8th Division (Japanese Empire)

8th division
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	15,000-24,000
Location	Hirosaki
Nickname	Sugi-heidan ( 杉 兵 団 , "Cedar Division")
Butcher	Russo-Japanese War Battle of Sandepu Battle of Mukden Siberian Intervention Invasion of Manchuria Second Sino-Japanese War Second World War Battle of Manila

The 8th Division ( Japanese 第 8 師 団 , Dai-hachi Shidan ) was a division of the Imperial Japanese Army , which existed from 1898 to 1945. Your Tsūshōgō code (military code name) was cedar division ( 杉 兵 団 , Sugi-heidan ) or 4700 or 4732 .

General data

The 8th Division was the second newly founded division 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 in 1888 . Responsible for Hirosaki which was the headquarters of the 15,000-strong division in the Aomori Prefecture .

History of unity

On October 1, 1998, it was formed as a square division from the 4th Brigade (5th and 31st Infantry Regiment) and 16th Brigade (17th and 32nd Infantry Regiment), the 8th  Cavalry Regiment and the 8th .  mountain artillery positioned regiment.

Soldiers of the 8th Division gained notoriety when two companies of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, took part in a winter exercise in anticipation of the Russo-Japanese War. Out of 210 soldiers participating in the exercise, 190 died in a snow storm and the events went down in history as the Hakkōda Mountain Incident .

During the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, the division of the 2nd Army was under the command of Lieutenant General Tatsumi Naofumi . She arrived there in January 1905 and took part in the battles of Sandepu and Mukden .

From 1918 to 1922 the 8th Division was involved in the Siberian Intervention . She was part of the Entente Powers that supported the White Army in the Russian Civil War against the Bolshevik Red Army . In the course of the operation, all ports and major 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 also withdrew in October 1922.

In 1931 parts of the division took part in the invasion of Manchuria . In 1937 it was converted into a triangular division with three infantry regiments, in the course of which the 32nd Infantry Regiment was transferred to the newly established 24th Division .

During World War II she was stationed in the Philippines and took part in the Battle of Manila , among other things .

structure

1898

• 4th brigade
  • 5th Infantry Regiment
  • 31st Infantry Regiment
• 16th brigade
  • 17th Infantry Regiment
  • 32nd Infantry Regiment
• 8th Cavalry Regiment
• 8th Mountain Artillery Regiment

1939

In February 1939 the conversion to the Triangular Type B "Standard" Division took place as follows:

• Staff (312 men)
  • Staff 8th Infantry Brigade (86 men)
    • 5th Infantry Regiment (4487 men)
    • 17th Infantry Regiment (4487 men)
    • 31st Infantry Regiment (4487 men)
  • 8. reconnaissance regiment
    • Staff (140 men)
    • Mounted (141 men)
    • 7 × Type 92 tankettes (52 men)
    • 1st motorized company (approx. 168 men)
    • 2nd motorized company (approx. 168 men)
    • Supply company (105 men)
  • Staff 8th Artillery Group (164 men)
    • 8. Mountain Artillery - Regiment (3254 men)
      • 1st Battalion, field guns (12 × 75 mm guns)
      • 2nd Battalion, Howitzers (12 × 105mm Howitzers)
      • 3rd Battalion, Howitzers (12 × 105mm Howitzers)
      • 4th Battalion, Heavy Howitzers (12 × 150mm Howitzers)
      • Artillery repair (164 men)
  • 8. pioneer regiment (898 men)
  • 8. Signal / telecommunication unit (232)
  • 8th Transport Regiment (1801 men)
  • 8. supply - company (108 men)
  • 8. Medical unit (1068 men)
  • 8th field hospital (3 × 278 men)
  • 8. Water supply and treatment unit (226 men)
  • 8th Veterinary Hospital (117 men)

Total strength: 23,891 men

guide

Division commanders

• Tatsumi Naofumi, Lieutenant General: October 1, 1898 - July 6, 1906
• Watanabe Sekusho, Lieutenant General: July 6, 1906 - December 21, 1908
• Yamanatake Akira, Lieutenant General: December 21, 1908 - February 14, 1912
• Koizumi Shoho, Lieutenant General: February 14, 1912 - May 11, 1914
• Oi Shigemoto, Lieutenant General: May 11, 1914 - July 2, 1918
• Shirai Jiro, Lieutenant General: July 2, 1918 - July 20, 1921
• Jutaro Shigetaro, Lieutenant General July 20, 1921 - February 4, 1924
• Takashi Hishikari, Lieutenant General: February 4, 1924 - August 26, 1927
• Jinzaburō Mazaki, Lieutenant General: August 26, 1927 - July 1, 1929
• Miyoshi Ichi, Lieutenant General: July 1, 1929 - August 1, 1931
• Nishi Giichi Yoshikazu, Lieutenant General: August 1, 1931 - March 5, 1934
• Nakamura Kotaro, Lieutenant General: March 5, 1934 - December 2, 1935
• Wataru Shimomoto, Lieutenant General: December 2, 1935 - August 2, 1937
• Toshitame Maeda, Lieutenant General: August 2, 1937 - December 10, 1938
• Tsukada Osamu, Lieutenant General: December 10, 1938 - October 28, 1940
• Honda Masaki, Lieutenant General: October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1942
• Shizuo Yokoyama, Lieutenant General: June 26, 1942 - September 1945

See also

• Divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army

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 .
• Victor Madej: Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle 1937–1945. Volume I + II, Game Marketing Company, 1981
• 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 .

Web links

• 師 団 Ⅰ. Organization of IJA, accessed January 2, 2015 .  , Japanese
• 弘 前 に 第 ８ 師 団 設置 ＝ ２７ (The 8th Division). Retrieved March 8, 2015 .  , Japanese

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Madej, p. 34
2. ↑ US General Staff, p. 107
3. ↑ Death March on Mount Hakkōda , English.
4. ↑ Excerpt from the film Mount Hakkoda
5. ^ Kowner, p. 105
6. ↑ Underwood, p. 22
7. ↑ ^{a b} Ness, p. 92