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 16 January in

Mishan Mishan () is a county-level city in the southeast of Heilongjiang Province, China, bordering Russia's Primorsky Krai to the south and southeast. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Jixi. History Early medieval histor ...

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 ...

. It was a part of the 8 simultaneously created divisions batch comprising 121st, 122nd, 123rd, 124th, 125th, 126th, 127th and 128th divisions. The nucleus for the formation was the 12th border guards group in Miaoling fortress, Mizuki fortress garrisoned by parts of the 11th independent border guards group, parts of 3rd cavalry brigade and left-behind elements of the 25th Division. The ''126th division'' was permanently assigned to 5th army.

Action

In July 1945, the division was brought to the nearly full strength, expanding artillery company to 126th artillery regiment and adding 126th

Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

(Assault) battalion, expanding by 9 August 1945 from 12500 to 19000 men in ranks. Nothetheless, the artillery was understrength. Artillery regiment has just 21 Type 38 10 cm Cannons, while infantry regiments has only half the required complement of the

Infantry support gun Infantry support guns or battalion guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase the firepower of the infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. They typicall ...

s. Also, the lack of machine guns, ammunition, and low quality of personnel led the

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

command to estimate the ''126th division'' being only 20% combat effective. The ''126th division'' was tasked with protecting a border of

Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu: ''Mudan bira''), alternately romanized as Mutankiang, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast part of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It was called ''Botankou'' under Japanese occupation. It serves as ...

from 9 June 1945.126th Division (Eidan)
/ref> 9 August 1945, at 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 ''126th division'' was standing against 6 rifle divisions and 3 armoured brigades of 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 ...

. On the retreat to the

Linkou County Linkou County () is a county in the southeast of Heilongjiang Province, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Mudanjiang. Administrative divisions Linkou County is divided into 11 towns. ;11 towns * Linkou (), Gu ...

, parts of the 126th artillery regiment were involved in the Asayama incident - a forced suicide of the Japanese refugees, resulting in 1300 civilian deaths. The division has stopped at

together with the 135th division and set up a defensive lines, after being reinforced by 31st independent anti-tank battalion, 18th engineer regiment and 2nd company of the 20th heavy artillery regiment. The massed

attack has started 14 August 1945, but the ''126th division'' held the defences until 16 August 1945, buying time for population of

to flee. As the result of heavy Japanese resistance, Soviet forces have stopped the attempts to storm the

and bypassed the city on the southern flank. The ''126th division'' has surrendered to the

17 August 1945 and was disarmed 18 August 1945. Most of personnel was taken prisoner by the

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, ...

. About 4000 men have died either during fighting or in the Siberian

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 ...

Notes and references

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第126師団 (日本軍), accessed 2 July 2016 * Madej, W. Victor, ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle'', 1937–1945 vols Allentown, PA: 1981. {{DEFAULTSORT:126th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1945 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan

Action

See also

Notes and references