3rd Royal Bavarian Division The 3rd 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 an Infantry Division of the Würzburg General Command ( " Infanterie - Division des Generalkommandos Würzburg " ) . It was called the 3rd Army Division between 1822 and 1848 , again between 1851 and 1859 , and again from 1869 to 1872 . It was called the 3rd Infantry Division from 1848 to 1851 ( as well as during wartime ) and was named the Nuremberg General Command from 1859 to 1869 . From April 1 , 1872 until mobilization for World War I , it was the 3rd Division . In 1901 , it had swapped division numbers with the 5th 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 Nuremberg from 1815 to 1843 , in Ansbach from 1843 to 1848 , and then again in Nuremberg until 1901 , when after the renumbering of divisions , it became the 3rd Division in Landau and the division in Nuremberg became the 5th Division . The division was part of the II Royal Bavarian Army Corps . Combat chronicle . The division fought against Prussia in the Austro - Prussian War of 1866 , seeing action at Zella , Kissingen , and Helmstadt . In the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 - 71 , the division fought alongside the Prussians . It saw action in battles of Wörth and Sedan , and in 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 and in Flanders , including the First Battle of Ypres . It remained in the trenchlines in Flanders and the Artois , and fought in the Second Battle of Artois and the Battle of Loos . In 1916 , the division fought in the Battle of the Somme . In 1917 , the division fought in the Battle of Arras and the Battle of Messines , after which it went to the trenchlines in Verdun and Lorraine to rest . After several months in the line north of the Ailette River , 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 ) . In the subsequent Allied counteroffensives known as the Hundred Days Offensive , the division fought in the Battle of Amiens and the Second Battle of the Somme ( 1918 ) , also known as the Third Battle of the Somme . Thereafter , it remained in the line and resisted various Allied attacks until the end of the war . Allied intelligence rated the division as one of the best German divisions . Order of battle in the Franco - Prussian War . The order of battle at the outset of the Franco - Prussian War was as follows : Pre - World War I peacetime organization . In 1914 , the peacetime organization of the 3rd 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 3rd Bavarian Division was renamed the 3rd 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 3rd Bavarian Infantry Division was triangularized in April 1915 , sending the 22nd 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 March 31 , 1918 was as follows :