59th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

59th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
Unit name	59th Infantry Division
Native name	59. Infanterie-Division
Dates	26 August 1939 – 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Wehrmacht
Type	Infantry division
Size	Division
Garrison	Koblenz
Notable commanders	Friedrich Gollwitzer, Günther von Kluge, Georg Graf von der Marwitz

59th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) was a regular infantry formation of the Wehrmacht raised in the prelude to World War II. Formed during the Blitzkrieg mobilizations, it served on multiple fronts including the Western Front, Eastern Front, and in occupation duties, participating in operations associated with the Invasion of Poland, Battle of France, and Operation Barbarossa. The division experienced the changing fortunes of the Heer, suffering attrition, reorganization, and eventual dissolution amid the collapse of Nazi Germany.

Formation and Organization

The division was raised on 26 August 1939 as part of the fourth Aufstellungswelle in the Wehrmacht mobilization from cadres in the Wehrkreis XII around Koblenz, drawing personnel from depots affiliated with units such as the 1st Infantry Division, 6th Infantry Division, and elements of the 28th Infantry Division. Initial organization followed the standard triangular template of the late 1930s with three infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, reconnaissance, pioneer, anti-tank (Panzerjäger) and signals components, mirroring doctrine developed at the Truppenamt and influenced by lessons from the Spanish Civil War and prewar exercises.

Operational History

During the Invasion of Poland the division was held in reserve and later moved into the occupied territories for security tasks in conjunction with units from Heer corps commanded by officers associated with Walther von Reichenau and Gerd von Rundstedt. In the Battle of France it formed part of corps-level operations tied to the Manstein Plan thrusts, operating in sectors adjacent to formations such as the SS-Verfügungsdivision and the 14th Panzer Division. After the campaign it conducted occupation duties in France and the Low Countries, interacting with organizations like the Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich.

Committed to Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the division served under Army Group Centre during the initial advance toward Minsk, Smolensk, and Moscow, engaging Soviet formations including elements of the Red Army and encountering units associated with the Western Front (Soviet Union). It took part in defensive battles during the Battle of Kursk strategic aftermath and subsequent withdrawals prompted by Operation Bagration in 1944, clashing with the 1st Belorussian Front and 2nd Belorussian Front during the Soviet summer offensives. Fragmented by encirclement and attrition, remnants retreated through Poland and Prussia and finally surrendered during the final Battle of Berlin phases or were captured during advances by the Red Army and Western Allied formations such as the United States Army and British Army.

Commanders

Notable commanders included officers promoted through the interwar Reichswehr and early Heer: Friedrich Gollwitzer (early wartime command), officers temporarily assigned from corps staffs such as those who later served under Günther von Kluge and divisional commanders who had served with the 47th Infantry Division and 83rd Infantry Division. Leadership changes reflected wounds, promotions to corps commands, transfers to the OKH staff, and losses during major operations like Operation Citadel and the Soviet summer offensives.

Order of Battle and Equipment

The division’s core order of battle typically comprised three infantry regiments—numbered in line with [citation needed] division numbering patterns—and the 59th Artillery Regiment supplemented by reconnaissance (Aufklärungs), pioneer (Pionier), signals (Nachrichten), and Panzerjäger battalions. Equipment evolved from early-war inventories including the Karabiner 98k, MG 34, bicycles, and light artillery such as the 7.5 cm leichtes Feldgeschütz 18 to later-war adaptations with captured matériel and lend-lease shortages leading to increased use of captured Soviet small arms like the Mosin–Nagant and field guns such as the captured 76 mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22) and German anti-tank guns including the 3.7 cm Pak 36 and latterly the 7.5 cm Pak 40. Mobility relied on horse-drawn transport and limited motorization common to divisions of the fourth wave, contrasting with panzergrenadier and panzer division motor pools.

Casualties and Losses

The division sustained heavy casualties during the prolonged combats on the Eastern Front, particularly during encirclements around Vyazma, the defensive winter battles outside Moscow, and the Operation Bagration campaigns, suffering regiment-level losses and the fragmentation of battalions. Losses included killed, wounded, missing and captured across successive campaigns, as documented in divisional war diaries and casualty returns compiled by the Heerespersonalamt. Attrition forced repeated reorganizations, amalgamation of depleted infantry battalions, and eventual disbandment or absorption into ad hoc Kampfgruppen during the final months of the war.

Legacy and Postwar Assessment

Postwar analyses by historians of the German military and Allied operational studies evaluated the division’s performance as representative of fourth-wave formations: adequate in early campaigns but increasingly worn down by the scale of the Soviet campaigns and logistical shortcomings identified by studies at institutions like the United States Army Center of Military History and German historiography in works associated with authors from the Bundeswehr historical office. Survivors contributed to postwar veteran associations and memoirs referenced in studies of unit cohesion, command doctrine, and the impact of strategic decisions made at conferences like Württemberg Conferences and staff planning centers. The division’s record illustrates the wider trajectory of the Heer from early success to eventual collapse.

Category:Infantry divisions of Germany in World War II