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| 59th Infantry Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | 59th Infantry Regiment |
| Dates | 1917–present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Rifle and light infantry operations |
| Size | Regiment |
59th Infantry Regiment is a line infantry regiment of the United States Army with service spanning from the World War I era through the Cold War and into modern reconstitutions. The regiment has been assigned to multiple divisions and formations, fought in major 20th century campaigns, and received campaign streamers and decorations reflecting combat operations in Europe and the Pacific. Its lineage intersects with units assigned to the 94th Division, 4th Infantry Division, and other regimental systems during reorganizations under the United States Army Center of Military History.
The regiment traces institutional lineage through mobilizations for World War I, interwar reorganizations tied to the National Defense Act of 1920, and the large-scale expansions driven by the Selective Service Act of 1917 and mobilization preceding World War II. During the interwar period the unit experienced assignment shifts under the Organized Reserve Corps and the Regular Army structure. Post-1945 adjustments reflect Cold War basing, association with the United States Army Europe, and later consolidations under the United States Army Regimental System and the Combat Arms Regimental System.
Constituted during the United States mobilization for World War I under War Department directives, the regiment drew personnel from states responding to the Selective Service Act of 1917 and trained at camps such as Camp Gordon and Camp Shelby. Early cadre included officers who had attended the United States Military Academy and the Infantry School at Fort Benning, and noncommissioned officers promoted from National Guard regiments from states like Pennsylvania and Ohio. Early deployments were shaped by doctrine emerging from the Aix-les-Bains discussions and observer lessons from the British Expeditionary Force and the French Army on the Western Front.
Activated for service in the American Expeditionary Forces, the regiment trained in the United States before transatlantic transport to France via convoys escorted by the United States Navy and Royal Navy. Assigned to operations in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and supporting actions during the final offensives of 1918, the unit operated alongside the French Fourth Army and under corps headquarters influenced by the tactics of commanders from the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). Its soldiers endured trench warfare conditions similar to those at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and participated in combined operations that involved the Tank Corps and Army Air Service reconnaissance. Demobilization after the Armistice of 11 November 1918 returned veterans to demobilization centers at ports like Brest, France and stateside camps.
Reactivated amid the global expansion before and after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the regiment underwent mechanization and training influenced by doctrine from the British Army exchange and lessons from the German Wehrmacht campaigns in France and the Soviet Union. Deployed to the European Theater of Operations and elements sent to the Mediterranean Theater, the regiment participated in combined arms operations characterized by coordination with the United States Army Air Forces, armored units such as the 1st Armored Division, and engineer battalions modeled on the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir. Engagements included battles comparable in intensity to those at Normandy beachheads, the Rhine crossings, and urban combat in cities liberated during 1944–1945; the regiment operated under corps and army headquarters that reported to theater commanders who had served with armies including the Eighth Army and the Fifth Army.
During the Cold War the regiment served in garrisons tied to strategic formations in Germany under United States Army Europe and conducted NATO exercises with formations like VII Corps and Bundeswehr units. The unit adapted to force structure reforms under the Pentomic reorganization and later the ROAD model, and some battalions were reorganized under the Combat Arms Regimental System before later affiliation through the United States Army Regimental System. Deployments and attachments included peacekeeping-related operations coordinated with the United Nations and contingency rotations influenced by crises such as the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the Gulf War. Elements were activated and inactivated in response to the post-Cold War drawdown and the Base Realignment and Closure processes.
Historically organized as a regiment with multiple battalions, the unit employed rifle companies, heavy weapons companies, and support detachments aligning with tables of organization from the War Department and later Department of the Army doctrines. Companies have been designated with letters (A–M) and battalions numbered (1st–3rd), with chain-of-command links to brigades such as those within the 4th Infantry Division and to divisional artillery and support commands like the Division Support Command. Personnel assignments have included graduates of the Officer Candidate School and the Ranger School, with veteran leaders who later attended the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College.
The regiment earned campaign streamers for operations in World War I sectors including the Meuse-Argonne and the St. Mihiel campaigns, and in World War II for campaigns across the Normandy Campaign, the Northern France Campaign, the Rhineland Campaign, and the Central Europe Campaign. Individual and unit awards include decorations analogous to the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star Medal, and unit citations presented by allied commands such as the French Croix de Guerre and citations from the Secretary of the Army. The regiment’s heraldry and campaign credits are maintained by the United States Army Center of Military History and recorded in lineage documents managed by the Institute of Heraldry.
Category:Infantry regiments of the United States Army