the division began world war i fighting in the battle of the frontiers, and then fought in the race to the sea, culminating in the battle of the yser. the division remained on the yser front until january 1916, when it was transferred to the vicinity of verdun. it then fought in the battle of verdun and also saw action in the later phases of the battle of the somme. it spent the first half of 1917 in the trenches of the champagne and served in the second battle of the aisne, also known as the third battle of champagne (and to the germans as the double battle aisne-champagne). it then moved to flanders and saw action in the battle of passchendaele. in 1918, it fought in the german spring offensive and remained in the flanders region during the subsequent allied offensives. allied intelligence rated the division as second class.