│Pion. Btn.: │Pion. Btn. No. 19
Liaisons. │ │ (elements).
│ 19 Pion. Btn. (elements). │205 Pion. Co.
│ 205 Pion. Co. │172 Mountain T. M. Co.
│ 172 Mountain T. M. Co. │302 Tel. Detch.
│ Tel. Detch. │
─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
Medical and │202 Ambulance Co. │Ambulance Co.
Veterinary.│ │
│Field Hospital. │Field Hospital.
│Vet. Hospital. │Vet. Hospital.
─────────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
Transport. │672 (?) M. T. Col. │(?) 672 M. T. Col.
─────────────┴───────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────
HISTORY.
1917.
MACEDONIA.
1. The 302d Division (former Hippel Division) was organized on the
Macedonian front toward the end of 1916. At the beginning it included
elements of various nationalities. It appears to have become entirely
German during the first part of 1917. At this time its composition was
as follows: The staff of the 22d Infantry Brigade (coming from the 11th
Division); the 42d Infantry Regiment from the 3d Division; the 45th
Infantry Regiment from the 101st Division and the 10th Jäger Regiment
(the latter formed by grouping the Jäger and Fusileer Battalions of the
Guard and the 9th and 12th Jäger Battalions). In January, 1917, the 45th
Infantry Regiment had replaced the 11th Grenadier Regiment, transferred
to the 101st Division and which had come to the Hippel Division in
November.
2. The elements of the 302d Division occupied the Macedonian front
(Monastir-Boucle de la Cerna) in 1917 and until the end of February,
1918.
3. In June, 1917, the 42d Infantry Regiment, the same as the 59th
Regiment of the 101st Division, left the Macedonian front for Roumania
(vicinity of Rimnicu-Sarat). It was definitely detached from the 302d
Division and replaced by the 21st Reserve Infantry Regiment from the
216th Division.
1918.
1. The divisional staff operated in Macedonia until it surrendered as a
complete unit, divisional commander, staff, and troops, numbering 7,000,
about the 1st of October.
VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.
The division was rated as third class at the time of its retirement from
the Western Front.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Changed “(?) Dion. Detchs.” to “(?) Pion. Detchs.” on p. 47.
2. Changed “Cuichy-Canal” to “Cuinchy-Canal” on p. 56.
3. Changed “2 Vac. Pion. Detch.” to “2 Cav. Pion. Detch.” on p. 69.
4. Added “VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.” heading on p. 77.
5. Changed “Mauberge” to “Maubeuge” on pp. 95 and 276.
6. Changed “abrustungs” to “abrüstungs” on p. 192.
7. Changed “Tanganrog” to “Taganrog” on p. 272.
8. Changed “Buskeque” to “Bousbecque” on p. 274.
9. Changed “Duenamuemde” to “Duenamuende” on p. 301.
10. Changed “Ghissegnies” to “Gussignies” on p. 326.
11. Changed “Kalwariia-Mariampol” to “Kalwaria-Mariampol” on pp. 397 and
538.
12. Changed “Rambluzim” to “Rambluzin” on p. 403.
13. Changed “Dhinzel” to “Dhuizel” on p. 404.
14. Changed “Grandelain” to “Crandelain” on p. 411.
15. Changed “Rozoy sur Sene” to “Rozoy sur Serre” on p. 420.
16. Added “1918.” sub-heading on p. 427.
17. Changed “October 19.” to “August 19.” on p. 437.
18. Changeed “Brandeberg” to “Brandenburg” on pp. 577 anf 593.
19. Changed “Yores” to “Ypres” on p. 615.
20. Changed “Schuz” to “Schutz” on p. 616.
21. Added footnote anchor after “COMPOSITION.” heading on p. 639.
22. Changed “405th Infantry Regiment” to “445th Infantry Regiment” on p.
719.
23. Silently corrected typographical errors.
24. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
25. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.