1914.

Alsace-Lorraine.

The 30th Division constituted the 15th Army Corps (Strassburg) with the 39th Division.

1. At the beginning of the campaign the 30th Division formed a part of the 7th Army (Von Heeringen). Entraining on August 8, 1914, for Upper Alsace, it fought there until the 13th. It was transferred from there to south of Sarreburg and crossed the French frontier after the battle of the 20th. It advanced by way of Raon l’Étape across the Meurthe. At the beginning of September it was concentrated near Avricourt and went to Tergnier; from there to Craonne and Hurtebise. It fought there from the middle of September to the middle of October.

2. Concentrated at Laon on October 20, the 30th Division (as well as the 39th Division) arrived on the Lys on the 29th.

Flanders.

3. The 15th Army Corps, now a part of the 6th Army, went into action southeast of Ypres, an area in which it remained for almost 15 months (October, 1914-January. 1916).

1915.

Flanders.

1. Before our attacks of 1915, the 30th Division was attached, with the 15th Army Corps to the 4th Army. It went into action south of Ypres.

The 136th Infantry Regiment left it in April and became a part of the 115th Division (a new formation).

1916.

Verdun.

1. Toward the end of January, 1916, elements of the 30th Division were transferred to Verdun to take part in the February offensive.

2. On February 24 the 15th Army Corps, which was on the western wing of the German attacking forces, went into action on the front of Maucourt-Warcq.

3. The regiments of the 30th Division suffered slightly during this period, the battle having been less intense in the WoËvre. Only the 105th Infantry Regiment, in action as a reenforcement of the 3d Army Corps, suffered very heavy losses.

4. The 30th Division was not relieved after the battles of February and the beginning of March. It remained in the sector and, on July 11, the 99th and 143d Infantry Regiments took part in a new offensive. On August 8 the 143d Infantry Regiment attacked the works of Thiaumont and was decimated. At this time the regiments were filled from day to day by irregular replacements. (Between July 7 and 19 more than 136 men were sent to the 11th Company of the 99th Infantry Regiment.)

Somme.

5. About the end of September the 30th Division was relieved and sent to rest in the Cambrai area. It went into line a short time afterwards, on the Somme at Sailly Saillisel and remained there one month. It again lost very heavily (the 143d Infantry Regiment lost half of its effectives).

6. Relieved at the end of November, the 30th Division was sent back to the Verdun front.

Meuse.

7. After a rest near Dun sur Meuse, it went into line in the vicinity of the Mort Homme, then of the CÔte du Poivre and east of Louvemont (from Dec. 15 to the end of January, 1917) without taking part there in any important offensive or defensive engagement.

Champagne.

1. On March 1, 1917, it went into line in the sector east of Auberive and was still there at the time of our spring offensive in Champagne. It underwent this attack at the beginning of May and occupied the sector until the middle of August. During this time, between April 17–20 and the beginning of May, 1917, the losses of the 30th Division were very great. The effectives of the 105th Infantry Regiment were reduced to 400 men; this regiment had to be reorganized in the Argonne.

Meuse.

2. About August 25 the 30th Division was again transferred to the Meuse and occupied the trenches in the vicinity of Forges-Bethincourt, where its losses were slight.

Cambrai.

3. About October 24 the division was relieved. The British attack on the Cambrai front on November 20 caused it to be recalled in haste. It was sent into line on the 23d, and remained there until about December 10.

Champagne.

4. At rest in the Sedan area, it was sent to the Champagne front, northwest of Auberive, about the middle of January, 1918.

RECRUITING.

Of the three regiments of the division, one, the 105th Infantry Regiment, is Saxon. Stationed in Alsace since 1871, it has represented Saxony in the occupation of the Reichsland, and continues to draw its recruits from Saxony. The other two, Prussian, are composed mostly of Westphalians.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The 30th Division is a good division and well commanded.

The morale, which is good in the 99th and 143d Infantry Regiments, would seem to be mediocre in the 105th Infantry Regiment (Saxon) in November, 1917.

This last regiment, very much exhausted on April 17, 1917, was accused by the other regiments of having given way. It was withdrawn from the division for a month.

1918.

Champagne.

1. The middle of January the 30th Division relieved the 28th Reserve Division near Ville sur Tourbe; it was relieved about the 20th of March by the 52d Reserve Division, entrained near Vouziers and traveled via Hirson and Marle to the area northwest of Laon.

Montdidier.

2. On the 27th it left and marched via Achery-Vendeuil-Jussy-Flavy le Meldeux, Freniches-Libermont-Solente-Gruny, reaching Framicourt on the 12th of April, and entered line the following day south of Cantigny (west of Montdidier). It was withdrawn on May 16.

3. The division had suffered casualties amounting to 30 per cent of its total effectives, and so when it was withdrawn, it moved to the region south of Roye to refit. Here each company received between 40 and 50 1919-class recruits, after which the division was trained. On June 12 it reinforced the front near Courcelles (south of Montdidier). It suffered heavy losses in the fighting that followed, and was withdrawn about the 22d.

Champagne.

4. During the night of June 28–29 the division relieved the 1st Bavarian Division astride the Souain-Sommey road. It seems to have been “leap-frogged” by the 2d Bavarian Division on the 15th—the opening day of the Champagne offensive—but it relieved the 2d Bavarian Division on the 19th. It was relieved by the 22d Division on August 10, and went to rest in the Lens area.

Cambrai.

5. On the 23d of September it left and moved to the Cambrai area, where it arrived the following day. On the 27th it reenforced the battle front south of Villers Guislain (south of Cambrai). It was pushed back steadily in the ensuing weeks, and was withdrawn about the 28th of October, southeast of Englefontaine (south of Quesnoy), and went to rest in Maubeuge.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

Until this year the 30th had always been considered a first-class division. During 1918, however, it was not used nearly so much as other shock units. The fact that, although it was in line only a fortnight after more than a month’s rest, it was not used in the attack of July 15 in Champagne, but was put back into line as soon as it was seen that the offensive there was a failure, is significant. It would seem that the German High Command considered it as only a second-class division.