36th Division (Japanese Empire)

36th division
active	February 7, 1939 to 1945
Country	Japan
Armed forces	Japanese armed forces
Armed forces	Japanese army
Branch of service	infantry
Type	division
Strength	1939: approx. 20,000 ; 1944: approx. 12,000
Insinuation	1st Army ; 2nd Army
Location	Hirosaki
Nickname	Yuki-heidan ( 雪兵団 , "snow division")
Butcher	Second Sino-Japanese War Pacific War Battle for Biak;

The 36th Division ( Japanese 第 36 師団 , Dai-sanjūroku Shidan ) was a division of the Imperial Japanese Army , which was set up in 1939 and disbanded in 1945. Your Tsūshōgō code (military code name) was Snow Division ( 雪兵団 , Yuki-heidan ) or Yuki 3520 or Yuki 3521 .

History of unity

The 36th Division, like the 32nd , 33rd , 34th , 35th and 37th Divisions , was set up on February 7, 1939 as a Type B "Standard" Division as a Triangular Division . Under the command of Lieutenant General in May Den'o was the division of the 36th Infantry - Brigade (222nd, 223rd and 224th Regiment) and the 36th Tanketten - Company , the 36th mountain artillery regiment and the 36th pioneer - and Transport Regiment formed. The headquarters of the 20,000-strong division was in Hirosaki , Japanese Empire .

Second Sino-Japanese War

The division was shipped to the theater of the Second Sino-Japanese War in May 1939 after being deployed and was subordinate to the 1st Army there . Its main area of operation was in Shanxi Province , where it was used as a garrison unit in the hinterland to fight partisans and remained until November 1943.

In October 1943, as with many other Japanese units, a phase of regrouping of the division began. The division was converted into a so-called regimental combat group division. The 36th Mountain Artillery and Engineer Regiment was disbanded and evenly distributed among the infantry regiments so that they could be deployed independently. At the same time, the division was trained for amphibious warfare, for the purpose of which it was assigned a sea transport unit . Furthermore, the tankette company was dissolved and replaced by a tank unit with the type 95 Ha-Go .

In November 1943, she was moved to Shanghai , where she was prepared for shipment to New Guinea to be subordinated to the 2nd Army .

Pacific War

Incapacitated Type 95 Ha-Go tank of the 36th Panzer Unit on Biak

In early 1944, the Daihon'ei ordered reinforcements to be deployed to the Southwest Pacific to counter the Allied advance. For this purpose, the 36th Division embarked in Shanghai and reached the north-west coast of New Guinea via a stopover in Halmahera .

The 222nd Regiment and the Panzer Unit were transferred to the island of Biak , where they reinforced the 8,000 Japanese stationed there. In the subsequent battle for Biak in August 1944 and the subsequent retreat into the interior of the island, the regiment and the Type 95 Ha-Gos were destroyed.

The remnants of the division were disembarked south of Biak in New Guinea. In April 1944, US troops landed at Aitape and pushed the Japanese further and further back. The cut off supply routes by sea and air reduced the division's combat strength and led to losses of around 5,000 men due to hunger and disease. Only offering sporadic resistance, the survivors held out until September 1945. The 36th Division was disbanded shortly afterwards and the surviving soldiers were brought to Japan after the surrender.

structure

1939

In February 1939 it was set up as the Triangular Type B "Standard" Division as follows:

Staff (350 men)
- Headquarters 36th Infantry Brigade (90 men)
  - 222nd Infantry Regiment (3845 men)
  - 223rd Infantry Regiment (3845 men)
  - 224th Infantry Regiment (3845 men)
- 36th Tankette Company (100 men)
- 36th Mountain Artillery Regiment (3500 men; 36 Type 41 75 mm mountain guns )
- 36th Engineer Regiment (956 men)
- 36.Signal unit (240)
- 36th Transport Regiment (1810 men)
- 36th Supply Company (110 men)
- 36th Field Hospital (3 × 250 men)
- 36th water supply and treatment unit (235 men)
- 36th Veterinary Hospital (114 men)

Total strength: 19,790 men

1943

In October 1943 the conversion to a so-called regimental combat group division took place. The 36th Mountain Artillery Regiment was disbanded and evenly distributed among the infantry regiments in order to be able to use them independently. At the same time, the division was trained for amphibious warfare, for the purpose of which it was assigned a sea transport unit .

Rod
- Headquarters 36th Infantry Brigade
  - 222nd Infantry Regiment
  - 223rd Infantry Regiment
  - 224th Infantry Regiment
- 36th Panzer Unit (6 × Type 95 Ha-Go )
- 36. Signal unit
- 36. Transport unit
- 36. Sea transport unit
- 36th Supply Company
- 36th Field Hospital
- 36. Water supply and treatment unit

guide

Division commanders

Mai Den'o ( 舞伝男 ), Lieutenant General: March 9, 1939 - August 1, 1940
Iseki Mitsuru ( 井関仭 ), Lieutenant General: August 1, 1940 - February 28, 1943
Okamoto Yasuyuki ( 岡本保之 ), Lieutenant General: February 28, 1943 - October 1, 1943
Tagami Hachirō ( 田上八郎 ), Lieutenant General: October 1, 1943 - 1945

Web links

41st Division, US Army: History of the Biak Operation. dtic.mil, 1945, accessed on August 10, 2016 (English).

literature

Victor Madej: Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945. Game Publishing, 1981, OCLC 833591372 , OCLC 833591376 .
John Underwood: The Japanese Order of Battle in World War II, Vol I. The Nafziger Collection, Inc., 1999, ISBN 978-1-58545-044-2
Leland Ness: Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937-1945. Helion & Company, 2014, ISBN 978-1-909982-00-0 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Madej, p. 63
↑ The page 31. （ヒト - 陸士１９期） . 参拾壱頁 , accessed August 3, 2015 (Japanese).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Underwood, p. 22
↑ Madej, p. 64
↑ 41st Division, US Army: History of the Biak Operation. dtic.mil, 1944, accessed on August 10, 2016 (English).

[Madej63-1] Madej, p. 63

[2] The page 31. （ヒト - 陸士１９期） . 参拾壱頁 , accessed August 3, 2015 (Japanese).

[Underwood-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Underwood, p. 22

[Madej64-4] Madej, p. 64

[5] 41st Division, US Army: History of the Biak Operation. dtic.mil, 1944, accessed on August 10, 2016 (English).