14th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
Encyclopedia
was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army
. Its call sign
was the .
(1904-1905). With Japan's resources strained to the breaking point towards the end of that conflict, the entire Imperial Japanese Army was committed to combat in Manchuria
, leaving not a single division to guard the Japanese main islands in case of attack. The division was raised from men in the Utsunomiya area, and was the only one of the four emergency divisions considered combat-ready (albeit still severely understrength) prior to the end of the war. It was dispatched to the front in August 1905, where it joined General Nogi Maresuke's Third Army.
The 14th Division was one of the Japanese units involved in the Siberian Intervention
(1919-1922), and elements stationed at Nikolayevsk-on-Amur
were massacred by Bolshevik
irregulars in what came to be known as the .
In 1932, the 14th Division (then under the control of the Kwantung Army) was involved in the First Shanghai Incident
. It also participated in the pacification of Manchukuo
.
With the outbreak of general hostilities in the Second Sino-Japanese War
, it was assigned to the Northern China Area Army
theater of operations and under the First Army
participated in the Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation
, and the campaign of Northern and Eastern Honan
where it was involved in the Battle of Lanfeng
.
In 1942, the 14th Division returned to Japan. At that time, its 50th Infantry Regiment was reassigned to the newly-formed 29th Division. In August 1942, the remainder of the 14th Division was sent back to Manchukuo
, and assigned to garrison duty.
As the situation in the Pacific War
against the United States
continued to deteriorate, the Supreme War Council
began transferring forces out of Manchukuo to the southern operational areas. The 14th Division was assigned to Palau
, with its 2nd Infantry Regiment sent to the island of Peleliu
, and one battalion
of its 29th Infantry Regiment stationed on the island of Angaur
. The subsequent Battle of Peleliu
and Battle of Angaur
were among the bloodiest of the Pacific War. At Angaur, 1338 of the 1400 defenders were killed, and at Peleliu, 10,695 of the 11,000 defenders perished. The 14th Division effectively ceased to exist with these battles.
Noted commanders in the history of the 14th Division have included Tsuchiya Mitsuharu, Samejima Shigeo, Uehara Yusaku, Suzuki Takao, Hata Shunroku and Kenji Doihara
.
. It had the following organization in the January 28 Incident
at Shanghai
in 1932:
14th Division
It had the following organization from 1937 until 1941:
14th Division
In 1941 it was reorganized as a triangular division
. From 1941 to 1944 it had the following organization:
14th Division
As a regimental combat team division from 1944 to 1945 it had this organization:
14th Division
The order of battle
for the 14th Division at the time of the Peleliu campaign included:
, known in Japanese
as gyoza. As the troops from the 14th Division were from Utsunomiya, they took this dish home with them, and Utsunomiya is famous throughout Japan to this day for its gyoza.
Allentown, PA: 1981
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. Its call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
was the .
History
The 14th Division was one of four divisions raised in the closing stages of the Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
(1904-1905). With Japan's resources strained to the breaking point towards the end of that conflict, the entire Imperial Japanese Army was committed to combat in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, leaving not a single division to guard the Japanese main islands in case of attack. The division was raised from men in the Utsunomiya area, and was the only one of the four emergency divisions considered combat-ready (albeit still severely understrength) prior to the end of the war. It was dispatched to the front in August 1905, where it joined General Nogi Maresuke's Third Army.
The 14th Division was one of the Japanese units involved in the Siberian Intervention
Siberian Intervention
The ', or the Siberian Expedition, of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War...
(1919-1922), and elements stationed at Nikolayevsk-on-Amur
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur often romanized as Nikolayevsk-na-Amure, is a town and the administrative center of Nikolayevsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia located on the Amur River close to its liman in the Pacific Ocean...
were massacred by Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
irregulars in what came to be known as the .
In 1932, the 14th Division (then under the control of the Kwantung Army) was involved in the First Shanghai Incident
January 28 Incident
The January 28 Incident was a short war between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before official hostilities of the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in 1937.- Naming :...
. It also participated in the pacification of Manchukuo
Pacification of Manchukuo
The Pacification of Manchukuo, was a campaign to pacify the resistance to the newly established puppet state of Manchukuo between the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies of Manchuria and later the Communist Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and the Imperial Japanese Army and the forces of the...
.
With the outbreak of general hostilities in the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, it was assigned to the Northern China Area Army
Japanese Northern China Area Army
The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.-History:The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to the newly formed China Expeditionary Army on September 23,...
theater of operations and under the First Army
Japanese First Army
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on three separate occasions.-History:The Japanese 1st Army was initially raised during the First Sino-Japanese War from September 1, 1894 to May 28, 1895 under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo...
participated in the Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation
Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation
The Japanese 京漢線作戦 or Peiking–Hankou Railway Operation was a follow up operation to the Peiking Tientsin Operation of the Japanese army in North China at the beginning of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese advanced to the south along the Peiking - Hankou Railway toward the Yellow River.....
, and the campaign of Northern and Eastern Honan
Northern and Eastern Honan 1938
During the Second Sino-Japanese War the Japanese 1st Army under Lt. General Kiyoshi Katsuki drove the Chinese forces of General Cheng Chien's 1st War Area out of Northern and Eastern Honan until they were stopped by the disastrous 1938 Yellow River flood caused by the diversion of the Yellow River...
where it was involved in the Battle of Lanfeng
Battle of Lanfeng
The Battle of Lanfeng was part of the larger campaign for Northern and Eastern Honan and was occurring at the same time as the Battle of Xuzhou...
.
In 1942, the 14th Division returned to Japan. At that time, its 50th Infantry Regiment was reassigned to the newly-formed 29th Division. In August 1942, the remainder of the 14th Division was sent back to Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
, and assigned to garrison duty.
As the situation in the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
against the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
continued to deteriorate, the Supreme War Council
Supreme War Council (Japan)
The Supreme War Council was established during the development of representative government in Meiji period Japan to further strengthen the authority of the state. Its first leader was Yamagata Aritomo , a Chōshū native who has been credited with the founding of the modern Japanese army and was to...
began transferring forces out of Manchukuo to the southern operational areas. The 14th Division was assigned to Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
, with its 2nd Infantry Regiment sent to the island of Peleliu
Peleliu
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....
, and one battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of its 29th Infantry Regiment stationed on the island of Angaur
Angaur
Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side...
. The subsequent Battle of Peleliu
Battle of Peleliu
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S...
and Battle of Angaur
Battle of Angaur
The Battle of Angaur was a battle of the Pacific campaign in World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from 17 —30 September 1944.-Background:...
were among the bloodiest of the Pacific War. At Angaur, 1338 of the 1400 defenders were killed, and at Peleliu, 10,695 of the 11,000 defenders perished. The 14th Division effectively ceased to exist with these battles.
Noted commanders in the history of the 14th Division have included Tsuchiya Mitsuharu, Samejima Shigeo, Uehara Yusaku, Suzuki Takao, Hata Shunroku and Kenji Doihara
Kenji Doihara
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. He was instrumental in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria for which he earned fame taking the nickname 'Lawrence of Manchuria', a reference to the Lawrence of Arabia....
.
Organization
First raised in 1905 as a square divisionSquare division
A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four regimental elements. Since a regiment could be split into separate battalions for tactical purposes, the natural division within a division...
. It had the following organization in the January 28 Incident
January 28 Incident
The January 28 Incident was a short war between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before official hostilities of the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in 1937.- Naming :...
at Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in 1932:
14th Division
- 27th Infantry Brigade
- 2nd Infantry Regiment
- 59th Infantry Regiment
- 28th Infantry Brigade
- 15th Infantry Regiment
- 50th Infantry Regiment
- 20th Field Artillery Regiment
- 18th Cavalry Regiment
- 14th Engineer Regiment
- 14th Battalion of Army Service Corps
It had the following organization from 1937 until 1941:
14th Division
- 27th Infantry Brigade
- 2nd Infantry Regiment
- 59th Infantry Regiment
- 28th Infantry Brigade
- 15th Infantry Regiment
- 50th Infantry Regiment
- 20th Field Artillery Regiment
- 18th Cavalry Regiment (to September 1940)
- 14th Reconnaissance Regiment (from September 1940)
- 14th Engineer Regiment
- 14th Transport Regiment
In 1941 it was reorganized as a triangular division
Triangular division
A triangular division is a designation given to the way divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade headquarters or directly subordinated to the division commander...
. From 1941 to 1944 it had the following organization:
14th Division
- 14th Division Infantry Group
- 2nd Infantry Regiment
- 15th Infantry Regiment
- 59th Infantry Regiment
- 20th Artillery Regiment
- 14th Reconnaissance Regiment
- 14th Engineer Regiment
- 14th Transport Regiment
As a regimental combat team division from 1944 to 1945 it had this organization:
14th Division
- 14th Division Tank Unit
- 2nd Infantry Regiment
- 15th Infantry Regiment
- 59th Infantry Regiment
- 14th Division Transport Unit
- 14th Division Sea Transport Unit
The order of battle
Order of battle
In modern use, the order of battle is the identification, command structure, strength, and disposition of personnel, equipment, and units of an armed force participating in field operations. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the...
for the 14th Division at the time of the Peleliu campaign included:
- 2nd InfantryInfantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
RegimentRegimentA regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
(raised in MitoMito, Ibarakiis the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and has a central location, moderately offset towards the coast in that prefecture. As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 263,748 and a total area is 217.45 km², giving a population density of 1,212.91 persons per km²...
) - 15th Infantry Regiment (raised in Takasaki)
- 59th Infantry Regiment (raised in Utsunomiya)
Trivia
The long stay of the 14th Division in Manchukuo led its troops to become very familiar and fond of the local specialty, fried JiaoziJiaozi
Jiǎozi 餃子 or 饺子 , bánh bột luộc , gyōza , Mo:Mo: or Momocha म:म: or ममचा , or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling widely spread to Japan, Eastern and Western Asia.Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into...
, known in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
as gyoza. As the troops from the 14th Division were from Utsunomiya, they took this dish home with them, and Utsunomiya is famous throughout Japan to this day for its gyoza.
Reference and further reading
- Madej, W. Victor. Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 [2 vols]
Allentown, PA: 1981