The division was formed in February 1917 from militia (
Landwehr) and reserve (
Ersatz) units in the area of the
XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps in
Dresden. It then went to the
Eastern Front in mid-March 1917, remained there after the end of the war and acted as a police and occupation force in
Lithuania.
1917 • March 13 – December 5 –
Static battle between
Nemunas-
Berezina-
Kreva-
Smarhon-
Narach lake-
Tverečius • 19–27 July – Defensive battle at Smarhon-Kreva • 6–17 December –
Ceasefire • From December 17 –
Armistice 1918 • Until February 18 – Armistice • February 18 – March 3 – pursuing battles through
Belarus • March 3 – November 15 – occupation of
Russian territory • From November 16 – occupation and security service in Lithuania and Belarus
1919 • Until 11 February – Occupation and security service in Lithuania On February 22, 1919, Lieutenant General
Walter von Eberhardt became the divisional commander. In April, the
South Lithuania Brigade (), a
Freikorps, was formed from the division's volunteers. It consisted of the 18th, 19th and 20th Volunteer Regiments, the 18th Volunteer Aviation Squadron and the 18th and 19th Volunteer Artillery
Abteilung and fought with Lithuanian troops against the invading
Red Army troops in the
Lithuanian–Soviet War. The last volunteers from the South Lithuania Brigade left Lithuania in July 1919. == Order of Battle ==