The was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

division of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

. Its

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was the . It was formed 16 June 1938 in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

as a B-class

square 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 "maneuver," i.e., infantry regimental elements. Other types of regiments, such as artiller ...

. The nucleus for the formation was the

4th division In military terms, 4th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *4th (Quetta) Division, British Indian Army * 4th Alpine Division Cuneense, Italy * 4th Blackshirt Division (3 January), Italy *4th Canadian Division *4th Division (Australia) * 4th ...

headquarters. The division was originally subordinated to the

Northern China Area Army The was an area 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 th ...

History

Originally the ''104th division'' was sent for the escalating

Battle of Lake Khasan The Battle of Lake Khasan (), also known as the Changkufeng Incident (Chinese and Japanese: zh, s=張鼓峰事件, labels=no; Chinese pinyin: zh, hp=Zhānggǔfēng Shìjiàn, labels=no; Japanese romaji: ), was an attempted military incursion b ...

on Soviet border, but the battle was finished 11 August 1938. Therefore, the ''104th division'' was attached to 21st Army on 19 September 1938 and sailed from

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

on 4 October 1938. It arrived in

Daya Bay Daya Bay (), formerly known as Bias Bay, is a bay of the South China Sea on the south coast of Guangdong Province in China. It is bordered by Shenzhen's Dapeng Peninsula to the west and Huizhou to the north and east. History The bay was a hideo ...

on 12 October 1938. The 137th Infantry Regiment then landed and proceeded inland to isolate

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, as part of the large-scale

Canton Operation The Canton Operation (; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Zhànyì) was part of a campaign by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade China to prevent it from communicating with the outside world and importing needed arms and materials. Control ...

. Afterwards, the main garrison of the 104th Division was established in Conghua District. On 9 February 1940 the 21st Army was dissolved and the 104th Division was reassigned to the

Southern China Area Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during Second Sino-Japanese War. History The Japanese South China Area Army was formed on February 9, 1940 under the control of the China Expeditionary Army. It was transferred to direct control ...

. The 104th Division was reassigned to the 23rd Army in January 1941, and simultaneously lost the 170th Infantry Regiment, becoming a

triangular division A triangular division is a designation given to the way military 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 hea ...

.104th Division (Ootori)
/ref> The detached regiment was converted into the 21st Independent Mixed Brigade which was eventually sent to participate in the Invasion of Southern French Indochina. After a long garrison service in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, the 104th Division participated in

Operation Ichi-Go Operation Ichi-Go () was a campaign of a series of major battles between the Imperial Japanese Army forces and the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, fought from April to December 1944. It consisted of three separate battles in ...

, capturing

Zhaoqing Zhaoqing ( zh, c=肇庆), alternately romanized as Shiuhing, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,113,594, with 1,553,109 living in the built-up (or metro) area made of Duanz ...

on 16 September 1944,

Wuxuan County Wuxuan County (; ) is a county in the east-central part of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Laibin. During the Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletari ...

on 4 November 1944 and

Xiangzhou County Xiangzhou County (; ) is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Laibin Laibin ( zh, s=来宾市, t=來賓市, p=Láibīn, Zhuang: Laizbinh) is a prefecture-level city in the central part of t ...

on 6 November 1944. Also, it captured

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...

on 15 January 1945 and

Haifeng County Haifeng County ( postal: Hoifung; ) is a county under the administration of Shanwei, in the southeast of Guangdong Province, China. History Hakka peasants from nearby villages of Chengxiang county (modern-day Meixian) immigrated to Haifeng, f ...

on 18 January 1945. Until the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

on 15 August 1945, the 104th Division built coastal fortifications along the

–

– Lufeng –

line. The 161st Infantry Regiment and 104th Transport Regiment were concentrated at

. The 108th Infantry Regiment was at

Dongguan Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...

. It was moved to the port of

Taiping, Perak Taiping () is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town, Penang. With a population of 245,18 ...

by 16 February 1946. The 137th Infantry Regiment was garrisoned at

, and was moved to

Humen Town Humen Town (), formerly Fumun, is a town in Dongguan city on the eastern side of the Humen strait on the Pearl River Delta, in Guangdong province, China. The former town of Taiping was incorporated into Humen Town in 1985. The population was 838,00 ...

port on 19 February 1946. The 104th Artillery Regiment was located on the southern outskirts of

, but was transferred on 18 February 1946 to

. The 104th Engineer Regiment was in

. The division departed from

port between 28 March and 2 April 1946, and arrived at

Uraga, Kanagawa is a subdivision of the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located on the south eastern side of the Miura Peninsula, at the northern end of the Uraga Channel, at the entrance of Tokyo Bay. History With the establishment of the ...

between 6 and 19 April 1946. The dissolution of the 104th Division was complete by 23 May 1946.

Notes

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第104師団 (日本軍), accessed 16 June 2016

References

* Madej, W. Victor, ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle'', 1937–1945 vols Allentown, PA: 1981. * {{DEFAULTSORT:104th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 1938 establishments in Japan 1946 disestablishments in Japan

History

See also

Notes

References