- 33rd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 33rd Infantry Division
caption=
dates= 1943 - 1944
country=Empire of Japan
allegiance=
branch=Imperial Japanese Army
type=Infantry
role=
size=
command_structure=
garrison=Utsunomiya, Tochigi
current_commander=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
notable_commanders=
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_2=
nickname=Bow Division
patron=
motto=
colors=
colors_label=
march=
mascot=
battles=Battle of Imphal
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=nihongo|IJA Thirty Third Division|第33師団|Hohei Sanju-san Shidan was an
infantry division in theImperial Japanese Army . Itscall sign was the nihongo|Bow Division|弓兵団|Yumi Heidan.History
The 33rd Division was raised in
Utsunomiya ,Tochigi prefecture , but its headquarters was inSendai . It was raised from conscripts largely from the northern Kantō prefecturers of Tochigi, Ibaraki and Gunma. Initially assigned to theJapanese 11th Army in central China, it saw combat at the First Battle of Changsha. It was transferred to theJapanese 15th Army on6 November 1941 , and took part in the invasion ofBritish Burma , under Lieutenant GeneralShozo Sakurai . It suffered a severe defeat at theBattle of Yenangyaung . Afterwards, it was one of the key divisions in theBattle of Imphal , at which it was all but annihilated as a front-line combat force.Battle of Imphal
Late in 1943, the Japanese command in
Burma had been reorganized. A new headquarters,Burma Area Army , was created under Lieutenant-GeneralMasakasu Kawabe . One of its subordinate formations, responsible for the central part of the front facingBritish India inNagaland andAssam , wasJapanese 15th Army , whose new commander was Lieutenant-GeneralRenya Mutaguchi . At the same time, Lieutenant General Sakurai was promoted to commandJapanese 28th Army in southern Burma, being replaced in command of 33rd Division by Lieutenant GeneralMotoso Yanagida .Mutaguchi’s plan was to have the 33rd Division destroy the Indian 17th Infantry Division at Tiddim, then attack
Imphal from the south. The 33rd Division's Infantry Group HQ, under Major-GeneralTsunoru Yamamoto , formed "Yamamoto Force", composed of units of the Japanese 33rd and 15th Divisions which would destroy theIndian 20th Infantry Division at Tamu, then attackImphal from the east. Meanwhile, theJapanese 15th Infantry Division under Lieutenant-GeneralMasafumi Yamauchi would envelop Imphal from the north, while in a separate subsidiary operation, theJapanese 31st Infantry Division under Lieutenant-GeneralKotoku Sato would isolate Imphal by capturing nearbyKohima . All Mutaguchi's divisional commanders disagreed with the plan to some extent, and Yanagida openly derided him as an "imbecile".In the opening stages of the
Battle of Imphal the 33rd Division cut off Indian 17th Division under Major-General Cowan. The Japanese 215 Regiment under ColonelMasahiko Sasahara captured a supply dump at Milestone 109, twenty miles behind Cowan's leading outposts. The Japanese 214 Regiment under ColonelTakanobu Sakuma seized Tongzang and a ridge named Tuitum Saddle across the only road, a few miles behind the Indian 17th Division's position. However, they were unable to dig in properly before they were hit by the Indian 48th Brigade on18 March 1944 , taking heavy casualties. Fighting around Milestone 109 was even more severe.In early April the 33rd Division attacked from the south at
Bishenpur , where they cut a secondary track fromSilchar into the plain. Yanagida was already pessimistic and depressed by his failure to trap the Indian 17th Division. He had also been rattled by a garbled radio message which suggested that one of his regiments had been destroyed at Milestone 109. He therefore advanced cautiously. By doing so, he may have lost a chance to gain success as Bishenpur was held only by Indian 32 Brigade (from 20th Division) and the Indian 17th Infantry Division was resting after its retreat. Mutaguchi removed him from command.In early May, the British counter-attacked. None of the Japanese divisions had received adequate supplies since the offensive began, and some of the troops were starving; others were sick with malaria, and most were low on ammunition. Although there was now no realistic hope of success, Mutaguchi (and Kawabe) ordered renewed attacks. 33rd Division, reinforced by battalions from the 53rd and 54th Divisions and under a new forceful commander, Lieutenant-General Nobuo Tanaka, broke into the Indian 17th Division's positions at Bishenpur, but failed to break through.
By late May, Mutaguchi's divisional commanders refused to make a renewed attacks on Imphal, as they were in no condition to comply. Mutaguchi finally ordered the offensive to be broken off on
3 July 1943 . The Japanese fell back to theChindwin River , abandoning their artillery, transport, and soldiers too sick to walk. The defeat at Kohima and Imphal was the largest defeat to that date in Japanese history. They had suffered 55,000 casualties, including 13,500 dead.Later Operations in Burma
The Division was rebuilt to a strength of about 10,000. When the Allies launched their offensive into Central Burma, the Japanese withdrew behind the
Irrawaddy River . A rearguard from 33rd Division took heavy losses defending the river port ofMonywa on the Chindwin. During the fighting in February and March after the Allies crossed the Irrawaddy, 33rd Division defended the vital river port ofMyingyan . It was not directly attacked, as the Allied bridgeheads were east and west of their positions. The division held Myingyan until most of 15th Army were already in full retreat. It suffered further casualties in attempting to retreat south.At the end of the war, the division had moved to
Moulmein in southern Burma. During the entire Burma campaign, the division suffered 22,316 casualties, including 15,033 dead.Organization
The 33rd Division was organized as a
triangular division .33rd Division -
* 33rd Infantry Brigade group:
** 213th Infantry regiment (Mito )
** 214th Infantry regiment (Utsunomiya )
** 215th Infantry regiment (Takasaki )
* 33rd Mountain Artillery regiment
* 33rd Military Engineer regiment
* 33rd Transport regimentee also
*
List of Japanese Infantry Divisions
*Battle of Imphal Reference and further reading
* Madej, W. Victor. "Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945" [2 vols] Allentown, PA: 1981
* Latimer, Jon. "Burma: The Forgotten War", London: John Murray, 2004. ISBN 978-0719565762
* Allen, Louis. "Burma: The longest War", Dent Publishing, 1984, ISBN 0-460-02474-4
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