[2] The division was a composite division, formed from 14 brigade replacement battalions (Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillone) from the Kingdom of Württemberg, the Grand Duchy of Hesse, the Rhine Province, the Province of Hesse-Nassau and the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine.
Thus, collectively, the 12 brigade replacement battalions represented troop contributions from 30 different infantry regiments.
Four brigade replacement battalions were from the Kingdom of Württemberg; two were from the Grand Duchy of Hesse; four were from the Prussian Rhine Province; two were from the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau (one with troops from the former Duchy of Nassau, the other from the former Electorate of Hesse); and two from the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine.
The infantry units were augmented with cavalry, artillery and combat engineers, also drawn from Ersatz formations.
From September 1914 to October 1916, it was in the trenchlines and fought in the region between the Meuse and Moselle Rivers, especially in an area known as the Priest's Forest (German: Priesterwald, French: Bois Le Prêtre).