1st Division (Japanese Empire)

1st division
Soldiers of the 1st Division during the attempted coup in Japan on February 26, 1936
active	May 14, 1888 to 1945
Country	Japan
Armed forces	Japanese armed forces
Armed forces	Japanese army
Branch of service	infantry
Type	division
Strength	15,000-20,000
Location	Tokyo
Nickname	Gyoku-heidan ( 玉 兵 団 , "Jade Division")
Butcher	First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War Battle of the Nanshan Siege of Port Arthur Battle of Mukden Second World War Japanese-Soviet border conflict Battle for Leyte Battle for Luzon

The 1st Division ( Japanese 第 1 師 団 , Dai-ichi shidan ) was a division of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1888 to 1945 .

General data

The division, which operated under the cover name Gyoku-heidan ( 玉 兵 団 , dt. "Jade Division"), was put into service on May 14, 1888 in Tokyo and comprised about 15,000 men. In the course of its operational history it fought against opponents of the Japanese Empire such as the Chinese Empire , Republic of China , Russia , Australia and the USA . Your last higher-level unit was the 14th Regional Army . Their last location was Manila in the Philippines .

History of unity

In May 1888 it was formed as a square division from the 1st Brigade (1st and 15th Infantry Regiment) and 2nd Brigade (2nd and 3rd Infantry Regiment), the 1st Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Artillery -Regiment set up.

In 1895 she took part in the First Sino-Japanese War.

During the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905 she was initially under the 2nd Army under the command of Lieutenant General Fushimi Sadanaru . After Lieutenant General Matsumura Mohan took over the 1st Division, it took part in the Battle of Nanshan . Then she was given to the 3rd Army for the siege of Port Arthur . After the surrender of Port Arthur, Lieutenant General Iida Shunsuke took command from February 1905 and led the division during the Battle of Mukden .

In 1936, the first Division on was attempted coup of 26 February 1936 involved in which 1,500 young soldiers, the Japanese parliament , the Army Ministry and the headquarters of the police occupied. Three days later the coup was suppressed and the ringleaders were sentenced to death or life imprisonment.

In 1937 she was stationed in Manchuria , where she was subordinate to the 4th of  the Kwantung Army and was supposed to secure the border with the Soviet Union .

In World War II she took part in the Japanese-Soviet border conflict , in 1944 in the Battle of Leyte and the Battle of Luzon . After these battles it had shrunk to 800 men and disbanded.

structure

1905

Status: February 1905

• 1st brigade
  • 1st Infantry Regiment
  • 15th Infantry Regiment
• 2nd brigade
  • 2nd Infantry Regiment
  • 3rd Infantry Regiment
• 1st Cavalry Regiment
• 1st Artillery Regiment

At the end of the war in 1945

• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 49th Infantry Regiment
• 57th Infantry Regiment
• 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment
• 1. reconnaissance regiment
• 1st Engineer Regiment
• 1st Transport Regiment

guide

Division commanders

• Shigeomi Miyoshi, Lieutenant General: May 14, 1888 - June 7, 1890
• Yamaji Motoharu, Lieutenant General: June 7, 1890 - October 14, 1896
• Yasukata Oku, Lieutenant General: October 14, 1896 - October 27, 1897
• Kageaki Kawamura, Lieutenant General: October 27, 1897 - April 2, 1901
• Fushimi Sadanaru, Lieutenant General: April 2, 1901 - July 10, 1904
• Matsumura Mohan, Lieutenant General: July 10, 1904 - February 4, 1905
• Iida Shunsuke, Lieutenant General: February 6, 1905 - February 3, 1906
• Prince Kan'in Kotohito , Lieutenant General: February 3, 1906 - September 6, 1911
• Kigoshi Yasutsuna, Lieutenant General: September 6, 1911 - December 21, 1912
• Hyoe Ichinohe, Lieutenant General: December 26, 1912 - February 15, 1915
• Senba Taro, Lieutenant General: February 15, 1915 - August 18, 1916
• Hongo Fusataro, Lieutenant General: August 18, 1916 - August 6, 1917
• Kawai Misao Lieutenant General: August 6, 1917 - January 6, 1921
• Nishikawa Torajiro, Lieutenant General: January 6, 1921 - August 15, 1922
• Yoshinori Shirakawa, Lieutenant General: August 15, 1922 - October 20, 1922
• Ishimitsu Masaomi, Lieutenant General: October 20, 1922 - May 1, 1925
• Wada Kameji, Lieutenant General: May 1, 1925 - August 10, 1926
• Hata Eitaro, Lieutenant General: August 10, 1926 - July 1, 1927
• Jinzaburō Masaki, Lieutenant General: July 1, 1927 - August 1, 1931
• Hayashi Noriyuki Lieutenant General: August 1, 1931 - March 18, 1933
• Mori Ren, Lieutenant General: March 18, 1933 - August 1, 1934
• Yanagawa Heisuke, Lieutenant General: August 1, 1934 - December 2, 1935
• Hori Jobu, Lieutenant General: December 2, 1935 - March 23, 1936
• Kawamura Kyosuke, Lieutenant General: March 23, 1936 - July 15, 1938
• Okabe Naosaburo, Lieutenant General: July 15, 1938 - September 12, 1939
• Yokoyama Isamu, Lieutenant General: September 12, 1939 - October 15, 1941
• Nakazawa Mitsuo, Lieutenant General: October 15, 1941 - March 1, 1944
• Hattori Gyotaro, Lieutenant General: March 1, 1944 - August 3, 1944
• Tadasu Kataoka, Major General: August 3, 1944 - Dissolution

See also

• Divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army

literature

• US General Staff: Epitome of the Russo-Japanese War. US War Department. 1907.

Web links

• 師 団 Ⅰ. Organization of IJA, accessed January 2, 2015 .  , Japanese

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rotem Kowner : The A to Z of the Russo-Japanese War. 2009, p. 103.
2. ^ IJA 4th Army. niehorster.org, accessed October 22, 2015 . 
3. ↑ US General Staff, Epitome of the Russo-Japanese War , p. 106.