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 ...

. It was formed 1 October 1898 in Hirosaki, Aomori, as one of the six new reserve divisions created 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 ...

and was annihilated in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

during 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 ...

at Rodriguez, Rizal in 1945. Its '' Tsūshōgō'' (

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 8th Division consisted of troops from the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

of Japan, primarily Aomori, Akita and

Yamagata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It has a population of 1,005,926 (1 February 2025) and an area of 9,325 Square kilometre, km2 (3,600 Square mile, sq mi). Its neighbours are Akita Prefectu ...

s. Its first commander was General Tatsumi Naofumi, formerly commander of the

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

Garrison.

Division history

As the tensions with Russia grew after the

and Triple Intervention, the 8th Division was engaged in intensive cold-climate training, setting the stage for the infamous Hakkōda Mountains incident in January 1902, where 199 of 210 members of its 5th Infantry Regiment froze to death in

Hakkōda Mountains The are an active volcanic complex in south-central Aomori Prefecture, Japan, in Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Often called or simply , the mountains are collectively listed as one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. Its highest peak, M ...

. After 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 ...

began, the 8th Division was mobilized in June 1904. It was initially earmarked for a projected Japanese invasion of Primorskaya Oblast on the Siberian mainland, but was sent as a reserve force for the Siege of Port Arthur instead after that plan was shelved. It was then earmarked for the proposed invasion of Sakhalin, but the 13th Division was sent instead. The 8th Division remained in reserve until assigned as reinforcements at the Battle of Sandepu in January 1905. It acted with distinction, repelling a Russian counterattack together with the 5th Division. In February 1905, the division participated in Battle of Mukden. From 1910, the 8th Division was assigned to garrison duties in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, and it also participated in the Siberian Intervention starting in 1921. During Siberian Intervention, the 8th division was assigned to garrison

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is located in the Russian Far East and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The administrative centre of the krai is the types of ...

and Amur Oblast. The 8th Division (initially only the 4th Brigade participated in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in the aftermath of the Mukden Incident in September 1931 and was assigned to

Jiandao Jiandao or Chientao, known in Korean as Gando or Kando, is a historical border region along the north bank of the Tumen River in Jilin, Jilin Province, Northeast China that has a high population of ethnic Koreans. The word "Jiandao", literall ...

. The bulk of the division arrived in April 1932, and the division was at the Battle of Rehe from February 1933. It subsequently remained in

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 ...

as a garrison force. From 1937, the 8th division was subordinated to the

Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945. The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...

. On 13 January 1938, the division was assigned to 3rd Army remaining in Suiyang County. In 1939, its 32nd Infantry Regiment was transferred to the newly formed 24th Division, thus converting 8th Division to a triangular format. The division participated in the Kantokuen special training maneuvers in July 1941. On 19 September 1941, the 8th Division was subordinated to the 20th Army to perform a defense duty at the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

border, together with the 25th Division. It remained in Manchukuo through most of the early stages of the

. In February 1944, three detachments were formed (infantry battalion, artillery battalion and engineers company). These were combined into 11th Independent Mixed Regiment, and sent to Poluwat in June 1944, as the war situation in the Pacific grew increasingly difficult for Japan. Because of the lack of food and large number of wounded due American air raids, two of the three battalions were relocated to Truk in September 1944. In July 1944, the 8th Division was reassigned from Mudanjiang to the

under the command of General Yamashita Tomoyuki's 14th Area Army. Sea transfer to

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

started 10 August 1944 and was complete by 22 September 1944.8th Division (Sugi)
/ref> The 5th Infantry Regiment of 8th Division was transferred to Leyte in late July 1944, and by late December 1944 was nearly completely annihilated during the course of the Battle of Leyte. The remainder of the division still in Luzon were assigned to the 41st Army on 1 January 1945 and suffered heavy losses during the Battle of Manila in January 1945. The remnants of the 8th Division ceased fighting 2 September 1945 in Rodriguez, Rizal due to 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 ...

. Dissolution of the division was completed in December 1947. Notably, the Japanese holdout Hiroo Onoda, was from the 8th Division and did not surrender until 9 March 1974.

References

* Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945'' vols Allentown, PA: 1981 * This article incorporates material from the Japanese Wikipedia page 第8師団 (日本軍) {{DEFAULTSORT:08 Infantry Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Military units and formations established in 1898 Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations disestablished in 1947 1898 establishments in Japan 1947 disestablishments in Japan Hirosaki Military units and formations of the Battle of Manila (1945)

Division history

See also

References