Meuse.

1. At the outbreak of the war the 34th Division marched with the 5th Army (German Crown Prince), entered France on August 21, by Audun le Roman and by way of Nouillon Pont, and reached the Meuse, which it crossed at Vilosnes and Sivry on September 1. It advanced as far as BeauzÉe and Seraucourt.

Argonne.

2. After the battle of the Marne it retired to the north and took up its position in the Argonne.

1915.

Argonne.

1. The 54th Division remained in the Argonne without interruption from September, 1914, until about August 15, 1916. It took part there in the offensives of January and July, 1915, where it suffered heavy losses. On January 18, 1915, the 30th Infantry Regiment had already lost 56 officers and 2,723 men. (Official List of Casualties.)

2. After these violent battles, it received fairly large replacements. The division suffered no serious losses in this sector during the period which followed these engagements until its relief on Aug. 15, 1916.

1916.

Verdun.

1. On this date the 34th Division was transferred to the right bank of the Meuse at Verdun.

2. It went into action in the Chiaumont sector at the end of August, 1916, and during the month of September, took part in some very severe battles in this vicinity.

3. On September 20, its losses were very great because of our attack. The regiments of the 34th Division again lost heavily in the course of our offensive of October 24, which succeeded in recapturing the Douaumont Fort and the Thiaumont Works; on that day, their resistance was rather weak. The 67th Infantry Regiment received about 71 men for its 8th Company in the week of October 28-November 5.

Vosges.

4. On October 29 the 34th Division was relieved. Beginning with November 14, it occupied a calm sector in the Vosges, southwest of Senones. At this time it received fairly large replacements. The 173d Infantry Regiment was transferred to the 223d Division, a new formation.

1917.

Argonne.

1. At the beginning of February, 1917, the division returned to the Argonne. It remained there a short time. In the middle of March, it was relieved and transferred to the region north of Rheims (beginning of April).

Champagne.

2. Immediately after our offensive of April 16, the 67th and 30th Infantry Regiments went into action in the vicinity of Brimont, while the 145th Infantry Regiment was sent to Cornillet as a reenforcement from April 18 to 20.

3. About April 25, the 34th Division was again concentrated in the Brimont sector, where it relieved the 43d Reserve Division.

4. About the middle of June it extended its sector to include the stretch from the Champ du Seigneur to the Verrerie of Courcy. During the attacks of April the division suffered very heavy losses; the 145th Infantry Regiment lost about one-third of its effectives.

Flanders.

5. On July 21 the 34th Division was relieved from the Rheims front and sent to Flanders on August 7. It remained in reserve in the vicinity of Dadizeele until August 12. It then went into action near the Ypres-Menin road, where it had heavy losses.

Woevre.

6. On August 24, it left this front for La Haye, where it went into line southeast of Thiaucourt (vicinity of Flirey) and remained until October 31.

Cambrai.

7. At the beginning of November, it was in the vicinity of Cambrai. It took part in the German counterattack of November 30.

Laonnois.

8. After a rest in December, the 34th Division occupied the sector of Crandelain, on the Ailette, until January 7, 1918.

RECRUITING.

Because of the difficulty of recruiting in its own corps district (Lorraine), the 34th Division is composed mostly of Westphalians and men from the Rhine Province. The name of “Magdeburg” given to the 67th Infantry Regiment has only a historic value.

The men, as a rule, belong to the classes of 1912 to 1918.

The replacements received by the division in Lorraine (September, 1917) brought in an undetermined number of men more than 25 years of age, especially those of the Landsturm of about 30 years of age, withdrawn from the Russian front and trained for a while in a depot in the interior.

VALUE—1917 ESTIMATE.

The 34th Division was one of the good Divisions of the German Army. Nevertheless, at the time of our attack upon Thiamont on October 24, 1916, it had a period of genuine weakness.

Its attitude in the Brimont sector in April and May, 1917, was such that it must still be classed among the good divisions.

At Ypres, in August, 1917, charged with the defense of one of the most important sectors, it did not realize the hopes of the German High Command.

According to the interrogation of a prisoner (February, 1918), the 34th Division is a shock division destined to attack.

1918.

Laon.

1. Early in January the division which had been resting near Laon, relieved the 3d Bavarian Division near Courtecon (south of Laon); withdrawn toward the end of February, it went to rest near Liesse (northeast of Laon), where it remained until March 15.

Picardy.

2. Then it marched toward the front via Marcy (west of Marle) and Ribemont. On the 21st it entered line south of St. Quentin, took Benay, which was its objective, crossed the canal, and took Jussy on the 23d. It continued its advance as far as Pontoise (southeast of Noyon). It was withdrawn on April 2, after having lost 50 per cent of its total effectives, and went to rest in the area southeast of Roye. While here it received 1,000 replacements.

3. On the 10th, it came back into line south of Guiscard (north of Noyon). It was withdrawn about the 20th, the 50th Division taking over its sector.

4. After spending about 10 days near Beaumont en Beine (southeast of Ham) training in close and open order and in rifle practice, the division relieved the 223d Division south of Appilly (east of Noyon) on May 1. On the 15th, it received 15 replacements per company. It was relieved by the 9th Bavarian Reserve Division on the 20th, and went to rest, first in the region east of Chauny, and then in the St. Gobain forest (south of La FÈre).

Aisne.

5. After having been in reserve four days near Pernant (west of Soissons), the division reenforced the front near Ambleny (west of Soissons) on June 12, attacking, the same day, with the Coeuvres-Vic sur Aisne road as its objective. It could make no headway at all, and suffered losses of about 30 per cent of its strength. It was withdrawn about the 6th of July.

6. On the 19th, it came back into line near Vauxbuin (southwest of Soissons), and was withdrawn on the 22d after suffering severely; over 300 in prisoners alone. It went to rest in the Guise area; later, it moved to the vicinity of Coucy le ChÂteau. While here, it received as a draft the dissolved 67th Reserve Regiment (33d Reserve Division disbanded).

Ailette.

7. The division reenforced the front near Cuts (southeast of Noyon) on August 15. It was withdrawn on September 25.

St. Quentin.

8. It entrained the same day north of St. Gobain, and detrained in the St. Bohain region the next day; it rested here for two days, and was transported by truck to St. Quentin on the 28th. The following day, it relieved the 221st Division southwest of that town. On the 30th, it was forced to relinquish St. Quentin to the French. It continued to withdraw, but fighting stubbornly, and was relieved on the 9th of October near Fontaine-Uterte (northeast of St. Quentin). It rested for a week between Avesnes and Maubeuge.

Guise.

9. It moved to the Petit Verly-Grougis region (northwest of Guise) on the 17th, in support of the 81st Reserve Division, but that unit being placed hors de combat by the attack of the 18th, the 34th Division found itself in the front line, and even lost nearly 100 prisoners. It was relieved on the 23d after losing nearly 700 more prisoners. It then rested about a week in the Vervins region.

10. On November 1, it returned to line near Puisieux (south of Guise), and withdrew along the line Marly, Romery, Sommeron. It was still in line on the 11th.

VALUE—1918 ESTIMATE.

The 34th has always been considered as one of the best second-class divisions. As a result, however, of its heavy losses during the spring, it contained large numbers of boys of the 1919 class. Having been engaged without rest from the middle of August until the end of the war, it was reduced to the point where it has less than 1,000 effectives left. In all probability, it would soon have been dissolved had the war continued.