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 on 16 September 1941 at

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

and initially assigned to

Central District Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands during the Pacific War. It was one of the regional commands in the Japanese home islands reporting to the General Defense Command. Comman ...

. The nucleus for the division formation was the headquarters of the 16th division. The men of the ''53rd Division'' were drafted from

Shiga is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to t ...

, Fukui, Mie and

prefectures, belonging to Kyoto mobilization district. The ''53rd Division'' was initially assigned as the reserve of the

Southern Expeditionary Army Group The was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It was responsible for all military operations in South East Asian and South West Pacific campaigns of World War II. Its military symbol was NA. The Southern Expediti ...

in November 1943. In December 1943, the division sailed from

Moji Moji may refer to: * '' Onji'' or ''hyōon moji'' (表音文字), phonic characters used in counting beats in Japanese poetry * Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū, ward (district) of the city of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan ** Moji Station in that wa ...

, with a stop-over in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

and in January 1944 landed in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. On 29 April 1944, the division was assigned to the 33rd army, and arrived in the northern outskirts of

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

on 13 May 1944. In June 1944 the 153rd Infantry Regiment was detached to reinforce the 33rd division in the ailing

Battle of Imphal The Battle of Imphal () took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in Northeast India from March until July 1944. Empire of Japan, Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and ...

and was largely wiped out. The main body of the division took part in several battles against the

Chindits The Chindits, officially known as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. Brigadier Orde Wingate formed the ...

, a large British and Indian long-range penetration force which was operating north of

Indaw Indaw (, ) is a town in northern Myanmar and is the principal town of Indaw Township, Katha District, Sagaing Region. It is located south-east of Indaw Lake. The rail junction at Naba is located about to the north-east of the town. History In ...

. In late May, they defeated a Chindit brigade to clear the lines of communication to the 18th division, but at the end of June the division was driven from Mogaung, with 1600 casualties. From January 1945, the division was used as a reserve force in the

Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay The concurrent Battle of Meiktila and Battle of Mandalay were decisive engagements near the end of the Burma campaign during World War II. Collectively, they are sometimes referred to as the Battle of Central Burma. Despite logistical difficultie ...

, with the main body of the ''53rd division'' staying south of

. The 119th infantry regiment was attached to the 18th division for its attacks on Meiktila. After the attacks on Meiktila were broken off, the remnants of the division attempted to hold a position near Pyawbwe but were overrun by allied tanks. Finally, after retreating south, the division suffered further heavy casualties to artillery fire and airstrikes in the Battle of the Sittang Bend in July–August 1945. The remnants of the division ceased fighting on the lower

Sittang River The Sittaung River ( ; formerly, the Sittang or Sittoung) is a river in south central Myanmar in Bago Division. The Pegu Range separates its basin from that of the Irrawaddy. The river originates at the edge of the Shan Hills southeast of Ma ...

on 17 August 1945,Yoshimi Yoshiaki, "Grassroots Fascism: The War Experience of the Japanese People", p.238 after 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 ...

Notes

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第53師団 (日本軍), accessed 3 June 2016

Reference and further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:53th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1940 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Burma J

See also

Notes

See also

Reference and further reading