The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 1914[1] as part of the XII (Royal Saxon) Reserve Corps.
The division was raised in the Kingdom of Saxony and was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.
The 23rd Reserve Division fought on the Western Front, participating in the opening German offensive which led to the Allied Great Retreat and ended with the First Battle of the Marne.
The division then went to Latvia and after a few months of fighting occupied the area between the Daugava River and Lake Peipus.
It then participated in the 1918 German spring offensive and remained in the line in the Flanders area until the end of the war.