54th Reserve Division (German Empire) - Combat Chronicle

Combat Chronicle

The 54th Reserve Division fought on the Western Front, entering the line in mid-October, participating in the so-called Race to the Sea and fighting in the Battle of the Yser. The division then remained in the trenchlines along the Yser until April 1915, when it entered the Second Battle of Ypres. After the battle the division remained in the line along the Yser into 1916. After two months in aremy reserve in the winter of 1916, the division returned to the trenchlines in the Flanders and Artois regions. It was engaged heavily in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and returned to the line in Flanders and the Artois until the end of the year. In December 1916 and January 1917, it saw action at Verdun, and then went to the line in the Champagne region. In May 1917, it fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also called the Third Battle of Champagne. The division went back to Verdun in August 1917 in response to the French offensive there. In late October, it went to Flanders and saw action in the Battle of Passchendaele, also called the Third Battle of Ypres. It remained in Flanders until March 1918, and then participated in the German Spring Offensive, fighting in the First Battle of the Somme (1918), also known as the Second Battle of the Somme (to distinguish it from the 1916 battle). The division remained in the region and fought against the Allied offensive known as the Second Battle of the Somme (1918), also known as the Third Battle of the Somme. Allied intelligence rated the division as second class.