The 16th Reserve Division fought on the Western Front, participating in the opening German offensive which led to the Allied Great Retreat, fighting at Sedan in late August 1914. It fought in the First Battle of the Marne. Thereafter, it remained in the line in the Champagne region and fought in the Second Battle of Champagne in September–October 1915. It fought on the Aisne until October 1916, and then joined the Battle of the Somme. Its next major engagement was the Second Battle of the Aisne, also called the Third Battle of Champagne (and by the Germans, the Double Battle on the Aisne and in the Champagne). In July 1917, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front. It remained on the Eastern Front until November 1917, and then returned to the Western Front. The division fought in the 1918 German spring offensive, and remained in the Flanders and Artois regions until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as second class in 1918.