- 14th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 14th Infantry Division
caption=
dates= 1905 - 1945
country=Empire of Japan
allegiance=
branch=Imperial Japanese Army
type=Infantry
role=
size=
command_structure=
garrison=Utsunomiya ,Japan
current_commander=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
notable_commanders=Tsuchiya Mitsuharu
Samejima ShigeoUehara Yusaku
Suzuki Takao
Hata Shunroku Kenji Doihara
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_2=
nickname=Shining Division
patron=
motto=
colors=
colors_label=
march=
mascot=
battles=Russo-Japanese War Siberian Intervention
First Shanghai IncidentMarco Polo Bridge Incident Second Sino-Japanese War Battle of Peleliu Battle of Angaur
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=nihongo|IJA Fourteenth Division|第14師団|Hohei Ju-yon Shidan was an
infantry division in theImperial Japanese Army . Itscall sign was the nihongo|Shining Division|照兵団|Sho Heidan.History
The 14th Division was one of four divisions raised in the closing stages of the
Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). With Japan's resources strained to the breaking point towards the end of that conflict, the entire Imperial Japanese Army was committed to combat inManchuria , leaving not a single division to guard the Japanese main islands in case of attack. The division was raised from men in theUtsunomiya area, and was the only one of the four emergency divisions considered combat-ready (albeit still severely understrength) prior to the end of the war. It was dispatched to the front in August 1905, where it joined GeneralNogi Maresuke 's Third Army.The 14th Division was one of the Japanese units involved in the
Siberian Intervention (1919-1922), and elements stationed atNikolayevsk-on-Amur were massacred byBolshevik irregulars in what came to be known as the nihongo|Nikolaevsk Incident |尼港事件|Niko Jiken.In 1932, the 14th Division (then under the control of the
Kwantung Army ) was involved in the First Shanghai Incident. It also participated in thepacification of Manchukuo .With the outbreak of general hostilities in the
Second Sino-Japanese War , it was assigned to the Northern China Area Army theater of operations and under the First Army participated in theBeiping–Hankou Railway Operation , and the campaign of Northern and Eastern Honan where it was involved in theBattle of Lanfeng .In 1942, the 14th Division returned to Japan. At that time, its 50th Infantry Regiment was reassigned to the newly-formed 29th Division. In August 1942, the remainder of the 14th Division was sent back to
Manchukuo , and assigned to garrison duty.As the situation in the
Pacific War against theUnited States continued to deteriorate, the Supreme War Council began transferring forces out of Manchukuo to the southern operational areas. The 14th Division was assigned toPalau , with its 2nd Infantry Regiment sent to the island ofPeleliu , and onebattalion of its 29th Infantry Regiment stationed on the island ofAngaur . The subsequentBattle of Peleliu andBattle of Angaur were among the bloodiest of the Pacific War. At Angaur, 1338 of the 1400 defenders were killed, and at Peleliu, 10,695 of the 11,000 defenders perished. The 14th Division effectively ceased to exist with these battles.Noted commanders in the history of the 14th Division have included Tsuchiya Mitsuharu, Samejima Shigeo,
Uehara Yusaku , Suzuki Takao,Hata Shunroku andKenji Doihara .Organization
First raised in 1905 as a
square division . It had the following organization in theJanuary 28 Incident atShanghai in 1932:14th Division
* 27th Infantry Brigade
** 2nd Infantry Regiment
** 59th Infantry Regiment
* 28th Infantry Brigade
** 15th Infantry Regiment
** 50th Infantry Regiment
* 20th Field Artillery Regiment
* 18th Cavalry Regiment
* 14th Engineer Regiment
* 14th Battalion of Army Service CorpsIt had the following organization from 1937 until 1941:
14th Division
* 27th Infantry Brigade
** 2nd Infantry Regiment
** 59th Infantry Regiment
* 28th Infantry Brigade
** 15th Infantry Regiment
** 50th Infantry Regiment
* 20th Field Artillery Regiment
* 18th Cavalry Regiment (to September 1940)
* 14th Reconnaissance Regiment (from September 1940)
* 14th Engineer Regiment
* 14th Transport RegimentIn 1941 it was reorganized as a
triangular division . From 1941 to 1944 it had the following organization:14th Division
* 14th Division Infantry Group
** 2nd Infantry Regiment
** 15th Infantry Regiment
** 59th Infantry Regiment
* 20th Artillery Regiment
* 14th Reconnaissance Regiment
* 14th Engineer Regiment
* 14th Transport RegimentAs a regimental combat team division from 1944 to 1945 it had this organization:
14th Division
* 14th Division Tank Unit
* 2nd Infantry Regiment
* 15th Infantry Regiment
* 59th Infantry Regiment
* 14th Division Transport Unit
* 14th Division Sea Transport UnitThe
order of battle for the 14th Division at the time of the Peleliu campaign included:
* 2ndInfantry Regiment (raised in Mito)
* 15th Infantry Regiment (raised inTakasaki )
* 59th Infantry Regiment (raised inUtsunomiya )Trivia
The long stay of the 14th Division in Manchukuo led its troops to become very familiar and fond of the local specialty, fried
Jiaozi , known in Japanese as "gyoza". As the troops from the 14th Division were from Utsunomiya, they took this dish home with them, and Utsunomiya is famous throughout Japan to this day for its "gyoza".ee also
*
List of Japanese Infantry Divisions
*Battle of Peleliu
*Battle of Angaur Reference and further reading
* Madej, W. Victor. "Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945" [2 vols] Allentown, PA: 1981
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