1st Tank Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

Tank Division of IJA 1st Tank Division 1st-IJA-Tank-Division,-night-practice-shooting.jpg Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks of the IJA 1st Tank Division during a night training exercise, 1943 1942–1945 Empire of Japan 23px Imperial Japanese Army Armored division Division Tokyo, Japan 拓 = Taku (expand) Second Sino-Japanese WarWorld War II 1945 Japanese 1st Tank Division 1945 Thirty-Sixth Army (Japan) IJA 1st Armored BrigadeRottman Takizawa 2008 11 IJA 1st Armored RegimentRottman Takizawa 2008 11 IJA 3rd Armored RegimentRottman Takizawa 2008 11 IJA 2nd Armored BrigadeRottman Takizawa 2008 11 IJA 5th Armored RegimentRottman Takizawa 2008 11 IJA 9th Armored RegimentRottman Takizawa 2008 11 IJA 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment IJA 1st Mobile Artillery Regiment thumb|Tank from IJA 9th Armored Regiment captured on Guam The 1st Tank Division 戦車第1師団 Sensha Dai-ichi Shidan, was one of four armored divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. History The 1st Tank Brigade was created out of four separate armored regiments based in Manchukuo on June 24, 1942.Rottman Takizawa 2008 11 With the addition of one infantry regiment, it was soon raised to the status of a full armored division. Stationed in Ning'an in northern Manchukuo, it was tasked primarily with border patrol of Manchukuo's eastern frontier with the Soviet Union under the overall command of the Japanese First Area Army. As the situation in the Pacific War against the Allies deteriorated for Japan, in March 1944, the IJA 9th Armored Regiment of the 1st Tank Division was reassigned to the IJA 31st Army, and sent to Saipan,Rottman Takizawa 2008 11 where it was annihilated at the subsequent Battle of Saipan and Battle of Guam. The remaining three regiments participated in Operation Ichi-Go in mainland China. The IJA 3rd Armored Regiment of the 1st Tank Division was reassigned to China and attached to the 11th Army until the end of the war. In March 1945, the 1st Tank Division with its 5th Armored Regiment was reassigned to the Japanese home islands in preparation for the expected invasion by Allied forces.Rottman Takizawa 2008 11Tomczyk 2007 158 It gained the IJA 1st Armored Regiment from the 3rd Tank Division,Tomczyk 2007 158 and formed part of the IJA 36th Army under the Japanese Twelfth Area Army. The headquarters unit and IJA 1st Armored Regiment were based in Sano, Tochigi, with the IJA 5th Armored Regiment stationed at Ōtawara, Tochigi (and later relocated to Kazo, Saitama, and the IJA 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment and the Division’s mechanized artillery stationed at Tochigi. Anticipating that Allied forces would land at Kujūkuri Beach, the 1st Tank Division was to hold a defensive line stretching from Mount Tsukuba to the Tama River, with forward units deployed to Choshi, Chiba. The surrender of Japan came before the landing, and the 1st Armored Division did not see any combat on Japanese soil. The 1st Tank Division was demobilized in September 1945 with the rest of the Imperial Japanese Army. Commanding officer Name From To1 Lieutenant General Toshimoto Hoshino 1 September 1942 15 June 19452 Lieutenant General Nobuo Hosomi 15 June 1945 30 September 1945 Structure (1945) thumb|right|450px|1st Tank Division (IJA) organization, 1945 The 1st Tank Division, after being relocated to Japan in 1945, consisted of a division headquarters, two tank regiments (roughly battalion-sized), one motorized infantry regiment, one motorized artillery regiment, one anti-tank battalion, one motor transport battalion, one maintenance battalion, and one engineer battalion.Ness Leland 2015 Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937-1945: Volume 1 Helion and Company Division Headquarters 1st Tank Regiment 5th Tank Regiment 1st Motorized Infantry Regiment 1st Motorized Artillery Regiment Anti-Tank Battalion Motor Transport Battalion Maintenance Battalion Engineer Battalion See also List of Japanese armored divisions Notes References Drea Edward J. 1998 Japanese Preparations for the Defense of the Homeland & Intelligence Forecasting for the Invasion of Japan In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army University of Nebraska Press 0-8032-1708-0 Frank Richard B 1999 Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire Random House New York 0-679-41424-X Jowett Bernard 1999 The Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 2, 1942-45) Osprey Publishing 1-84176-354-3 Madej Victor 1981 Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 Game Publishing Company ASIN: B000L4CYWW Ness Leland Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937-1945: Volume 1 Helion and Company 2015 9781912174577 Rottman Gordon L. Takizawa Akira World War II Japanese Tank Tactics Osprey Publishing 2008 978-1846032349 Skates John Ray 1994 The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall University of South Carolina Press New York 0-87249-972-3 Tomczyk Andrzej 2007 Japanese Armor Vol. 5 AJ Press 978-8372371799 External links Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa Category:Military units and formations established in 1941 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Category:1941 establishments in Japan Category:1945 disestablishments in Japan Category:Tank Divisions of Japan