59th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

Last updated
59th Infantry Division
59. Infanterie-Division
59th Infanterie Division.svg
ActiveJune 1944 - April 1945
CountryFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Germany
Branch Army
TypeGrenadier Infantry
Role Infantry
Size Division
Garrison/HQ Wehrkreis II
Engagements World War II

The 59th Infantry Division(German : 59. Infanteriedivision) was a military division of the Wehrmacht during World War II.

Contents

History

In the immediate wake of the Allied landings in Normandy and the 1944 Soviet summer offensive, the Wehrmacht was in dire need of manpower. As a result, the 27th mobilization wave created five new but adhoc infantry divisions, mainly consisting of troops on furlough. [1] [2] The 59th Infantry Division was one of these, and initially formed at the Gross-Born Troop Maneuver Area on June 26, 1944. [3] [4] It saw action on the Western Front. It had a serious equipment and training shortage due to its quick formation.

The division was initially assigned to the 15th Army and posted to the Dunkirk area around August 20, 1944. [4] After the 15th Army was cut off along the English Channel coast by the capture of Antwerp by Allied forces behind them, the Germans left behind garrisons in the coastal ports as "fortresses" to be defended to the end. On August 30, the division contributed Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig Schroeder to command the Calais fortress, and possibly additional troops, as it and the rest of 15th Army withdrew from the coast. [5] The division was evacuated across the Scheldt estuary, via Walcheren to Brabant in the Netherlands.

On September 17, the division was located around Boxtel and its strength was reported at approximately 1,000 infantry with some artillery and anti-tank support. [6] [1] During this retreat, it was fortuitously situated close to the initial airborne landings of Operation Market Garden and immediately committed to defend against it. The division mainly fought the American 101st Airborne Division in the area immediately north of Eindhoven between Son and Shijndel. [6] After Market-Garden, the Division continued to oppose Allied advances in this area, including assaults by the XII British Corps from the South through October and the early part of November. [7] After this, the Division was withdrawn, refitted and was back in action around Aachen by December 1944. [1]

In February 1945 the division was stationed on The Rhine. It fought in the Battle of the Ruhr and was in the Ruhr pocket when it surrendered to the Allies in April, 1945. [1]

Organization

Organization of the division in June 1944: [1] [4]

Commanders

The division's commanders were :

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)</span> Military unit

The 6th Infantry Division was a unit of the German Army during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)</span> Military unit

The 11th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Wehrmacht that was initially founded as a cover formation during the Reichswehr era. It was active from 1934 to 1945.

The 181st Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 1 December 1939. The division participated in anti-partisan operations in World War II in German-occupied Yugoslavia.

The 85th Infantry Division was a Wehrmacht division used in the Second World War. It participated in the German defence in the Battle of Normandy, and took part in the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">242nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)</span> Military unit

The 242nd Infantry Division was a division of the German Army in World War II.

The 70th Infantry Division was a unit of the German Army during World War II. It was formed in 1944 from personnel previously exempted from military service due to stomach disorders or injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">376th Infantry Division</span> Military unit

The 376th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II, active from 1942 to 1944 in two separate instances.

The 89th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 703rd Infantry Division was a fictitious infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The troops designated as the 703rd Infantry Division never came close to the strength of an actual division.

The 245th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. It was active between 1943 and 1945.

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

The 270th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The Infantry Division Hamburg was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. It was assigned the ordinal number 324, but was no longer known as the 324th Infantry Division after 10 March 1945. The division existed only in early March 1945.

The 325th Infantry Division, generally known as Infantry Division "Jütland", was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. It was formed in March 1945, as one of the Wehrmacht's final emergency formations of the war. The division's deployment was never finished.

The 544th Volksgrenadier Division was a Volksgrenadier-type infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was active from July 1944 to May 1945. In the first two months of service, the division was designated 544th Grenadier Division.

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

The Infantry Division Friedrich Ludwig Jahn was an infantry division of the German army during World War II. It was formed in the final weeks of the war, and existed between late March and early May 1945.

The 353rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German army during World War II.

The 364th Infantry Division was a short-lived infantry division of the Heer, the ground forces of Nazi Germany, during World War II. It never reached full strength before its deployment was aborted on 21 January 1944 in favor of the creation of other divisions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Mitcham Jr., Samuel W. (2007). German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in WWII. Stackpole Books. pp. 24, 107–108. ISBN   9780811746540.
  2. Mitcham Jr., Samuel W. (2007). Retreat to the Reich: The German Defeat in France, 1944. Stackpole Books. p. 96. ISBN   9780811733847.
  3. Tessin, Georg (1977). Verbände Und Truppen Der Deutschen Wehrmacht Und Waffen SS, Erster Band: Die Waffengattungen-Gesamtübersicht (in German). Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 78. ISBN   3-7648-1097-1.
  4. 1 2 3 Tessin, Georg (1977). Verbände Und Truppen Der Deutschen Wehrmacht Und Waffen SS, Fünfter Band: Die Landstreitskräfte 31-70 (in German). Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 228–229. ISBN   3-7648-0871-3.
  5. Shulman, Milton (2017) [1948]. Defeat in the West. p. 233.
  6. 1 2 Kershaw, Robert J. (2005). It Never Snows in September: The German View of MARKET GARDEN and The Battle of Arnhem, September, 1944. Ian Allen Publishing. ISBN   9780711030626.
  7. Wheeler, Nicholas (2019). "I British Corps and the Battle of the Scheldt: A Reassessment". Canadian Military History. 28 (2).