The 59th Division was a military formation of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

, which was created in February 1949 under ''the Regulation of the Redesignations of All Organizations and Units of the Army'', issued by the Central Military Commission on November 1, 1948, basing on the 2nd Division, 1st Column of Huadonng Field Army. Its origin can be traced back to the Jiangnan anti-Japanese volunteers' Army(lang-zh:江南抗日义勇军) formed in May 1939. Under the command of PLA 20th Corps it took part in the

Chinese civil war The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

. The division joined the flag of

People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...

(Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) or Chinese Communist Forces (CCF)) during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. It was still a component of the 20th Corps, consisting of the 175th, 176th, and 177th Regiments. The 59th Division attacked Fox Company,

7th Marines The 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. Nicknamed the "Magnificent Seventh", the regiment falls under the command of the 1st M ...

north of Sinhung-ni at Toktong Pass during the

Battle of Chosin Reservoir The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of t ...

. Underestimating U.S air and artillery power, the 59th Division experienced over 1,000 killed in its attempt to dislodge Fox Company from its position, while inflicting 182 casualties. In October 1952 it pulled back to China with the 20th Corps and stationed in

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province. In 1953 the 264th Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment attached to the Division. By then the division was composed of: *175th Regiment *176th Regiment *177th Regiment *264th Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment *Artillery Regiment In 1955 it renamed as 59th Infantry Division(). In 1958 it moved to

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province with the Corps HQ. The 264th Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment was detached from the division in the same year. In 1960 it renamed as 59th Army Division(). In the 1960s it maintained as a ''middle division, Northern unit'', which was fully equipped but not 100% manned. In 1975 the division moved to

Province with the Corps HQ to replace 1st Corps. Since then the division is stationed in

Shangqiu Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectively ...

, Henan Province. The unit was disbanded in 1985.PLA Order of Battle, Disbanded Divisions
The Division HQ was reflagged as HQ Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade, 20th Army. Its 175th Regiment was transferred to 60th division.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Infdiv0059china Military units and formations of China in the Korean War 059China 059China Military units and formations disestablished in 1985