[1] The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 1914[2] as part of I Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps.
The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.
As a reserve division, it included many recalled reservists and war volunteers.
The 1st Bavarian Reserve Division fought in the opening phases of the war in the Battle of the Frontiers.
It remained in the trenchlines in Flanders until 1916, when it entered the Battle of the Somme in August 1916.