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 78th Reserve Division initially fought on the Eastern Front, seeing its first action in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes.
It remained in positional warfare before Daugavpils until April 1917, after which it was transferred to the Western Front.
After fighting between the Marne and the Vesle, the division was dissolved, with the remnants being distributed to other units.
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.