The was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

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 o ...

. Its

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 assigne ...

was the . It was formed on 24 August 1937 in

Hirosaki is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town fo ...

as a square division. The nucleus for the formation was the

8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 8th Division (Australia) * 8th Canadian Infantry Division * 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China) * 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Repu ...

headquarters. It was subordinated from the beginning to the 1st Army in

North China North China, or Huabei () is a List of regions of China, geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north ...

. Part of the personnel served a second tour in 1942 with the 69th Division.

Action

First formation

The ''108th Division'' was sent to the ongoing

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 w ...

in October 1937 and had the distinction of capturing

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 3,976,4 ...

from Chinese forces. Later it was responsible for security in

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-lev ...

province. The division returned to Japan in January 1940 and was dissolved in February 1940.

Second formation

As the situation in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

deteriorated, the ''108th Division'' was re-established 12 July 1944 in

Chengde Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated about 225 km northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by t ...

as a triangular division. It was assigned directly to the

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...

, fighting Chinese Communist forces in the

area. In early 1945, the 171st Cavalry Regiment joined the division. On 23 May 1945, the division was reassigned to the 3rd Area Army, and reinforced by a veterinary detachment plus an ordnance company. Gradually, during June 1945 the ''108th Division'' was re-deployed to counter the Soviet threat. Some elements of the division were left behind in

for a planned anti-communist offensive. On 1 August 1945, the most capable men of the infantry and cavalry regiments were assembled into an assault battalion, leaving vacancies behind. At the same time, the divisional artillery battalion was expanded to an artillery regiment. The majority of men drafted during this wave of expansion were not armed (not even with rifles or bayonets), and did not have uniforms. The ''108th Division'' was still drafting as late as 13 August 1945. With the start of the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

, the ''108th Division'' was at

Jinzhou Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North Chin ...

. On 10 August 1945, the Mizunuma detachment, comprising an infantry battalion and an artillery battalion, was reassigned to the 136th Division. At the same time, the rest of the ''108th Division'' was reassigned to the 44th Army. The

finished with the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

before the ''108th Division'' saw any major combat. At the termination of hostilities, the ''108th Division'' was at

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of Fo ...

. A total of 110 men from the ''108th Division'' were killed during the service.Record of Operations Against Soviet Russia Northern and Western Fronts (August-September 1945), p. 267
/ref>

Notes

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第108師団 (日本軍), accessed 14 June 2016

Reference and further reading

* Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945'' volsAllentown, PA: 1981 {{DEFAULTSORT:108th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1937 establishments in Japan 1940 disestablishments in Japan 1944 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan

Action

First formation

Second formation

See also

Notes

Reference and further reading