1st Independent Mixed Brigade (Imperial Japanese Army)
The 1st Independent Mixed Brigade or 1st Mixed Brigade (獨立混成第1旅團) was an experimental combined arms formation of the Imperial Japanese Army. In July 1937, at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the brigade was known as the Sakai Brigade, for its commander, Lt. General Koji Sakai. The brigade participated in Battle of Taiyuan in late 1937. After being promoted lieutenant general Masaomi Yasuoka took command from 1938 to 1939. The tank component, all but the 4th Tank Battalion, was pulled from the brigade in 1938. Major General Suzuki Teiji assumed command in 1941. By 1944 defense of the Japanese homeland prompted the creation of the inner line of defense extending northward from the Caroline Islands, Carolines, the Mariana Islands, Marianas, and the Bonin Islands, Ogasawara Islands. The brigade was assigned to the Thirty-First Army (Japan), 31st Army under General Hideyoshi Obata. There the 1st Mixed Brigade and the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade (Imperial Japa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor of Japan as supreme commander of the army and the Imperial Japanese Navy. Later an Inspectorate General of Aviation became the third agency with oversight of the army. During wartime or national emergencies, the nominal command functions of the emperor would be centralized in an Imperial General Headquarters (IGHQ), an ad hoc body consisting of the chief and vice chief of the Army General Staff, the Minister of the Army, the chief and vice chief of the Naval General Staff, the Inspector General of Aviation, and the Inspector General of Military Training. History Origins (1868–1871) In the mid-19th century, Japan had no unified national army and the country was made up of feudal domains (''han'') with the Tokugawa shogunate (''bakufu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tadamichi Kuribayashi
General was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, part-time writer, haiku poet, diplomat, and commanding officer of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. He is best known for having been the commander of the Japanese garrison at the battle of Iwo Jima. Even before the battle, General Kuribayashi insisted upon sharing the hardships of his men. He also refused to permit banzai charges, which he regarded as an unnecessary waste of his men's lives. The United States Marine Corps had expected to capture Iwo Jima in five days, but Kuribayashi and his men held out for 36 days. It is believed that Kuribayashi was killed in action while leading his soldiers in a night-attack on American troops, but his body was never identified by the United States military. U.S. Marine Corps General Holland Smith said of Kuribayashi that "Of all our adversaries in the Pacific, Kuribayashi was the most redoubtable." Early life Tadamichi Kuribayashi was born into a minor samurai family in Han ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Military Units And Formations Disestablished In 1944
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms ''armed forces'' and ''military'' are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. There are various forms of irregular military forces, not belonging to a recognized state; though they share many attributes with regular military forces, they are less often referred to as simply ''military''. A nation's military may f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Military Units And Formations Established In 1937
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms ''armed forces'' and ''military'' are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. There are various forms of irregular military forces, not belonging to a recognized state; though they share many attributes with regular military forces, they are less often referred to as simply ''military''. A nation's military may f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Independent Mixed Brigades (Imperial Japanese Army)
Between 1937 and 1945 the Japanese Imperial Army formed 126 Independent Mixed Brigades (numbered 1–136 with some gaps), typically composed of various units detached from other formations. Some were composed of separate, independent assets (usually Independent Infantry Battalions). These brigades were task organized under unified command and were normally used in support roles, as security, force protection, POW and internment camp guards and labor in occupied territories. An Independent Mixed Brigade had between 5,000 and 11,000 troops. History The first two of these Independent Mixed Brigades formed by the Kwangtung Army in the 1930s were the IJA 1st Independent Mixed Brigade and the IJA 11th Independent Mixed Brigade. Each of these brigades was organized in a unique manner; the 1st was disbanded in 1937 while the 11th was formed into the IJA 26th Division in 1938. Later a series of Independent Mixed Brigades were formed for the purpose of garrisoning the large territories ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Armored Engineer Vehicle
A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the armoured bulldozers that many nations field) or purpose-built military vehicles (such as the AVRE). The first appearance of such vehicles coincided with the appearance of the first tanks, these vehicles were modified Mark V tanks for bridging and mine clearance. Modern ''military engineering vehicles'' are expected to fulfill numerous roles, as such they undertake numerous forms, examples of roles include; bulldozers, cranes, graders, excavators, dump trucks, breaching vehicles, bridging vehicles, military ferries, amphibious crossing vehicles, and combat engineer section carriers. History World War One A Heavy RE tank was developed shortly after World War I by Major Giffard LeQuesne Martel RE. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Type 94 Tankette
The Type 94 tankette ( ja, 九四式軽装甲車, Kyūyon-shiki keisōkōsha, literally "94 type light armored car"; also known as TK, an abbreviation of ''Tokushu Keninsha'', literally "special tractor") was a tankette used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in World War II. Although tankettes were often used as ammunition tractors, and general infantry support, they were designed for reconnaissance, and not for direct combat. The lightweight Type 94 proved effective in China as the Chinese National Revolutionary Army had only three tank battalions to oppose them, and those tank battalions were equipped only with some British export models and Italian CV-33 tankettes. As with nearly all tankettes built in the 1920s and 1930s, they had thin armor that could be penetrated by .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun fire at range. History and development From the 1920s, the Imperial Japanese Army tested a variety of Eur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Type 95 Light Tank
The was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry but, like the American M3 Stuart light tank, was not designed to combat other tanks. Approximately 2,300 were produced, making it the most numerous Japanese armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War. History and development From early 1930s, the Japanese army began experimenting with a mechanized warfare unit combining infantry with tanks. However, the Type 89 Medium tank could not keep pace with the motorized infantry, which could move at by truck. For transport, tanks could be loaded on train platforms like in any other army of the times. To solve this problem, Tomio Hara of the Army Technical Bureau proposed a new light tank capable of 40 km/h speed and started development in 1933. The prototype of the tank was begun in 1933 and completed in June 1934 at the Army's Sagami ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Type 89 Medium Tanks
The was a medium tank used by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1932 to 1942 in combat operations of the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Battles of Khalkhin Gol, Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. The Type 89B model was the world's first mass-produced diesel engine tank. The tank was armed with a short-barrel 57 mm cannon for knocking out Pillbox (military), pillboxes and masonry fortifications, and proved effective in campaigns in Manchuria and China, as the Republic of China, Chinese National Revolutionary Army had only three tank battalions to oppose them, which consisted primarily of Vickers export models, Germany, German Panzer Is, and Italy, Italian L3/33, CV33 tankettes. The Type 89 was a 1920s design medium tank, built to support the infantry, and thus lacked the armor or armament of 1940s generation Allied armor; it was regarded as obsolete by the time of the 1939 battles of Khalkhin Gol, against the Soviet Union. The code designation "I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. Although south of the metropolis of Tokyo on the mainland, this island of 21 km2 (8 square miles) is administered as part of the Ogasawara Subprefecture of Tokyo. Since July 1944, when all the civilians were forcibly evacuated, the island has had a military-only population. The island was the location of the Battle of Iwo Jima between February 1945 and March 1945. This engagement saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Pacific War, with each side suffering over 20,000 casualties in the battle. The island became globally recognized when Joe Rosenthal, of the Associated Press, published his photograph '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'', taken on Mount Suribachi. The US military occupied Iwo Jima until 1968, when it was returned to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chichi-jima
, formerly known as Peel Island, is the largest island in the Ogasawara Islands, Ogasawara archipelago. Chichijima is about north of Iwo Jima. The island is within the political boundaries of Ogasawara, Tokyo, Ogasawara Village, Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo, Japan. 2,120 people live on its land area of . History The first European discovery of the Ogasawara Islands is said to have taken place in 1549 by the Spain, Spanish explorer Bernardo de la Torre. Archeological excavations show that Micronesian people, Micronesians lived on the island in the past, though no details are yet known. The Tokugawa Shogunate dispatched an expedition in 1675 and made a map of the island. It remained uninhabited until May 1830. Nineteenth century Western ships visited the island on several occasions in the 19th century, including: *The Frederick William Beechey, Beechey Pacific expedition on HMS Blossom (1806), HMS ''Blossom'' in 1827 *Naturalist Heinrich von Kittlitz in 1828 with the Russia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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109th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
The was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . It was formed on 24 August 1937 in Kanazawa as a square division, simultaneously with the 108th division. The nucleus for the formation was the 9th division headquarters. It was subordinated from the beginning to the Japanese Northern China Area Army. First formation The ''109th Division'' was sent to North China in October 1937. It closely cooperated with the 108th division, contributing to the Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation and the capture of the Linfen city. Later it also provided a garrison for the Shanxi province. The division was eventually dissolved 24 December 1939. Second formation The ''109th Division'' was reformed in May 1944 from the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade and other Bonin Islands garrisons reinforced by recruits from the Kōfu mobilization district. The ''109th Division'' was assigned to the 31st Army, under Commanding Lieutenant General Hideyoshi Obata. It comprised ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |