2nd North Midland Division 59th (2nd North Midland) Division 59th Division | |
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Active | 6 January 1915 – 1 September 1919 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Territorial Force |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Engagements | Easter Rising Menin Road Ridge Polygon Wood Bourlon Wood St Quentin Bailleul Kemmel Ridge Albert Final Advance in Artois and Flanders |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Maj-Gen Raymond Reade Maj-Gen Arthur Sandbach Maj-Gen Cecil Romer Maj-Gen Sir Robert Whigham Maj-Gen Sir Nevill Smyth, VC Maj-Gen Charles Budworth |
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.