The was an

infantry division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically mak ...

in 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

tsūshōgō were unit code names used by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. Each ''tsūshōgō'' consisted of a and a . Unit Character Codes typically consisted of one character, although some units established in the late stages of the ...

code name A code name, codename, call sign, or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in ...

was the , and its military symbol was 12D. The 12th Division was one of six new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army after the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

(1894–1895). The division received its colors on 1 October 1898 and disbanded in September 1945. Its troops were recruited primarily from communities in the northern portion of the island of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 107. and it was originally headquartered within

Kokura Castle is a castle in Kitakyushu, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okho ...

(now part of the city of

Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...

)

Action

During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, under the command of Lieutenant General

Inoue Hikaru Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War. Biography Inoue was born as a younger son to the Moriwaki family in Iwakuni Domain (present day Yamaguchi prefecture), and was later a ...

, the division deployed to

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

as part of the 1st army. It returned to Kokura after the war, and was deployed again to the continent during the

Japanese intervention in Siberia The of 1918–1922 was a dispatch of Japanese military forces to the Russian Maritime Provinces, as part of a larger effort by western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil ...

from 19 August 1918. The divisional arsenal in

was used meanwhile to supply other units. The participation in the Siberian Intervention has ended 19 July 1919, but resumed again briefly in 1921. The 12th Division headquarters was relocated to

Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 295,367 in 137,140 households, and a population density of 1309 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kurume is located in the Chikugo Plain ...

, another city in

Fukuoka prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

in 1925. In February 1932, following the First Shanghai Incident, the IJA 24th Infantry Regiment of the 12th Division was reinforced with additional artillery units, becoming the 24th Mixed Brigade, which was deployed to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, and which was later (from April 1936) assigned to

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

. During that period, the ''12th division'' was an elite unit, sporting an disproportionately large amount of firepower and heavy equipment. In 1940, the division was reorganized into 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 ...

, with its IJA 14th Infantry Regiment joining the IJA 25th Division. The 12th Division, under Lieutenant General

Masakazu Kawabe was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He held important commands in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and during World War II in the Burma Campaign and defense of the Japanese homeland late in the war. He was ...

was then permanently relocated to Manchukuo from July 1940, coming under the control of the Japanese Third Army in Dongning and was used primarily for policing and anti-partisan activities. The 56th division took the now vacant

headquarters. However, in 1944 as the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

situation became increasing unfavorable for Japan, the 12th Division was transferred to

Hsinchu Hsinchu (, ), officially Hsinchu City, is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan that is not a special municipality, with estimated 450,655 inhabitants. Hsinchu is a coastal city bordering the Taiwan ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, where it bolstered the defenses of the 10th area army (and to the 40th army in time it was based on

in early 1945) against a possible Allied invasion. However, the Allies bypassed Taiwan and landed on

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

instead, so the 12th Division ended World War II as a garrison force in Taiwan without having seen combat.

References

* * Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945'' volsAllentown, PA: 1981 * This article incorporates material from the Japanese Wikipedia page 第12師団 (日本軍), retrieved 10 February 2016

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:12th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1898 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1898 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan Japanese involvement in the Russian Civil War

Action

See also

References

Notes