5th Royal Bavarian Division The 5th 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 October 1 , 1890 in Landau as the 5th Division and swapped division numbers with the Nuremberg - based 3rd Royal Bavarian Division in 1901 . 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 part of the III Royal Bavarian Army Corps . Combat chronicle . During World War I , the division served on the Western Front . It fought initially in the Battle of the Frontiers . It then served in the area between the Meuse and Moselle Rivers until October 1915 , seeing action on the Meuse heights by St . Mihiel and in the Bois - brulé , and then fought in the Second Battle of Champagne . After a brief period in reserve , the division went in the trenchlines in the Meuse - Moselle region until September 1916 , and then fought briefly in the Battle of the Somme , where it suffered heavy losses . From October 1916 into 1918 , the division occupied the trenchlines in Flanders and the Artois , and fought in the Battle of Arras and the Battle of Passchendaele . After a month in reserve , it went into the 1918 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 then remained on the defensive in the region until the end of the war , including fighting in the Second Battle of the Somme ( 1918 ) , also known as the Third Battle of the Somme . Allied intelligence rated the division as first class , although not one of the best Bavarian divisions . Pre – World War I peacetime organization . In 1914 , the peacetime organization of the 5th 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in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I , most divisional cavalry , including brigade headquarters , was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units .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 5th Bavarian Division was renamed the 5th Bavarian Infantry Division . The division ' s 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 5th Bavarian Infantry Division was triangularized in January 1917 , sending the 9th Bavarian Infantry Brigade headquarters and the 14th Bavarian Infantry Regiment to the newly formed 16th 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 20 , 1918 was as follows :