IJA 109th Division
The was an infantry Division (military unit), 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 (Imperial Japanese Army), 108th division. The nucleus for the formation was the 9th Division (Imperial Japanese Army), 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 (Imperial Japanese Army), 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 (Imperial Japanese Army), 1st Independent Mixed Brigade and other Bonin Is ... [...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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Call Sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigned by a government agency, informally adopted by individuals or organizations, or even cryptographically encoded to disguise a station's identity. The use of call signs as unique identifiers dates to the landline railroad telegraph system. Because there was only one telegraph line linking all railroad stations, there needed to be a way to address each one when sending a telegram. In order to save time, two-letter identifiers were adopted for this purpose. This pattern continued in radiotelegraph operation; radio companies initially assigned two-letter identifiers to coastal stations and stations onboard ships at sea. These were not globally unique, so a one-letter company identifier (for instance, 'M' and two letters as a Marconi station ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chichijima
, native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_relief = , pushpin_map_caption = , map_custom = , nickname = , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Ogasawara Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 23.45 , length_km = , width_km = , coastline_km = , highest_mount = , elevation_m = 326 , country = Japan , country_admin_divisions_title = Prefecture , country_admin_divisions = Tokyo , country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Subprefecture , country_admin_divisions_1 = Ogasawara Subprefecture , country_admin_divisions_title_2 = Village , country_admin_divisions_2 = Ogasawara , populati ... [...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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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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Hideyoshi Obata
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Biography Obata was the fifth son of a Chinese language scholar from Osaka prefecture. He attended military preparatory schools and graduated from the 23rd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in December 1911, specializing in cavalry operations. In 1919, he graduated from the 31st class of the Army War College (Japan), Army War College and was promoted to the rank of captain in the cavalry. From April 1923, Obata was assigned as a military attaché to the United Kingdom and from November 1927 to August 1934 as military attaché to British India. In August 1934, he was promoted to colonel in the cavalry and recalled to Japan for staff postings within the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. Obata was promoted to major general in March 1938, and was reassigned from cavalry to army aviation. He was appointed Commandant of the Akeno Army Air School in August 1938. In December 1940, he was promoted to lieutenant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thirty-First Army (Japan)
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. History The Japanese 31st Army was formed on February 18, 1944 under the Imperial General Headquarters as a garrison force to contest landings by Allied forces in the Japanese South Seas Mandate island-by-island, and to inflict such losses in a war of attrition that it would deter an American invasion of the Japanese home islands. The South Seas Mandate was divided into three sections (Northern Mariana Islands, southern Mariana Islands, and Truk). The 80,000 man Japanese 31st Army was initially headquartered on Truk. After Operation Hailstone, the Japanese garrison on Truk was isolated as American forces continued their advance towards Japan by invading other Pacific islands. Cut off, the Japanese forces on Truk and other central Pacific islands ran low on food and faced starvation before Japan surrendered in August 1945. (Stewart, 1986) The garrisons in the Marianas were largely annihilated at the Battle of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bonin Islands
The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic reading of ''mujin''), meaning "no people" or "uninhabited". The only inhabited islands of the group are Chichijima (), the seat of the municipal government, and Hahajima (). Archeological evidence has revealed that some of the islands may have been prehistorically inhabited by members of an unknown Micronesian ethnicity. Ogasawara Municipality (''mura'') and Ogasawara Subprefecture take their names from the Ogasawara Group. The is also used as a wider collective term that includes other islands in Ogasawara Municipality, such as the Volcano Islands, along with three other remote islands ( Nishinoshima, Minamitorishima, and Okinotorishima). Geographically speaking, all of these islands are parts of the Nanpō Islands. A total population of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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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Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. Its one-character abbreviation is "" (), after the state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period. The name ''Shanxi'' means "West of the Mountains", a reference to the province's location west of the Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west and Inner Mongolia to the north. Shanxi's terrain is characterised by a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. Shanxi's culture is largely dominated by the ethnic Han majority, who make up over 99% of its population. Jin Chinese is considered by some linguists to be a distinct language from Mandarin and its geographical range covers most of Shanxi. Both Jin and Mandarin are spoken in Shanx ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Linfen
Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976,481 inhabitants of which 959,198 live in the built-up (or metro) area made up of Yaodu urban district. The GDP of Linfen ranked second in Shanxi Province. It was known as Pingyang () during the Spring and Autumn period. In 2006, the American Blacksmith Institute listed Linfen as one of the ten most polluted cities in the world. Prior to 1978, Linfen was famous for its spring water, greenery and rich agriculture and therefore nicknamed "The Modern Fruit and Flower Town". Since then it has been developing into a main industrial center for coal mining, which has significantly damaged the city's environment, air quality, farming, health and its previous status as a green village. Name Linfen is named for the Fen River. Its former names incl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation
The Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation ( ja, 京漢線作戦; Mid August – Dec. 1937) was a follow up to the Battle of Beiping–Tianjin of the Japanese army in North China at the beginning of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, fought simultaneously with Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation. The Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation was not authorized by the Imperial General Headquarters. The Japanese advanced to the south along the Beiping–Hankou Railway until the Yellow River, capturing Linfen along the way. After the Imperial General Headquarters wrestled control over troops from local commanders, the majority of participating Japanese units were transferred to participate in the concurrent Battle of Taiyuan. These units were replaced by newly formed 108th and 109th divisions. Aftermath After the stalemate at Yellow River from December 1937 to March 1938, the fighting resumed resulting in Battle of Xuzhou. See also * Order of Battle Peiking – Hankou Railway Operation Order, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |