2. Temporarily detaching the 25th Infantry Regiment (Aix la Chapelle) from the corps at the siege at Liege, the 15th Division entered, on August 6, into Luxemburg, where it had been preceded by the 16th Division (Treves). It entered into Belgian Luxemburg on the 19th and 20th of August. Went into action on the 22d and 23d—Porcheresse, Graid, BiÈvre—and entered France on the 26th. While the 29th Brigade was crossing the Meuse at Sedan the 80th entered at Mezieres. Again uniting on the 30th, the 15th Division went through Champagne by way of Somme Py and Suippes and took part in the battle of the Marne at Vitry le Francois. It then withdrew to Souain and Perthes, where it remained as a whole until November.

Champagne.

3. At this time the 29th Brigade was taken to the Ypres front until the end of December, at which date it went to the south of Alsace, making a part of the combined division of Fuchs. The separation of the two brigades lasted until May, 1915. The 29th Brigade lost heavily in Alsace, where the 25th Infantry Regiment was reduced to 600 men on March 26, 1915 (soldier’s notebook).

1915.

1. The 15th Division, in which the 29th Brigade was temporarily replaced by the 1st Bavarian Landwehr Brigade, remained in Champagne until the beginning of April, 1915. At that date it went to reenforce the 3d Bavarian Corps near St. Mihiel in the Ailly wood.

Artois.

2. At the end of May the 15th Division again had both its brigades (29th and 80th) and went into action at Artois until the middle of June. It suffered heavy losses. The 161st Infantry Regiment lost 31 officers and 1,653 men (official list of casualties).

Aisne.

3. From June, 1915, until June, 1916, the 15th Division occupied various sectors of the Aisne: Vailly-Pommiers (end of July), Nouvron (September), Ste. Marguerite-Bucy le Long (October).

1916.

Somme.

1. July, 1916, the 15th Division was transferred to the Somme. It took part in the battle and participated in the attack at Biaches, where it suffered heavy losses.

2. At the end of August it again took over its sector, St. Marguerite-Bucy le Long. Its composition was modified by the temporary loss of the 160th Infantry Regiment, sent to the combined division of Dumrath (August), by the definite transfer of the 65th Infantry Regiment and the 161st Infantry Regiment to the 185th Division, and of the 25th Infantry Regiment to the 208th Division.

3. At the beginning of October it had received in exchange for the regiments transferred the 186th Infantry Regiment (temporarily) and the 389th Infantry Regiment, a new formation (men taken from various Rhine regiments), and received the 160th Infantry Regiment again (the Dumrath Division having been dissolved). It reappeared on the Somme front (Sailly-Saillisel), where it again suffered heavy losses.

4. At the end of October it returned to the Aisne and occupied the sectors of Nuvron-Moulin sous Touvent. It was reorganized finally in November and received its definitive composition.

Russia.

5. About the middle of November the 15th Division was withdrawn from the front, entrained after a few days’ rest, and transferred to the Eastern Front. It went into line north of Kisselin.

1917.

1. In February, 1917, the division was in Transylvania (upper valley of the Olta).

2. In April it was in reserve at Vladimir-Volynski.

France.

3. Transferred to the French front (entrained at Kovel, detrained at Vigneulles, at the end of April), the division occupied the sector of Vaux les Palameix (Meuse).

Californie Plateau.

4. At the end of May it was relieved and sent (night of May 29–30) to the Vauclerc Plateau and the Californie Plateau. On June 2 and 3 it took part in the violent attack upon these plateaus. It renewed these attacks upon July 3 and again suffered heavy losses.

Lorraine.

5. The division was relieved on the night of July 8–9 and then sent to the Lys area, from which it was transferred into the zone Richecourt-Avricourt. It was put in line (July 15) near Blamont.

Flanders.

6. It was relieved about September 4, sent to rest in the Verdun area, and transferred to Belgium on October 7, where it was in action and suffered heavily on the Ypres front (north of the Ypres-Menin road) until November 13.

7. The division was then sent to the rear (area of Bruges-Knocke).

8. It again went into line east of Ypres about December 18 (east of Passchendaele). In the middle of January, 1918, it was withdrawn from this sector and sent to the Bruges area.

RECRUITING.

The 15th Division is easily recruited from the populous districts of the Rhine Provinces. In case of heavy losses and urgent necessity for reenforcements, the need has been felt for having recourse to the rest of the Rhine country in the widest sense of the word, that is to say, Rhenish Hessia and the Grand Duchy of Baden, in return for reenforcements sent elsewhere. The frequence of the relation and the community of interests which unites these regions assures the 15th Division, under all circumstances, the advantages of regional homogeneity.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The 15th Division, in spite of the lack of success of its efforts, has given the impression of being a good division.

On June 2 and 3, 1917, the 69th Infantry Regiment and the 389th Infantry Regiment, attacked vigorously upon the casemates and Californie Plateaus. The 389th Infantry Regiment, especially, showed a great deal of dash in the course of these actions (July, 1917).

The division is composed, for the most part, of young and well trained elements; it has the experience gained from a very active sector (September, 1917).

Belgium.

1. The division relieved the 25th Division east of Passchendaele on February 10 and occupied the sector until February 20–25 when it moved south and took over the Zonnebeke sector from the 31st Division. About March 21, it was relieved by the 39th Division. It entrained at Muelebeke on the 23d and detrained at Mons en Pevele (north of Douai). From there it went by marches to Cambrai (31st), Sailly Saillisel, Bray sur Somme and Suzanne, and Caix (Apr. 7–12).

Picardy.

2. On April 12 it was engaged in the Bois Senecat, northwest of Moreuil. During the French attack of the 18th the division lost 700 prisoners. It was relieved about April 22.

3. It rested until mid-May near Busigny. The 389th Regiment is known to have received 600 men as a draft at this time. On May 18, the division returned to line near Castel, and was engaged until May 22.

4. It rested in the Somme area (at Rosieres en Santerse June 1, and Peronne on the 9th), until June 17 when it came into line before Moreuil. It suffered heavy losses during the French attack of the 17th but continued in line until the 26th. It rested east of Roye in June and from the 3d to the 5th of July was in reserve south of Blerancourt.

Battle of the Oise-Aisne.

5. The division was engaged in the Nampcel-Autreches sector from July 5 until August 22. It was pushed back to Caisnes (Aug. 18) and as a result of the French attack lost 1,880 prisoners.

6. The division was moved to rest at Damvillers north of Verdun in early September. On the 26th it left that place and marched to Flabas, east of the Meuse.

Meuse-Argonne.

7. On September 26 the division was in line in the Bois des Caures. It continued to hold a sector in the region until the armistice. The last identification was northwest of Ornes on November 10.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The division was rated as second class. Its heavy losses at Moreuil in June and the ravages of the grippe in the summer lowered the morale. On the other hand, a document of October 4 indicated that the division had been congratulated by the Kaiser for its “heroic conduct.”