59th Division (Spain)

The 59th Division - originally called the 1st Asturian Division - was one of the divisions of the Spanish Republican Army that were organized during the Spanish Civil War on the basis of the Mixed Brigades.

59th Division
59.ª División
Active	February–October 1937
Country	Asturias
Allegiance	Republican faction
Branch	Spanish Republican Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Engagements	Spanish Civil War: Asturias Offensive
Commanders
Notable commanders	Carlos Abad López Víctor Álvarez González

History

The division was originally created in February 1937, as the 1st Asturian Division.[1] It was incorporated into the III Asturian Army Corps. On August 6, the unit was restructured into the 189th, 190th and 191st mixed brigades and renamed the "59th Division".[1] It became attached to the XVII Army Corps.[2]

It did not intervene in the Battle of Santander, so it was practically intact at the beginning of the Asturias Offensive. By then the 59th Division covered the front that ran from the sea to the mountains,[3] in the Oviedo sector. During the Asturias campaign it did not have a relevant role, remaining in its positions without intervening in relevant military operations. At the end of October 1937 it managed to retire to Gijón, where it dissolved itself.

Command

• Carlos Abad López (from February 1937);
• Eduardo Carón Alcázar (from March 1937);
• Víctor Álvarez González[4] (from May 1937);
• Ramón Garshaball López (from August 1937);

References

1. Engel 1999, p. 226.
2. Martínez Bande 1972, p. 33.
3. Martínez Bande 1972, p. 113.
4. Zaragoza 1983, p. 60.

Bibliography

• Engel, Carlos (1999). Historia de las Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Madrid: Almena. ISBN 84-922644-7-0.
• Martínez Bande, José Manuel (1972). El final del frente norte (in Spanish). Madrid: Ed. San Martín.
• Zaragoza, Cristóbal (1983). Ejército Popular y Militares de la República, 1936-1939 (in Spanish). Barcelona: Ed. Planeta.