Order of Battle for 1st Bavarian Reserve Infantry Div. 1917

[Guest ABG]

Hello,

I am currently doing some research on this division, parts of which fought against the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge in April 1917. I am looking for an order of battle for this division, and in particular some details on the 1st and 3rd Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiments (i.e. names of the commanding officers of these regiments, commanders of the battalions, where I might locate any photos of these men, etc.) Any help is greatly appreciated.

With thanks in advance,

Andrew Godefroy CD Ph.D.

[Daniel Murphy]

Andrew,

Here is the 1st Bavarian Reserve Division order of battle in 1917, according to allied intelligence. Source: Histories of the 251 Divisions of the German Army which participated in the war (1914-1918). London Stamp Exchange Ltd. 1989.

"1st BAVARIAN RESERVE DIVISION.

INFANTRY

The 1st Bavarian Reserve Brigade:

1st Bav. Res. Rgt.

2nd Bav. Res. Rgt.

3rd Bav. Res. Rgt.

CAVALRY

3rd Squadron of the 3rd Bavarian Chevauxleger Rgt.

ARTILLERY

13th Bavarian Artillery Command: 1st Bav. Res. Field Art. Rgt.

ENGINEERS AND LIASONS

17th Bavarian Pioneer Battalion :

1st Bav. Res. Pion. Co.

3rd Bav. Res. Pion. Co.

7th Bav. Res. Pion. Co.

201 Trench Mortar Co. (not listed as Bavarian)

1st Bavarian Reserve Searchlight Section.

401st Bavarian Telephone Detachment.

MEDICAL AND VETERINARY

15th Bavarian Ambulance Co.

45th Bavarian Field Hospital.

48th Bavarian Field Hospital.

49th Bavarian Field Hospital.

Veterinary Hospital.

TRANSPORT

750th Motor Transport Column. (Not listed as Bavarian)

Here is the entry for the year 1917.

Artois.

1. After some time at rest, the division went back into line on February 27th to the north of Arras (Roclincourt-Neuville St. Vaast). April 9th it received the full shock of the British attack- lost the villages of Thelus and Bailleul and lost 1500 prisoners.

La Bassee.

2. Relieved about the 15th of April, the division rested and then entered line north of the La Bassee Canal (east of Festubert). It remained here five months taking no part in any important engagements, but suffering losses as a result of gas attacks.

Flanders.

3. It left for Belgium October 6-7, and took over the Zandvoorde secotr (southeast of Ypres) on the 8th.

Value 1917 estimate.

The 1st Bavarian Reserve Division is a good division, but it's combattant value cannot be compared to that of the active Bavarian divisions."

Not much of an entry for such an important battle, but I hope it helps. Of course a regimental history would provide more detail information.

Dan Murphy

Edited May 15, 2006 by Daniel Murphy

[Guest ABG]

Many thanks to you both for providing detailed responses. My copy of 'Histories of the 251 Divisions ...' went for a walk out of my office a few years back and I have yet to replace it with a new copy. Otherwise my German army library remains pretty sparse at the moment though I am always looking for new sources on units which fought against the Canadian Corps.

A colleague of mine is publishing an edited work on the Battle of Vimy Ridge (to come out next spring coinciding with the dates of the battle 9-12 April) and I was asked to write a brief chapter on the German Army at Vimy for his book. With only 5000-6000 words allotted to me I could barely scratch the surface on the subject, but at the very least I wanted to include a detailed as possible German order of battle. The two main gruppes opposiing the Canadians were Gruppe Vimy and Gruppe Souchez. 1st Bavarian Res. Inf. Div. was in the former, and its 1st and 3rd regiments fought at the southern edge of the Canadian battle.

The reason for Major Anton Maier's replacement only occurring on 23 April 1917 was because he was actually captured along with the rest of the 3 Bav. RIR HQ on 9 April when battalions of the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade overran their positions on the eastern side of Bois de Ville. The British and Canadian official histories suggest that 3 Bav. RIR was mostly killed or captured on 9 April, which means that Major Mark may have been part of the reconstitution of this unit (perhaps he was the commmander of the regiment's battalion left out of the line?)

I have several other units in these gruppes that I am also looking to identify the commander's for, but would ask for your continued assistance on these questions before posting here. In return I'd be pleased to post the completed OOB once it's done for other members.

Again, thank you for the responses, it's greatly appreciated and will make for a much better book.

Kind regards,

Andrew Godefroy CD Ph.D

Canada

[David Gregory]

Andrew,

I apologise for the late reply. I have an overview of the division online at http://www.militaerpass.net/1brd.htm

David

[Guest ABG]

Andrew,

I apologise for the late reply. I have an overview of the division online at http://www.militaerpass.net/1brd.htm

David

Many thanks for this, it contained alot of new information. I have a question now, however. Was bayr. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 12 part of the 1. bayerische Reserve-Division Order of Battle in April 1917 and if so why doesn't it appear in the Order of Battle listed in the German Histories of the 251 Divisions in the Great War book? Or does it?

With thanks,

Andrew.