Königlich Bayerische Ersatz-Division (Royal Bavarian Ersatz Division) –
Forests of Manheulles, Fresnes, and Ville-en-Woëvre
North of the village of Manheulles, coming from the west, the largest contiguous forest area by surface area in the Woëvre Plain in front of the fortress belt around Verdun begins. It extends from the edge of the Côtes Lorraines to north of the village of Hennemont along today’s A 4 highway. The forest boundaries are still almost identical to those during the First World War.
Today, as already in wartime, only two roads lead through the large forest area, on the one hand the D 908 between Ville-en-Woëvre and Etain, and on the other hand the D 908 between Braquis in the south and Herméville-en-Woëvre in the north. This article describes the military-historical events and positions east of the D 908, that is, in the forest districts of Bois de Ville-en-Woëvre, Bois de Fresnes, and Bois de Manheulles.
At the beginning of the Battle of Verdun in February 1916, the German front line ran behind the forest area along the eastern bank of the Orne brook, roughly along the villages of Buzy, Boinville, and Warcq. The front sector was located at the intersection of Armee-Abteilung Strantz (Army Detachment Strantz) deployed in the St. Mihiel salient and the 5th Prussian Army (5th Army), here the XV. preußisches Armeekorps (XV Corps) under the command of the flamboyant General Berthold von Deimling .
Parts of the Königlich Bayerische Ersatz-Division (Royal Bavarian Ersatz Division), mainly the 4th and 15th Königlich-Bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment (4th and 15th Royal Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiments) as well as the Hessian Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment 81 (81st Hessian Landwehr Infantry Regiment), had been inserted into the German front between the 5. Landwehr-Division (5th Landwehr Division) and the XV. preußischen Armeekorps (XV Prussian Corps) starting February 24, 1916. The intended operational area was the large forest area north of the villages of Manheulles, Ville-en-Woëvre, and Hennemont, as well as the adjoining western sector of the Côtes Lorraines between the villages of Watronville and Haudiomont. Following the start of the offensive against Verdun and the initial successes, action was now to be taken here as well. Beginning February 26, 1916, the Bavarian units marched through the forest area evacuated by the French from the east, while the Hessian troops reached the Bois de Manheulles from the south on February 27, 1916.
To support the attack of the 5. Landwehr-Division on Manheulles and Fresnes-en-Woëvre, it was planned to attack westward from the Bois de Manheulles in the direction of the Côtes de Lorraine. The Bavarian units launched the attack in the direction of the villages of Ronvaux and Haudiomont. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment 81 joined to the south in the direction of Haudiomont.
The French had unexpectedly maintained a strong defense line between both localities and included the houses as well as the railway embankment running there in the positions. They had not withdrawn to the Côtes de Lorraine under the pressure of the Verdun Offensive conducted from the northeast, as the Germans had expected. Due to the rapid advance of the infantry, the German heavy artillery could not be brought up, so that the artillery preparation of the assault remained insufficient. The attack on Ronvaux and Haudiomont failed. The Bavarian and Hessian units suffered the heaviest losses. In view of massive French counterattacks, the German troops withdrew into the forest area north of Manheulles. Further losses occurred due to the devastating effect of the French artillery, so that Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment 81 (81st Landwehr Infantry Regiment) alone had to mourn over 30 dead or wounded officers as well as 1167 dead or wounded enlisted men and non-commissioned officers by the evening of March 1, 1916, after only three days of combat. A renewed German attack in this area did not take place.
In March 1916, work began to fortify the western part of the forest area with position systems, strongpoints, dugouts, wire entanglements, and outposts. The division’s order was to hold this position unconditionally. In addition, larger camp areas were established behind the front lines, incorporating former French camps, such as the well-known “Kaffernlager,” which contained mud huts built in the African style by Senegalese troops. Later, two additional fallback positions were added in the rear area of the forest. These defense systems were continuously reinforced from 1916 onward and through the following two years of war, and were supplemented by numerous concrete structures such as infantry dugouts, signaling stations, and machine gun strongpoints.
Following the attacks at the beginning of the Battle of Verdun, no major combat operations took place in the area, save for continuously heavy French artillery raids and mutual operations. Focus was placed on the construction of positions, with the French holding a significantly better position on the heights of the Côtes de Lorraine. The militarily and historically intense events until the departure of the troops of the Königlich Bayerische Ersatz-Division (Royal Bavarian Ersatz Division) from this front sector are described in detail in the two linked regimental histories of K.B. RIR 4 (4th Royal Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment) (until August 1916) and LIR 81 (81st Landwehr Infantry Regiment) (until October 1916). After the Bavarian units were withdrawn in August 1916, the Hessian LIR 81 initially took over the entire sector. It remained in the position until October 1916. Thereafter, various troops occupied the area, including units of the 113. Infanterie-Division (113th Infantry Division) and later contingents of the 8. Landwehr-Division (8th Landwehr Division). In the eastern part of the Bois de Ville-en-Woëvre, another fallback position was created during this period using numerous concrete structures. To the north, this connected to the main position running east of the central battlefield of Verdun. To the south, it formed the beginning of the Michel-Stellung, which—running as far as Pont-à-Mousson—had been established as a chord/holding position in the event of an evacuation of the St-Mihiel salient.
Today, apart from moderately discernible trenches, almost no remains can be identified of the forward positions in the western part of the Bois de Manheulles. In the eastern part, especially on the elevation la Grande Woëvre, and also in the districts of the forests of Fresnes, Ville-en-Woëvre, and Hennemont adjoining further to the east, many of the concrete structures built from 1916 onwards can still be found, such as signaling stations, observation, artillery, ammunition, and machine gun bunkers, as well as interesting remnants of positions. As was frequently the case, the naming of the installations was related to the units deployed there. Thus, the names of various officers of LIR 81 (81st Landwehr Infantry Regiment) can be found, such as those of the regimental and battalion commanders York, Rheinhard, Keßler, Kühn, and Schneider. In the area of the rear position line (C-position), place names from Frankfurt a.M., the regiment’s garrison town, were frequently used, such as Römer, Hirschgraben, Mitteldick, Schweinstiege, or Gehspitz.
Due to its extent, an exploration of the forest area should be carried out in several stages. The paths to be covered are long. Suitable starting points for tours in the eastern area are the parking lot created for the Herméville Forest circular trail west of the D 908 between Herméville and Braquis. For the western area, it is advisable, starting from Manheulles, to cross the A 4 highway via a paved agricultural road and park at the edge of the Bois de Manheulles forest.
were AI-edited (notice pursuant to Art. 50 Regulation (EU) 2024/1689).