The 233rd Reserve Infantry Regiment (later transferred to another division) was from the Thuringian states, mainly Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Saxe-Meiningen.
The 234th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the former Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau, and also included soldiers from the Principality of Waldeck.
It then took part in the Second Battle of Ypres, which involved the first large-scale use of poison gas in World War I.
It then returned to the line in the Champagne region and later fought from August to October against the French offensive at Verdun.
Over the course of the war, other changes took place, including the formation of artillery and signals commands and the enlargement of combat engineer support to a full pioneer battalion.