Recruitment
The division was composed primarily of troops from Schleswig-Holstein, the Hanseatic Cities, and the Mecklenburg grand duchies. The 31st Reserve Infantry Regiment was a Hanseatic regiment, primarily recruited in Hamburg and Bremen. The 84th and 86th Reserve Infantry Regiments were raised in Schleswig, with one battalion of the 84th Reserve Infantry Regiment raised in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The 90th Reserve Infantry Regiment was raised in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The 9th Reserve Jäger Battalion was raised in Lauenburg, a former duchy on the Baltic coast which had passed from Denmark to Prussia in 1864.
Read more about this topic: 18th Reserve Division (German Empire)