2nd Royal Bavarian Division The 2nd Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which 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 2nd Army Division between 1822 and 1848 , again between 1851 and 1859 , and again from 1869 to 1872 . It was called the 2nd Infantry Division from 1848 to 1851 ( as well as during wartime ) and was named the Augsburg General Command from 1859 to 1869 . From April 1 , 1872 until mobilization for World War I , it was the 2nd Division . In Bavarian sources , it was not generally referred to as a " Royal Bavarian " division , as this was considered self - evident , 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 Ingolstadt from 1815 to 1817 , in Regensburg from 1817 to 1822 , and in Augsburg from 1822 to 1919 , except for the period 1871 - 1873 , when it was part of the German occupation forces in France . The division was part of the I Royal Bavarian Army Corps . Combat chronicle . The division fought against Prussia in the Austro - Prussian War of 1866 , seeing action at Kissingen , Helmstadt and Roßbrunn . In the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 , the division fought alongside the Prussians . It saw action in battles of Beaumont and Sedan , the 1st and 2nd battles of Orleans , the battles of Loigny - Poupry and Beaugency - Cravant , 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 , fighting along the Somme . It remained in the trenchlines on the Somme until October 1915 , and then went into the line in Flanders and the Artois until May 1916 . In May 1916 , the division went into the Battle of Verdun . After Verdun , it fought in the later stages of the Battle of the Somme . In May 1917 , it fought in 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 ) . After a period in the reserve and in the trenchlines , it resisted the late 1917 French offensive at Verdun . In 1918 , the division 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 ) . It fought in the Second Battle of the Marne , both in the initial German offensive and the Allied counteroffensive . Thereafter , it resisted various Allied attacks until the end of the war . Allied intelligence rated the division as one of the very best German shock divisions . Pre - World War I peacetime organization . In 1914 , the peacetime organization of the 2nd 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 2nd Bavarian Division was renamed the 2nd 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 " ) . The 2nd Bavarian Infantry Division was triangularized in April 1915 , sending the 3rd Bavarian Infantry Regiment to the newly formed 11th Bavarian Infantry 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 World War I . The division ' s order of battle on April 9 , 1918 was as follows :