The division was formed at the end of December 1914 and organized over the next month, arriving in the line in early February 1915.
The division was primarily raised in the XVIII and XI Corps areas and was relatively mixed.
The 253rd Reserve Infantry Regiment included troops from the Grand Duchy of Hesse and Hesse-Nassau.
It saw action in the Second Battle of the Marne and resisted the Allies' Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne and Meuse-Argonne Offensives.
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.