159th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

Last updated
Division No. 159
159th Division
159th Reserve Division
159th Infantry Division
German: Division Nr. 159
159. Division
159. Reserve-Division
159. Infanterie-Division
ActiveAugust 1939 – February 1945
CountryFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Branch Army (Wehrmacht)
Type Infantry
Size Division
Engagements Case Anton, 1942
Operation Nordwind, 1945
Colmar Pocket, 1945
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Hermann Meyer-Rabingen
Friedrich-Wilhelm Dernen

The 159th Infantry Division (German : 159. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. The unit, at times designated Commander of Reserve Troops IX (German: Kommandeur der Ersatztruppen IX), 159th Division (German: 159. Division), Division No. 159 (German: Division Nr. 159), and 159th Reserve Division (German: 159. Reserve-Division), was active between 1939 and 1945.

Contents

History

Previous formations

The Commander of Reserve Troops IX was formed in Kassel as part of German general mobilization on 26 August 1939. [1] Its initial purpose was to form a command staff for reserve units in the ninth Wehrkreis (military district). This military district was headquartered in Kassel and included most of Hesse as well as parts of Thuringia. The 159th Division was formed as a result of the redesignation of the Commander of Reserve Troops IX on 9 November 1939. The 159th Division was redesignated Division No. 159 on 1 January 1940. The division was deployed from Kassel to Frankfurt am Main on 11 January 1940. [2]

159th Reserve Division

The Division No. 159 was split in two as a result of the restructuring of the Replacement Army on 1 October 1942. While one part of the division became the 189th Reserve Division, the rest retained the ordinal number 159 and became the 159th Reserve Division. [2] Subsequently, it was made ready for its first deployment outside of Germany. [1]

The division was placed under the supervision of the LXVI Army Corps and deployed to Bourg in France. The division consisted of the Reserve Infantry Regiments 214 (nicknamed Brunhilde, infantry battalions 106, 367, 388) and 251 (infantry battalions 36, 81, 205, 471). The Brunhilde Reserve Infantry Regiment 214, now designated Grenadier Regiment 870, was soon passed to the 356th Infantry Division. In turn, the 159th Reserve Division received the Reserve Grenadier Regiment 9 from the 189th Reserve Division. [2] In November 1942, the 159th Reserve Division, which now consisted of the Reserve Grenadier Regiments 9, 52 and 251, participated in Case Anton, the de facto annexation of Vichy France by Germany. [1]

In December 1943, the 159th Reserve Division consisted of the following units: [2]

159th Infantry Division

On 9 October 1944, the army command of the 19th Army ordered the remainders of the 159th Reserve Division reorganized into an infantry division of the 32nd Aufstellungswelle . [2]

The planned composition for the 159th Infantry Division in October 1944 consisted of the following units: [2]

This planned strength was never fully realized, as the retreat from France resulted in constant attrition and combat losses. Furthermore, the Regiment 1211 was not fully deployed until January 1945, weeks before the division's destruction. [2]

The 159th Infantry Division, which had participated in Operation Nordwind in January 1945, was trapped in the Colmar Pocket starting on 20 January and destroyed by early February. [2]

Superior formations

Between February 1943 and March 1945, the 159th Reserve Division and 159th Reserve Infantry Division were subordinate to the following formations: [2]

159th Reserve Division

159th Infantry Division

Noteworthy individuals

Related Research Articles

The German 206th Infantry Division, was a military unit that served during World War II. Like most German infantry units it had no motorization, and relied on leg and horse mobility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">15th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)</span> Military unit

The 15th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the interwar period and World War II, active from 1934 to 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">31st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)</span> Military unit

The 31st Infantry Division was a German infantry division of the Army during World War II. It participated in the invasion of Poland in 1939 then the invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940. As part of Panzergruppe 2. of Army Group Centre, it was involved in the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. After hard fighting throughout 1941 and 1942 it joined the 9th Army and fought in the Battle of Kursk in July and August 1943. Along with the rest of the 9th Army, the division conducted a fighting withdrawal for the remainder of 1943, during which it sustained heavy casualties. In the early stages of the Soviet Operation Bagration of June to August 1944, the 31st Infantry Division was destroyed, a fate which subsequently befell most of Army Group Centre. The division was officially disbanded on 18 July 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">81st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)</span> Military unit

The 81st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II. It was active from 1939 until 1945 and served primarily on the Eastern Front.

The 153rd Grenadier Division, sometimes referred to as 153rd Infantry Division in Wehrmacht documents, was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. It was founded under the name Division No. 153, and also carried the names Commander of Reserve Troops III, 153rd Reserve Division, and 153rd Field Training Division. It was first deployed in August 1939, received its first redesignation in December 1939, was renamed twice more in 1942, was destroyed by forces of the Soviet Union twice and then redeployed, and was redesignated a final time in 1945.

The 160th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. The unit, at times designated Commander of Reserve Troops X, Commander of Reserve Troops X/I, 160th Division, Division No. 160, and 160th Reserve Division, was active between 1939 and 1945.

The 166th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. The unit, at times designated Commander of Reserve Troops 2 of Wehrkreis VI

The 180th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. The unit, at times designated Commander of Reserve Troops X/II, 180th Division, Division No. 180, and Operation Division No. 180, was active between 1939 and 1945.

The 182nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. The unit, at times designated Commander of Reserve Troops XII/II, 182nd Division, Division No. 182, 182nd Replacement Division, Division Nancy,Division Gümbel, Division Karl, and 182nd Reserve Division, was active between 1939 and 1945.

The 190th Infantry Division, initially known as Division No. 190, was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 196th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 251st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 252nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 304th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. The 304th Infantry Division was deployed twice, once in November 1940 and once again in February 1945, after the destruction of the previous formation in January of that same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">306th Infantry Division</span> Military unit

The 306th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II.

The 416th Infantry Division was a German infantry division of World War II.

The 330th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German army during World War II. It was active between 1941 and 1943.

The 331st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German army during World War II. It was active between 1941 and 1944, with a brief period of inactivity between 30 December 1943 and 16 March 1944.

The 355th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German army during World War II. It existed between May and November 1943.

The 526th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Heer, the ground forces of the German Wehrmacht, during World War II. Assembled in October 1939, it subsequently became the Division No. 526, also referred to in some Wehrmacht sources as the "526th Reserve Division". It existed until early 1945.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "159th Infantry (Formerly Reserve) Division". German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. ISBN   9780811734165.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tessin, Georg (1972). Die Landstreitkräfte 131-200. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 7. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 113–117. ISBN   3764808721.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.