1st Royal Bavarian Division The 1st Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army that served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army . The division was formed on November 27 , 1815 as the Infantry Division of the Munich General Command ( " Infanterie - Division des Generalkommandos München . " ) . It was called the 1st Army Division between 1822 and 1848 , again between 1851 and 1859 , and again from 1869 to 1872 . It was called the 1st Infantry Division from 1848 to 1851 ( as well as during wartime ) and was named the Munich General Command from 1859 to 1869 . From April 1 , 1872 until mobilization for World War I , it was the 1st Division . Within Bavaria , it was not generally referred to as a " Royal Bavarian " division , but outside Bavaria , this designation was used for it , and other Bavarian units , to distinguish them from similarly numbered Prussian units . The division was headquartered in Munich from 1815 to 1919 . The division was part of the 1st Royal Bavarian Army Corps . The division fought against Prussia in the Austro - Prussian War of 1866 . In the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 , the division fought alongside the Prussians . It saw action in battles of Wörth , Beaumont , and Sedan , the 1st and 2nd battles of Orleans , the battle of Loigny - Poupry , and the siege of Paris . During World War I , the division served on the Western Front . It fought in the Battle of the Frontiers against French forces in the early stages , and then participated in the Race to the Sea . Thereafter , it remained on the northern part of the front facing the British Army through 1915 and early 1916 . The Infantry Life Regiment was transferred from the division in 1915 to become part of a provisional German mountain division , the Alpenkorps , sent to the Italian Front . In 1916 , the division went into the Battle of Verdun . After Verdun , it went to the Somme in that battle ' s later stages . 1917 was spent mainly occupying the trench lines . In 1918 , the division participated in the Spring Offensive . The division was generally rated one of the better German divisions by Allied intelligence . Pre - World War I peacetime organization . In 1914 , the peacetime organization of the 1st Royal Bavarian Division was as follows : Order of battle on mobilization . On mobilization , in August 1914 , at the beginning of World War I , most divisional cavalry , including brigade headquarters , was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units . Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from their higher headquarters . The 1st Division was renamed the 1st Bavarian Infantry Division . Its initial wartime organization ( major units ) was as follows : Late World War I organization . Divisions underwent many changes during the war , with regiments moving from division to division , and some being destroyed and rebuilt . During the war , most divisions became triangular - one infantry brigade with three infantry regiments rather than two infantry brigades of two regiments ( a " square division " ) . An artillery commander replaced the artillery brigade headquarters , the cavalry was further reduced , and the engineer contingent was increased . Divisional signals commanders were established to better control communications , a major problem in coordinating infantry and artillery operations during the war . The division ' s order of battle on March 21 , 1918 was as follows :