4th Royal Bavarian Division - Combat Chronicle

Combat Chronicle

The division fought against Prussia and its allies in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, seeing action at Roßdorf and Roßbrunn. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the division fought alongside the Prussians. It saw action in battles of Weissenburg, Wörth and Sedan, and in the Siege of Paris.

During World War I, the division served on the Western Front. It fought in the Battle of the Frontiers against French forces in the early stages, and then participated in the Race to the Sea, fighting along the Somme and in Flanders, including the First Battle of Ypres. It remained in the trenchlines in Flanders and the Artois, and fought in the Second Battle of Artois and the Battle of Loos in 1915. In 1916, the division fought in the Battle of the Somme. In 1917, the division fought in Flanders, including in the Battle of Messines and the Battle of Passchendaele. For most of 1918, the division remained in Flanders, fighting at Armentières, Kemmel, Hébuterne, and Monchy-Bapaume. Late in the year, the division went to the Champagne region, where it faced the Allied Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After more fighting along the Aisne and the Aire, the division was withdrawn from the line, and spent the last week of the war on border defense in southern Bavaria and Tyrol. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class and of the highest quality.