The 59th (2nd North Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th (North Midland) Division. After training in the United Kingdom and seeing service in the Easter Rising in April 1916, the division joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front in early 1917. It saw action at Ypres and Cambrai, and was almost destroyed during the German Army's Spring Offensive in March 1918. The reconstituted division took part in the final advances of the war.
Origin The formation of Reserve or 2nd Line units of the Territorial Force (TF) was authorised on 31 August 1914, and the units were quickly formed from the flood of volunteers coming forward, trained by those men of the 1st Line TF who had not signed up for overseas service or were medically unfit. At first the men had to live at home, and parade in civilian clothes until the county TF associations were able to issue clothing and equipment. In January 1915, the 2nd North Midland was created as an exact duplicate of the 1st North Midland Division, the units being differentiated by '1/' or '2/' prefix. The 1st North Midland Division was the first complete TF formation to reach the Western Front, where it received the designation 46th (North Midland) Division. The 2nd Line division was designated 59th (2nd North Midland) Division in August 1915.Becke, pp. 17–23.59th Div at Long, Long Trail.
Order of battle The composition of 59th (2nd North Midland Division) until May 1918 was as follows:
176th (2/1st Staffordshire) Brigade
2/5th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment (drafted and disbanded 1 January 1918) 2/6th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment 2/5th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment (absorbed 1/5th Bn 30 January 1918 and became 5th Bn) 2/6th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment 174th Company, Machine Gun Corps (joined 24 February 1917; to 59th Battalion, MGC 7–8 March 1918) 176th Trench Mortar Battery (formed 20 January 1917; temporarily disbanded 8 May 1918) The infantry battalions of 176th Bde were reduced to training cadres on 9 May 1918 and transferred to 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division on 30 May 1918.
177th (2/1st Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade
2/4th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment (absorbed 1/4th Bn and became 4th Bn) 2/5th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment (disbanded 31 July 1918) 2/4th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment 2/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (drafted and disbanded 1 January 1918) 177th Company, MGC (joined 19 February 1917; to 59th Battalion, MGC 7–8 March 1918) 177th Trench Mortar Battery (formed 20 January 1917; temporarily disbanded 8 May 1918) The infantry battalions of 177th Bde were reduced to training cadres on 9 May 1918 and transferred to 16th (Irish) Division and 30th Division.
178th (2/1st Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Brigade
2/5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters 2/6th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters 2/7th Robin Hood Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (absorbed 1/7th Bn and became 7th Bn) 2/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (drafted and disbanded 1 January 1918) 178th Company, MGC (joined 17 February 1917; to 59th Battalion, MGC 7–8 March 1918) 178th Trench Mortar Battery (formed 20 January 1917; temporarily disbanded 7 May 1918) The infantry battalions of 178th Bde were reduced to training cadres on 7 May 1918 and transferred to 16th (Irish) and 30th Divisions.
Support troops Mounted Troops 2/1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry (left in April 1916) 59th (2/1st North Midland) Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps (joined 17 March 1915; did not accompany division to France) B Squadron, North Irish Horse (attached from 6 August 1915 until April 1916) 2/2nd County of London Yeomanry (attached from 20 February until April 1916) C Squadron, 21st Northumberland Hussars (28 March 1916 to 22 January 1917)
Artillery 2/I North Midland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (2/1st, 2/2nd, and 2/3rd Lincolnshire Batteries, and 2/I North Midland Brigade Ammunition Column) (numbered CCXCV Bde in May 1916 and 2/1st Hampshire Royal Horse Artillery joined as D Battery; served with other divisions 22 March to 27 August 1918) 2/II North Midland Brigade, RFA (2/1st, 2/2nd, and 2/3rd Staffordshire Batteries, and 2/II North Midland Brigade Ammunition Column) (numbered CCXCVI Bde in May 1916 and 2/1st Essex Royal Horse Artillery joined as D Battery; served with other divisions 22 March to 27 August 1918) 2/III North Midland Brigade, RFA (2/4th, 2/5th, and 2/6th Staffordshire Batteries, and 2/III North Midland Brigade Ammunition Column) (numbered CCXCVII Bde in May 1916 and 2/1st Glamorganshire Royal Horse Artillery joined as D Battery; broken up before the division embarked for France) 2/IV North Midland (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA (2/1st and 2/2nd Derbyshire (H) Batteries, and 2/IV North Midland (H) Brigade Ammunition Column) (numbered CCXCVIII Bde in May 1916; left on 4 April 1917) 1/IV Home Counties (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA (10 March to 27 June 1915) 2/1st North Midland (Staffordshire) Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (until 18 April 1916) 1/1st Wessex (Hampshire) Heavy Battery, RGA (joined 13 March 1915, to 60th (2/2nd London) Division 7 April 1915) 2/1st Wessex (Hampshire) Heavy Battery, RGA (joined 20 February 1916, drafted to 1/1st Wessex October 1916) 59th Divisional Trench Mortar Brigade, RFA V.59 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery (formed 21 January 1917; left in March 1918) X.59 Medium Trench Mortar Battery (formed 21 January 1917) Y.59 Medium Trench Mortar Battery (formed 21 January 1917) Z.59 Medium Trench Mortar Battery (formed 21 January 1917; absorbed by X and Y in March 1918) 59th (North Midland) Divisional Ammunition Column, RFA (absorbed brigade ammunition columns 31 July 1916)
Engineers 59th Divisional Engineers 1/3rd North Midland Field Company, Royal Engineers (later numbered 467th Field Company) 2/1st North Midland Field Company, RE (joined 46th Division 10 July 1915) 2/2nd North Midland Field Company, RE (joined 4 February 1915; later numbered 469th Field Company) 3/1st North Midland Field Company, RE (joined 3 February 1915, later numbered 470th Field Company) 59th (2/1st North Midland) Signal Company, RE
Pioneers 6/7th Bn Royal Scots Fusiliers (joined 21 February 1918; reduced to training cadre in 176th Bde 7–10 May)
Machine Guns 200th Company, MGC (formed 20 January 1917; left behind when division embarked for France; rejoined on 18 April 1917) 201st Company, MGC (formed 25 October 1916; joined 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division in April 1917) 202nd Company, MGC (formed 20 January 1917; joined 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division in April 1917) 203rd Company, MGC (formed 20 January 1917; joined 66th Division in April 1917) 59th Battalion, MGC (formed on 7–8 March 1918; reduced to training cadre May 1918) 176th Company, MGC (moved from 176th Brigade) 177th Company, MGC (moved from 177th Brigade) 178th Company, MGC (moved from 178th Brigade) 200th Company, MGC (see above)
Medical Services 2/1st North Midland Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps 2/2nd North Midland Field Ambulance, RAMC 2/3rd North Midland Field Ambulance, RAMC 59th Sanitary Section (left on 18 May 1917) 59th (2/1st North Midland) Mobile Veterinary Section, Army Veterinary Corps
Transport 59th (2/1st North Midland) Divisional Train, Army Service Corps 513th Horse Transport Company, ASC 514th HT Company, ASC 515th HT Company, ASC 516th HT Company, ASC
Labour 250th Divisional Employment Company, Labour Corps (formed 16 June 1917)
Training Early in January 1915, the units assigned to the division concentrated round Luton, where it formed part of Third Army in Central Force. In February the men were issued with .256-in Japanese Ariska rifles with which to train, and it was not until November 1915–March 1916 that these were replaced with .303 SMLE rifles and Lewis guns. Similarly, the gunners had to train with 'Quaker' guns – logs of wood mounted on cart wheels – until March 1915 when a few 90 mm French guns arrived for training. Later, some 15-pounder field guns and obsolete 5-inch howitzers were received, without sights.
In June 1915, the 2nd Line units began to send drafts of reinforcements to their 1st Line parents serving on the Western Front, while the Home Service men were transferred to provisional battalions. This reduced the strength and delayed the training of the division. In July 1915 it moved to a training area around St Albans. Here in early 1916 the artillery finally received their establishment of horses, 18-pounder field guns and 4.5-inch howitzers.
Ireland The 59th was the 'mobile division' in Home Forces, held in readiness to combat a landing along the East Coast; when the Easter Rising broke out in Dublin on 24 April 1916, it was ordered into immediate readiness and despatched to Ireland, the first TF formation to serve there. Here, units of the division – many with only a few weeks' training – were hastily thrown into combat, some suffering many casualties; the 2/7th and 2/8th Sherwood Foresters lost over two hundred men killed or wounded at Mount Street on 26 April and at the South Dublin Union on 27 April. After the end of fighting in Dublin, the 59th (2nd North Midland) Division moved to the Curragh for further training until the end of the year.
The division returned to England in January 1917 and began final battle training at Fovant, where there was a large purpose-built camp on the edge of the Salisbury Plain training area, before embarking for France on 17 February.
Western Front Polygon Wood
The 59th Division took part in following the German Retreat to Hindenburg Line in March and April, but it was not until September that it was engaged in its first full-scale action, the phase of the 3rd Ypres Offensive known as the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge. This was a carefully prepared assault with massive artillery preparation, and most of the objectives were taken easily.Wolff, pp. 191–5. The next phase, the Battle of Polygon Wood (26 September), was equally successful, with 59th Division advancing steadily behind its barrage onto the final objectives.Edmonds, 1917, Vol II, pp. 288–9.Wolff, p. 199.
Bourlon Wood 59th Division was next moved south to join in the Battle of Cambrai. The division entered the recently captured line between Cantaing and Bourlon Wood on 28 November. Fierce German counter-attacks began on 30 November. Two infantry assaults were made against 176 Bde, but both attacks were easily broken up under British artillery fire. Lance-Corporal John Thomas of the 2/5th North Staffords was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry in reconnoitring these attacks.Miles, pp. 167, 213. That night the rest of 176 Bde in Bourlon Wood were subjected to a violent bombardment of high explosive and gas shells, but the division was not directly attacked the following morning. By 4 December the decision had been made to withdraw from the Bourlon Salient, and 59th Division held covering positions while this was carried out. By 7 December the British were back on the line that they would hold for the coming winter.Miles, pp. 226, 262–7.
As a result of the BEF's manpower crisis at the end of 1917, the establishment of each infantry brigade was reduced from four to three battalions in January 1918. In 59th Division, each brigade saw one battalion disbanded to provide reinforcements, and one other absorbed its 1st Line parent from the 46th Division.
Spring Offensive