Bavarian Ersatz Division ( German Empire ) The Bavarian Ersatz Division ( " Bayerische Ersatz Division " ) was a division of the Imperial German Army in World War I . It was formed in August 1914 and dissolved in 1919 in the demobilization , which followed the Armistice that ended the war . It was initially an all - Bavarian formation , but soon received several non - Bavarian units which served with the division until 1917 . Combat narrative . The division first saw action in 1914 in the Battle of the Frontiers , including the battles before Nancy and Epinal . The division participated in the Race to the Sea , and then settled into trenchline duty . The divisional commander , General der Infanterie Eugen Ritter von Benzino , was killed in action on November 28 , 1915 . In 1916 , the division entered into the Battle of Verdun and fought on the Somme in October . The division also was engaged in 1917 in the Second Battle of the Aisne , also called the Third Battle of Champagne and referred to in German sources as the Dual Battle of Aisne - Champagne ( " Doppelschlacht Aisne - Champagne " ) . After a short spell in the trenches near Verdun , in the latter part of 1917 , the division was sent to Flanders in response to the Allied offensive there . In October 1917 , the division went to the Romanian Front and then to Ukraine after the armistice in Romania . It returned to the Western Front in April 1918 , occupying the line near Verdun and then Reims , and then engaged in mobile defense . It ended the war facing Allied forces in the Hundred Days Offensive . The division was rated as a third class division by Allied intelligence . Formation and organization on mobilization . On mobilization , the Bavarian Army formed twelve Brigade Replacement Battalions ( " Brigade - Ersatz - Bataillone " ) by grouping companies taken from the replacement , or " Ersatz " , battalion of each infantry regiment . These battalions were then formed them into three mixed brigades of four battalions each , together with " Ersatz " cavalry , artillery and engineer units , which were formed from the replacement detachments and companies of the cavalry and artillery regiments and the engineer battalions . The order of battle of the Bavarian Ersatz Division on mobilization , was as follows : Organizational changes and late - war organization . The 5th Mixed Replacement Brigade ( " 5 . gemischte Ersatz - Brigade " ) was transferred to the 30th Reserve Division on August 17 , 1914 . On October 3 , 1914 , the other two brigades , the 1st and 9th Mixed Replacement Brigades , were redesignated as the 1st and 9th Replacement Brigades and their cavalry , artillery and engineer units were moved to division level . Three battalions from each brigade were reorganized into Kgl . Bayer . Ersatz - Infanterie - Regiment Nr . 1 ( 1st Replacement Brigade ) and Kgl . Bayer . Ersatz - Infanterie - Regiment Nr . 3 ( 9th Replacement Brigade ) . The two regiments were transferred to " Division von Rekowski " ( which later became the 39th Reserve Division ) . Kgl . Bayer . Ersatz - Infanterie - Regiment Nr . 2 was formed from two battalions of the 5th Mixed Replacement Brigade as well as troops drawn from elsewhere in the Bavarian Army ; it was attached to the Bavarian Ersatz Division . On November 22 , 1914 , the 59th Replacement Infantry Brigade ( " Ersatz - Infanterie - Brigade " ) , a non - Bavarian unit , was renamed the 59th " Landwehr " Infantry Brigade ( " 59 . Landwehr - Infanterie - Brigade " ) and attached to the Bavarian Ersatz Division ( this brigade was reassigned to the 199th Infantry Division on January 15 , 1917 ) . The 3rd Royal Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade ( " 3 . Kgl . Bayer . Reserve - Infanterie - Brigade " ) , with three reserve infantry regiments , also joined the division in late 1914 , effectively making the division a reinforced reserve and Landwehr division , and an Ersatz division in name only . The organization of the division on April 7 , 1918 was as follows :