Lorraine.

1. At the beginning of the war the 31st Division was a part of the 6th Army (Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria). In August, 1914, it was on the Lorraine frontier; on the 12th of August at Chateau Salins, Rechicourt. It fought at Dieuze on August 20, where the 174th Infantry Regiment lost half of its effectives. The division was at Luneville on the 23d, marched upon Rehainviller, Gerbeviller on the 24th; at Rozelieure Essey on the 26th; in the vicinity of Moyen-Domptail at the beginning of September; it withdrew to Dieuze about September 11.

Somme.

2. Transferred to the vicinity of St. Quentin-Vermand, about September 18, the division occupied the vicinity of Fouquescourt on September 26 and 27; attacked in the direction of Bouchoir on October 6. At the end of October the division took over the front of Fouquescourt-Chaulnes and kept it until the end of January, 1915. At this date the losses of the 174th Infantry Regiment, since the beginning of the war, amounted to 81 officers and 3,521 men. (Official List of Casualties.)

1915.

Russia.

1. About January 25, 1915, the 31st Division left the Somme for the Eastern Front, leaving the 60th Infantry Regiment in France, and detrained at Tilsit.

2. Concentrated in Eastern Prussia, at the beginning of February, it was a part of the Hindenburg Army.

3. On February 14 it left the region of Augustowo to advance to the east. It reached Sopockin on the 20th and took up its position with the 21st Army Corps on the line Sopockin-Chatbine (north of Grodno). On the 9th of March, in a counterattack of the Russians, it suffered heavy losses.

4. From March 29 to April 24 it took part in the battles in the vicinity Kalwaria-Mariampol.

5. At the end of April it was withdrawn from the front and reorganized. From the time of its arrival in Russia until April 10, the first battalion of the 166th Infantry Regiment had lost 17 officers and 1,022 men, the 1st Company alone losing 5 officers and 336 men.

6. At the end of July the division again occupied the lines near Mariampol.

Vilna.

7. In the month of August it took part in the offensive upon Vilna. It advanced to Kovno on August 19, to Vilna at the end of September, and reached the area Smorgoni-Soly, where it stopped in October.

8. The division was relieved on October 6. It went back into line about October 24, in the sector of Postawy-Lake Narotch.

Narotch.

1. The 31st Division occupied the vicinity of Lake Narotch until its departure for the Western Front in December, 1917.

2. At the end of March, 1916, it opposed the Russian offensive in the vicinity of this lake; it lost very heavily.

Belgium.

1. On December 5, 1917, it was relieved from the Russian front, and after a few days rest at Vilna entrained for Belgium on December 16. (Itinerary: Wirballen-Koenigsberg-Elbing-Dirschau-Ramberg (?) Aix la Chapelle-Verviers.) It detrained about the 21st, in the vicinity of Ghent and took up its position at the end of January, 1918 south of the Ypres-Roulers line where it alternated with the 12th Reserve Division.

RECRUITING.

The 31st Division is recruited mostly from the vicinity of Sarrebrucken and St. Wendel in the Rhine Province. Most of the replacements are furnished by Westphalia.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The 31st Division was on the Russian front from February, 1915 to December 1917. The quality is mediocre.

1918.

Ypres.

1. From January 19 to February 4 the division held the Moorslede sector (south of Ypres-Roulers railway). The division rested until the 14th in the vicinity of Lendelede. It relieved the 12th Reserve Division on the 14th in its old sector at Moorslede which it held until March 3, and again from March 21 until April 4.

Battle of the Lys.

2. About April 4 the division was withdrawn and marched to the Messines front. The route lay through Menin, Werwicq, Comines, Warneton. It was engaged on April 10 to 12 in the Bois de Ploegsteert. For its fighting in this area the division was mentioned by the German communique of April 13. From the 12th to the 17th, it was in second line. It fought south and southwest of Kemmel from April 18 to 24 when it passed into close support until the 26th. The division’s losses were large in this severe engagement. The 3d Battalion of the 174th Regiment is known to have lost from 60 to 70 per cent of its effectives.

3. When relieved in the Kemmel area, the division rested north of Tourcoing until May 6, undergoing reconstitution. It returned to line north of Kemmel on the night of May 6–7, relieving the Alpine Corps. It suffered heavily from the French attack of May 21, losing many prisoners. It was relieved on May 24, and rested in the Courtrai-Menin area until June 15. It was engaged in the sector south of Ypres from June 15 until July 27.

Woevre.

4. Following its arduous service on the Ypres front, the division was moved to a quiet sector on the Woevre. It was moved from Belgium by way of Brussels, Namur, Charleville, Sedan to Mars la Tour from where it marched to the front and took over the St. Mihiel sector on July 29, which it held until September 3.

Battle of St. Mihiel.

5. The division was resting in the area north of Dampvitoux when the American attack was made on the St. Mihiel salient. It was brought into line north of Thiaucourt on the 14th and held this sector until October 28.

Meuse-Argonne.

6. On the 31st, the division was engaged at Imecourt (northeast of Grandpre) and took part in the final combats in that area. It was still in line on November 11.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The division was rated as third class. In spite of its relatively low quality it appears to have been used as an attack division in the Lys offensive. The losses in the spring and the presence of numerous Lorrainers in its composition lowered the value of the division after May, 1918.