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 80th Reserve Division initially fought on the Eastern Front, seeing its first action in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes.
From October 1915 to December 1916, the division was engaged in positional warfare, and fought in battles along Lake Narach, after which it was transferred to the Western Front.
It was in reserve and then engaged in positional warfare in Flanders and the Artois until April 1917, when it fought in the Battle of Arras.
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.