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 mar ...

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 assign ...

was the . It was formed 21 November 1944 in

Dongning, Heilongjiang Dongning () is a county-level city of southeastern Heilongjiang province, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu: ''Mudan bira''), alternately romanized as Mutankiang, is a prefectur ...

as a

triangular division A triangular division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade hea ...

. The nucleus for the formation was the leftovers of 12th division . The division was initially assigned to the 3rd army.

Action

Initially the ''120th division'' was tasked with security duties in east Manchukuo. In March 1945, it was reassigned to the 17th area army, and its former positions were taken by 128th division. In May 1945, the headquarters and auxiliary forces were completed transfer in

Gyeongsan Gyeongsan () is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Its western border abuts the metropolitan city of Daegu, and much of Gyeongsan lies within the Daegu metropolitan area. Numerous universities are located in Gyeongsan, such as Ye ...

, 259th infantry regiment - in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

, 260th infantry regiment - in Daegu, 261st infantry regiment - in Goseong and

Sacheon Sacheon () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Sacheon's chief fame comes from its being the site of two naval battles in the Seven Year War. The city as it now exists results from the merging of Sacheon-gun and Samcheonpo-si in ...

. Although the 261st infantry regiment was moved to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

(from where it was expected to be sent to Jejudo) during 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 ...

since 9 August 1945, the hostilities ended before the ''120th division'' has seen any combat. The 261st infantry regiment was taken prisoner by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

and locked in

labour camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

since July 1946 together with some smaller detachments of the ''120th division''. The rest of the division have returned to Japan via Sasebo, Nagasaki and dissolved 25 October 1945.

Notes and references

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第120師団 (日本軍), accessed 28 June 2016 * Madej, W. Victor, ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle'', 1937–1945 vols Allentown, PA: 1981. Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1944 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan {{mil-unit-stub

Action

See also

Notes and references