The 78th Reserve Division (78. 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 September 1918 and its assets distributed to other units. The division was relatively mixed. The 258th Reserve Infantry Regiment was from the Prussian Rhine Province

Rhine Province

The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...

, the 259th Reserve Infantry Regiment was from the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, and the 260th Reserve Infantry Regiment was mainly from the Prussian Province of Hanover

Province of Hanover

The Province of Hanover was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946.During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, along with some other member states of the German Confederation...

, with troops from the Duchy of Brunswick

Duchy of Brunswick

Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...

 as well.

Combat chronicle

The 78th 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...

, seeing its first action 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...

. In May 1915, it participated in a raid into Lithuania and Courland. It later fought in the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive

Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive

The Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive during World War I started as a minor German offensive to relieve Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians to their south on the Eastern Front, but resulted in the total collapse of the Russian lines and their retreat far into Russia...

, and fought before Daugavpils

Daugavpils

Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...

 from September to November 1915. It remained in positional warfare before Daugavpils until April 1917, after which it 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...

. It fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne

Second Battle of the Aisne

The Second Battle of the Aisne , was the massive main assault of the French military's Nivelle Offensive or Chemin des Dames Offensive in 1917 during World War I....

, also called the Third Battle of Champagne (and called by the Germans the Double Battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne). It resisted the French offensive at Verdun in August and September 1917. In 1918, it fought in the Second Battle of the Marne

Second Battle of the Marne

The Second Battle of the Marne , or Battle of Reims was the last major German Spring Offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The German attack failed when an Allied counterattack led by France overwhelmed the Germans, inflicting severe casualties...

, including in the Battle of Château-Thierry. After fighting between the Marne and the Vesle

Vesle

The Vesle is the river on which the city of Reims stands. It is a fourth order river of France and a left-bank tributary of the Aisne River. It is 140 kilometres long, rises in the département of Marne through which it flows most of its course.-Geography:...

, the division was dissolved, with the remnants being distributed to other units. Allied intelligence rated the division as third class.

Order of battle on formation

The 78th Reserve Division, like the other divisions of its wave and unlike earlier 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 division on December 29, 1914 was as follows:

• 78.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 258
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 259
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 260
  • Reserve-Radfahrer-Kompanie Nr. 78
• Reserve-Kavallerie-Abteilung Nr. 78
• 78.Reserve-Feldartillerie-Brigade
  • Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 61
  • Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 62
• Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 80

Order of battle on January 4, 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 4, 1918 was as follows:

• 78.Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 258
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 259
  • Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 260
• 2.Eskadron/Husaren-Regiment Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn (Schleswig-Holsteinisches) Nr. 16
• Artillerie-Kommandeur 78
  • Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 62
  • Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 86 (from May 3, 1918)
• Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 378
  • Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 79
  • Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 80
  • Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 278
• Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 478