3rd Division (Japanese Empire)

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3rd division

IJA 6th Infantry Regiment 1940.jpg

Soldiers of the 6th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Division cross the Bái-hé River during the Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang , May 8, 1940.
active May 14, 1888 to 1945
Country JapanJapan Japanese Empire
Armed forces JapanJapan (war flag) Japanese armed forces
Armed forces JapanJapan (war flag) Japanese army
Branch of service infantry
Type division
Strength 15,000-23,000
Location Nagoya , Aichi Prefecture
Nickname Kō-heidan ( 幸 兵 団 , "luck division")
Butcher First Sino-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

Battle of the Nanshan
Battle of Te-li-ssu
Battle of Tashihchiao
Battle of Liaoyang
Battle of Mukden

Siberian Intervention
Jinan Incident
Second Sino-Japanese War
Second World War

The 3rd Division ( Japanese 第 3 師 団 , Dai-san shidan ) was a division of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1888 to 1945 . Your Tsūshōgō code (military code name) was Glücks-Division ( 幸 兵 団 , Kō-heidan ) or 3700 or 3741 .

General data

The origins of the 3rd Division go back to the troops stationed in the Nagoya garrison. On the recommendation of the Prussian military advisor Jakob Meckel , the first six divisions were formed from the six regional commands that had existed since 1871. The division acted, entered service on May 14, 1888 in Nagoya , Aichi Prefecture , and initially comprised around 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 , Bolsheviks and the USA . Its last location was in Zhejiang Province, China , where it was disbanded in 1945.

History of unity

In May 1888 it was formed as a square division from the 5th Brigade (6th and 68th Infantry Regiment) and 17th Brigade (18th and 34th Infantry Regiment), the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and the 3rd 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 subordinate to the 2nd Army under the command of Lieutenant General Ōshima Yoshimasa , landed in May 1904 at Pitzuwo, about 80 km northeast of Port Arthur, and took part in the battle of Nanshan . This was followed by the Battle of Te-li-ssu , Battle of Tashihchiao , Battle of Liaoyang and the Battle of Mukden .

From 1918 to 1922 the 3rd Division was involved in the Siberian Intervention . She was part of the Entente Powers to support the White Army in the Russian Civil War against the Bolshevik Red Army . In the course of the operation, all ports and larger cities in the Russian province of Primorye and eastern Siberia were occupied. Given the withdrawal of their allies and the high costs, the Japanese soldiers finally withdrew in October 1922.

Soldiers of the 18th Regiment during the Battle of Dachang , 1937

From 1937 the 3rd Division took part in the Second Sino-Japanese War and fought in the Chinese theater of war until the end of the Second World War, mainly against troops from the Republic of China . In August 1942 the division was converted into a Type A "Reinforced" Division as a Triangular Division with three regiments.

Its last location was in Zhejiang Province, China , where it was disbanded in 1945.

structure

1888

  • 5th Brigade
    • 6th Infantry Regiment
    • 33rd Infantry Regiment
  • 17th brigade
    • 18th Infantry Regiment
    • 34th Infantry Regiment
  • 3rd Cavalry Regiment
  • 3rd Artillery Regiment
  • 3rd Engineer Regiment

1905

  • 5th Brigade
    • 6th Infantry Regiment
    • 68th Infantry Regiment
  • 30th brigade
    • 33rd Infantry Regiment
    • 51st Infantry Regiment
  • 3rd Cavalry Regiment
  • 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
  • 3rd Engineer Regiment
  • 3rd Transport Regiment

1923

  • 5th Brigade
    • 6th Infantry Regiment
    • 68th Infantry Regiment
  • 29th Brigade
    • 18th Infantry Regiment
    • 34th Infantry Regiment
  • 3rd Cavalry Regiment
  • 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
  • 3rd Engineer Regiment
  • 3rd Transport Regiment

1941

In August 1941 the reclassification to a type A "reinforced" division as a triangular division took place as follows:

  • Division staff (410 men)
    • Staff 3rd Infantry Brigade (100 men)
      • 6th Infantry Regiment (3400 men)
      • 34th Infantry Regiment (3400 men)
      • 68th Infantry Regiment (3400 men)
    • 3rd Cavalry Regiment
      • Staff (30 men)
      • Mounted company (300 men)
      • Type 92 Tanketten Company (100 men)
      • 1st motorized company (160 men)
      • 2nd motorized company (160 men)
      • Supply company (100 men)
    • Staff division artillery groups (178 men)
      • 3rd Field Artillery Regiment leadership (265 men)
      • 1st Battalion (9 × 75 mm guns (approx. 550 men))
      • 2nd Battalion (9 × 75 mm guns (approx. 550 men))
      • 3rd Battalion (9 × 75 mm guns (approx. 550 men))
    • 3rd Engineer Regiment (900 men)
    • 3. Signal unit (220)
    • 3rd Transport Regiment (2820 men)
    • 3rd Supply Company (185 men)
    • 3rd field hospital (four field hospitals with 250 men each)
    • 3rd water supply and treatment unit (160 men)
    • 3. Veterinary hospital (100 men)
    • 3rd medical unit (1000 men)

Total strength: 23,438 men

guide

Division commanders

  • Kurokawa Tsu, Lieutenant General: May 14, 1888 - June 1, 1891
  • Katsura Tarō, Lieutenant General: June 1, 1891 - June 2, 1896
  • Hasegawa Yoshimichi, Lieutenant General: June 6, 1896 - January 14, 1898
  • Kodama Gentarō, Lieutenant General: January 14, 1898 - February 26, 1898
  • Oshima Yoshimasa, Lieutenant General: February 26, 1898 - October 18, 1905
  • Matsunaga Masatoshi, Lieutenant General: October 18, 1905 - July 6, 1906
  • Okubo Haruno, Lieutenant General: July 6, 1906 - December 21, 1908
  • Watanabe Jōtarō, Lieutenant General: December 21, 1908 - March 1, 1913
  • Uehara Yusaku, Lieutenant General: March 1, 1913 - June 9, 1913
  • Oka Ichinosuke, Lieutenant General: June 9, 1913 - April 16, 1914
  • Senba Taro, Lieutenant General: April 17, 1914 - February 15, 1915
  • Oba Jiro, Lieutenant General: February 15, 1915 - November 25, 1919
  • Kikuchi Shinnosuke, Lieutenant General: November 25, 1919 - May 5, 1921
  • Muto Nobuyoshi, Lieutenant General: May 5, 1921 - November 24, 1922
  • Hama Matasuke, Lieutenant General: November 24, 1922 - March 10, 1923
  • Inoue Ikutaro, Lieutenant General: March 10, 1923 - July 28, 1926
  • Yasushitsu Kinichi, Lieutenant General: July 28, 1926 - August 1, 1929
  • Koizumi Rokuichi, Lieutenant General: August 1, 1929 - August 1, 1930
  • Sakabe Masuo, Lieutenant General: August 1, 1930 - November 7, 1930
  • Yoshiyuki Kawashima, Lieutenant General: November 7, 1930 - January 9, 1932
  • Wakayama Zentaro, Lieutenant General: January 9, 1932 - March 15, 1935
  • Iwa Etzu Koichi Lieutenant General: March 15, 1935 - March 23, 1936
  • Ito Masaki, Lieutenant General: March 23, 1936 - August 2, 1937
  • Fujita Susumu, Lieutenant General: August 2, 1937 - October 14, 1939
  • Yamawaki Masataka , Lieutenant General: October 14, 1939 - September 28, 1940
  • Toshima Fusataro, Lieutenant General: September 28, 1940 - December 24, 1941
  • Takahashi Taga, Lieutenant General: December 24, 1941 - March 25, 1943
  • Yamamoto Mitsuo, Lieutenant General: March 25, 1943 - March 1, 1945
  • Tatsumi Eiichi, Lieutenant General: March 1, 1945 - September 1945

See also

literature

  • US General Staff: Epitome of the Russo-Japanese War . US War Department. 1907.
  • Committee of Imperial Defense (UK). Official History of The Russo-Japanese War , 1908.
  • John Underwood: The Japanese Order of Battle in World War II, Vol I The Nafziger Collection, Inc., 1999, ISBN 978-1-5854-5044-2 .
  • Victor Madej: Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle 1937–1945, Volume I + II , Game Marketing Company, 1981.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Madej, p. 28.
  2. ↑ Rotem Kowner : The A to Z of the Russo-Japanese War. 2009, p. 104.
  3. ↑ a b c Underwood, p. 58.
  4. ^ Committee of Imperial Defense, p. 140.
  5. ↑ US General Staff.