12th Division (Japanese Empire)

12th division
A Type 4 15-cm howitzer is located in the place where the headquarters of the 12th Division used to be in the castle of Kokura .
active	October 1, 1898 to 1945
Country	Japanese Empire
Armed forces	Japanese armed forces
Armed forces	Japanese army
Branch of service	infantry
Type	division
Strength	15,000-20,000
Location	Kokura
Nickname	Ken-heidan ( 剣 兵 団 , "sword division")
Butcher	Russo-Japanese War Battle of the Yalu Battle of Motien Pass Battle of Liaoyang Battle of the Shaho Battle of Sandepu Battle of Mukden Second Sino-Japanese War Second World War

The 12th Division ( Japanese 第 12 師 団 , Dai-jūni Shidan ) was a division of the Imperial Japanese Army , which existed from 1898 to 1945. Your Tsūshōgō code (military code name) was Sword Division ( 剣 兵 団 , Ken-heidan ).

General data

The 12th Division was one of six newly founded divisions in 1898 after the first divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army had been formed from the six regional commands that had existed since 1871 on the recommendation of the Prussian military adviser Jakob Meckel . Responsible for the prefecture of Fukuoka was the headquarters of the approx. 15,000 strong division in the castle of Kokura .

History of unity

On 1 October 1898, she was as Square division of the 12th  Brigade (14th and 47th Infantry Regiment) and the 24th Brigade (24th and 48th Infantry Regiment), 12th  Cavalry - Regiment and the 12 .  mountain artillery positioned regiment.

The division was assigned during the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 under the command of Lieutenant General Inoue Hikaru of the 1st Army , which landed on February 8, 1904 at Chemulpo under its Commander-in-Chief General Kuroki Tamemoto . From there it went to the Manchurian border , where the battle of the Yalu broke out on the Yalu River . After the retreat of the Russians , the 1st Army followed the enemy in the direction of Motien Pass, where it defended the important pass against Russian attacks in July 1904 . In the following months the 12th Division took part in the battles of Liaoyang , Shaho , Sandepu and Mukden .

During the Second Sino-Japanese War , she was used as a garrison unit in Manchuria . In 1940 it was converted into a Triangular Division (division with 3 infantry regiments) and had to surrender the 14th Infantry Regiment, which became the main unit of the new 25th Division .

During the Second World War , the 12th Division was moved to Taiwan . However, the Allies bypassed Taiwan. The division was disbanded in 1945 after the Japanese surrender without being involved in any fighting.

structure

1898

• 12th Brigade
  • 14th Infantry Regiment
  • 47th Infantry Regiment
• 24th Brigade
  • 24th Infantry Regiment
  • 46th Infantry Regiment
• 12th Cavalry Regiment
• 12th Mountain Artillery Regiment
• 12th Engineer Regiment
• 12th Transport Regiment

1937

• 12th Brigade
  • 14th Infantry Regiment
  • 24th Infantry Regiment
• 24th Brigade
  • 46th Infantry Regiment
  • 48th Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Heavy Field Artillery Brigade
  • 5th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment
  • 6th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment
  • 24th Field Artillery Regiment
  • 3rd Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment
• 4th Flak Regiment
• 4th Air Regiment
• 1st Panzer Regiment
• 12th Cavalry Regiment
• 12th Engineer Regiment
• 12th Transport Regiment

At the end of the war in 1945

• 24th Infantry Regiment
• 46th Infantry Regiment
• 48th Infantry Regiment
• 24th Field Artillery Regiment
• 18th Engineer Regiment
• 18th Transport Regiment

guide

Division commanders

• Tamura Hirokazu, Lieutenant General: October 1, 1898 - March 6, 1899
• Inoue Hikaru, Lieutenant General: March 13, 1899 - July 6, 1906
• Asada Shun Hing, Lieutenant General: July 6, 1906 - August 26, 1910
• Ando Teibi, Lieutenant General: August 26, 1910 - February 14, 1912
• Yamane Take Akira, Lieutenant General: February 14, 1912 to November 27, 1912
• Uchiyama Kojiro, Lieutenant General: November 27, 1912 - August 22, 1913
• Fujii Shigeru Futoshi, Lieutenant General: August 22, 1913 - May 11, 1914
• Shiba Gorō, Lieutenant General: May 11, 1914 - July 2, 1918
• Shigemoto Narumoto, Lieutenant General: July 2, 1918 - August 26, 1919
• Kinoshita Usaburo, Lieutenant General: August 26, 1919 - July 20, 1921
• Morioka Shusei, Lieutenant General: July 20, 1921 - August 6, 1923
• Isomura Nen, Lieutenant General: August 6, 1923 - July 28, 1926
• Takejo Tsunesaburo, Lieutenant General: July 28, 1926 - March 8, 1928
• Jinshan Hisamatsu, Lieutenant General: March 8, 1928 - August 1, 1930
• Kihara Kiyoshi, Lieutenant General: August 1, 1930 - February 29, 1932
• Hajime Sugiyama, Lieutenant General: February 29, 1932 - March 18, 1933
• Kazuo Otani, Lieutenant General: March 18, 1933 - March 15, 1935
• Kiyoshi Katsuki, Lieutenant General: March 15, 1935 - March 7, 1936
• Shimizu Yoshishige, Lieutenant General: March 7, 1936 - March 1, 1937
• Yamada Otozō, Lieutenant General: March 1, 1937 - January 8, 1938
• Uemura Kiyotaro, Lieutenant General: January 8, 1938 - March 9, 1940
• Masakazu Kawabe, Lieutenant General: March 9, 1940 - March 1, 1941
• Kasahara Yukio, Lieutenant General: March 1, 1941 - August 1, 1942
• Numata Takezo, Lieutenant General: August 1, 1942 - October 29, 1943
• Hitomi Shuzo Hidezo, Lieutenant General: October 29, 1943 - September 1945

See also

• Divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army

Web links

• Website about the 12th IJA division , Japanese
• 師 団 Ⅰ. Organization of IJA, accessed January 2, 2015 .  , Japanese

literature

• US General Staff: Epitome of the Russo-Japanese War . US War Department, 1907.
• Rotem Kowner : The A to Z of the Russo-Japanese War. Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, ISBN 978-0-8108-6841-0 .

Web links

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

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 師 団 Ⅰ. (No longer available online.) Organization of IJA, archived from the original on November 14, 2015 ; accessed on January 2, 2015 . 
2. ↑ Rotem Kowner, p. 106
3. ^ Website about 12th IJA Division