| Division No. 159 159th Division 159th Reserve Division 159th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| German:Division Nr. 159 159. Division 159. Reserve-Division 159. Infanterie-Division | |
| Active | August 1939 – February 1945 |
| Country |  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 |
The159th Infantry Division (German:159. Infanterie-Division) was aninfantry division of the GermanHeer duringWorld War II. The unit, at times designatedCommander of Reserve Troops IX (German:Kommandeur der Ersatztruppen IX),159th Division (German:159. Division),Division No. 159 (German:Division Nr. 159), and159th Reserve Division (German:159. Reserve-Division), was active between 1939 and 1945.
The Commander of Reserve Troops IX was formed inKassel as part of Germangeneral mobilization on 26 August 1939.[1] Its initial purpose was to form a command staff for reserve units in the ninthWehrkreis (military district). This military district was headquartered in Kassel and included most ofHesse as well as parts ofThuringia. 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 toFrankfurt am Main on 11 January 1940.[2]
The Division No. 159 was split in two as a result of the restructuring of theReplacement Army on 1 October 1942. While one part of the division became the189th 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 theLXVI Army Corps and deployed toBourg in France. The division consisted of the Reserve Infantry Regiments 214 (nicknamedBrunhilde, infantry battalions 106, 367, 388) and 251 (infantry battalions 36, 81, 205, 471). TheBrunhilde Reserve Infantry Regiment 214, now designated Grenadier Regiment 870, was soon passed to the356th 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 inCase Anton, the de facto annexation ofVichy France by Germany.[1]
In December 1943, the 159th Reserve Division consisted of the following units:[2]
On 9 October 1944, the army command of the19th Army ordered the remainders of the 159th Reserve Division reorganized into an infantry division of the 32ndAufstellungswelle.[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 inOperation Nordwind in January 1945, was trapped in theColmar Pocket starting on 20 January and destroyed by early February.[2]
Between February 1943 and March 1945, the 159th Reserve Division and 159th Reserve Infantry Division were subordinate to the following formations:[2]