33rd Reserve Division (German Empire) - Combat Chronicle

Combat Chronicle

The 33rd Reserve Division began the war on the Western Front. It fought in the Battle of the Frontiers and advanced to the Verdun region. From September 1914 to August 1916, it occupied the line in the region between the Meuse and Moselle Rivers. In late 1916, it suffered heavy losses in the later phases of the 1916 Battle of Verdun. After a few months in the trenches in Lorraine, it went to the Chemin des Dames region and fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also known as the Third Battle of Champagne (and to the Germans as the Double Battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne), and again suffered heavy losses. In September 1917, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front, arriving shortly before the December armistice on that front. It returned to the Western Front in January 1918. It fought in several engagements, including the Aisne and the Champagne-Marne offensives against French and American forces, after which it was disbanded and its troops distributed to other divisions. Allied intelligence rated the division as a good division in 1917, but by 1918, before its dissolution, it was rated as fourth class.