54th Reserve Division ( German Empire ) The 54th Reserve Division ( " 54 . Reserve - Division " ) was a unit of the Imperial German Army in World War I . The division was formed in September 1914 and organized over the next month , arriving in the line in October . It was part of the first wave of new divisions formed at the outset of World War I , which were numbered the 43rd through 54th Reserve Divisions . The division was initially part of XXVII Reserve Corps . The division was disbanded in September 1918 and its assets distributed to other units . The division was primarily raised in the Kingdom of Württemberg , but the division ' s 245th Reserve Infantry Regiment , 26th Reserve Jäger Battalion , and several support units were from the Kingdom of Saxony . These non - Württemberg elements were all transferred out of the division at various points , making the division all - Württemberg by early 1917 . Combat chronicle . The 54th Reserve Division fought on the Western Front , entering the line in mid - October , participating in the so - called Race to the Sea and fighting in the Battle of the Yser . The division then remained in the trenchlines along the Yser until April 1915 , when it entered the Second Battle of Ypres . After the battle the division remained in the line along the Yser into 1916 . After two months in aremy reserve in the winter of 1916 , the division returned to the trenchlines in the Flanders and Artois regions . It was engaged heavily in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 , and returned to the line in Flanders and the Artois until the end of the year . In December 1916 and January 1917 , it saw action at Verdun , and then went to the line in the Champagne region . In May 1917 , it fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne , also called the Third Battle of Champagne . The division went back to Verdun in August 1917 in response to the French offensive there . In late October , it went to Flanders and saw action in the Battle of Passchendaele , also called the Third Battle of Ypres . It remained in Flanders until March 1918 , and then participated in the German Spring Offensive , fighting in the First Battle of the Somme ( 1918 ) , also known as the Second Battle of the Somme ( to distinguish it from the 1916 battle ) . The division remained in the region and fought against the Allied offensive known as the Second Battle of the Somme ( 1918 ) , also known as the Third Battle of the Somme . Allied intelligence rated the division as second class . Order of battle on formation . The 54th Reserve Division was initially organized as a square division , with essentially the same organization as the reserve divisions formed on mobilization . The order of battle of the 54th Reserve Division on September 10 , 1914 was as follows : Order of battle on March 14 , 1918 . The 54th Reserve Division was triangularized in January 1917 , dissolving the 108th Reserve Infantry Brigade headquarters and sending the 245th Royal Saxon Reserve Infantry Regiment to the Saxon 192nd Infantry Division . Over the course of the war , other changes took place , including the formation of artillery and signals commands and the enlargement of combat engineer support to a full pioneer battalion . The order of battle on March 14 , 1918 was as follows :