Brontekst bekijken van 59th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

{{Infobox military unit
| native_name                   = 59. Infanterie-Division
| image                         = 59th Infanterie Division.svg
| image_size                    = 100px
| unit_name                     = 59th Infantry Division
| dates                         = June 1944 - April 1945
| country                       = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
| branch                        = [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Army]]
| type                          = Grenadier Infantry
| role                          = [[Infantry]]
| size                          = [[Division (military)|Division]]
| command_structure             = 
| garrison                      = [[Wehrkreis II]]
| nickname                      = 
| battles                       = [[World War II]]
| notable_commanders            = 
| associated units              = 
}}

The '''59th Infantry Division''' ''({{lang-de|59. Infanteriedivision}})'' was a [[Division (military)|military division]] of the [[Wehrmacht]] during [[World War II]].

== History ==
In the immediate wake of the [[Normandy landings|Allied landings in Normandy]] and the [[Operation Bagration|1944 Soviet summer offensive]], the Wehrmacht was in dire need of manpower.  As a result, the 27th [[Aufstellungswelle|mobilization wave]] created five new but adhoc infantry divisions, mainly consisting of troops on furlough.<ref name=mitcham /><ref name=mitcham2>{{Cite book|title=Retreat to the Reich: The German Defeat in France, 1944|author=Mitcham Jr., Samuel W. |date=2007|pages=96|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=9780811733847|language=en}}</ref>  The 59th Infantry Division was one of these, and initially formed at the Gross-Born Troop Maneuver Area on June 26, 1944.<ref name=tessin>{{Cite book|title=Verbände Und Truppen Der Deutschen Wehrmacht Und Waffen SS, Erster Band: Die Waffengattungen-Gesamtübersicht|last1=Tessin|first1=Georg |date=1977|page=78|publisher=Biblio Verlag|isbn=3-7648-1097-1|language=de|
publication-place=Osnabrück}}</ref><ref name=tessin2 /> It saw action on the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]].  It had a serious equipment and training shortage due to its quick formation.

The division was initially assigned to the [[15th Army (Wehrmacht)|15th Army]] and posted to the [[Dunkirk]] area around August 20, 1944.<ref name=tessin2/>  
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.<ref name=shulman>{{Cite book|title=Defeat in the West|last1=Shulman|first1=Milton |date=2017|orig-date=1948|page=233}}</ref> The division was evacuated across the Scheldt estuary, via [[Walcheren]] to [[North Brabant|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.<ref name=kershaw>{{Cite book|title=It Never Snows in September: The German View of MARKET GARDEN and The Battle of Arnhem, September, 1944|author=Kershaw, Robert J.|date=2005|publisher=Ian Allen Publishing|isbn=9780711030626|language=en}}</ref><ref name=mitcham />  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.<ref name=kershaw/> After Market-Garden, the Division continued to oppose Allied advances in this area, including assaults by the [[XII Corps (United Kingdom)|XII British Corps]] from the South through October and the early part of November.<ref name=wheeler>{{cite journal |last1=Wheeler |first1=Nicholas |title=I British Corps and the Battle of the Scheldt: A Reassessment |journal=Canadian Military History |date=2019 |volume=28 |issue=2}}</ref>
After this, the Division was withdrawn, refitted and was back in action around Aachen by December 1944.<ref name=mitcham />

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.<ref name=mitcham>{{Cite book|title=German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in WWII|author=Mitcham Jr., Samuel W. |date=2007|pages=24,107–108|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=9780811746540|language=en}}</ref>

== Organization ==
Organization of the division in June 1944:<ref name=mitcham /><ref name=tessin2>{{Cite book|title=Verbände Und Truppen Der Deutschen Wehrmacht Und Waffen SS, Fünfter Band: Die Landstreitskräfte 31-70|last1=Tessin|first1=Georg |date=1977|pages=228–229|publisher=Biblio Verlag|isbn=3-7648-0871-3|language=de|publication-place=Osnabrück}}</ref>
* 1034th Grenadier Regiment
* 1035th Grenadier Regiment
* 1036th Grenadier Regiment
* 159th Artillery Regiment
* 59th Fusilier Battalion
* 159th Tank Destroyer Battalion
* 159th Engineer Battalion
* 159th Signal Battalion
* 159th Divisional Supply Group

== Commanders ==
The division's commanders were :

* [[Generalleutnant]] [[Walter Poppe]] (July 1944 - February 1945)
* [[Generalleutnant]] [[Hanskurt Höcker|Hans Kurt Hoecker]] (February - April 1945)

== References ==
<references />{{Numbered infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht}}

[[Category:Military units and formations of the Wehrmacht]]
[[Category:1944 establishments in Germany]]