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 10 July 1945 in

Benxi Benxi (, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, south-southeast of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010) whom 809,655 ...

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 head ...

. It was a part of the 8 simultaneously created divisions batch comprising 134th, 135th, 136th, 137th, 138th, 139th, 148th and 149th divisions. The nucleus for the formation were the 2nd (

Suifenhe Suifenhe () is a county-level city in southeastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, located where the former Chinese Eastern Railway crosses the border with Russia's town of Pogranichny, Primorsky Krai. In January 2014, Suife ...

) (or 3rd), 4th (

Hulin Hulin () is a county-level city on the Muling River in southeastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. With a population of around 200,000, it is under the administration of Jixi. Nearby are Lake Xingkai, to the southwest, the ...

) border guards groups, 46th transport guards group and 77th Independent Mixed Brigade.

Action

The ''136th division'' formation was complete 31 July 1945, although the divisional numerical strength was only 60% of the required rifles, machine guns and cannons. To substitute for a lack of rifles, hand spears were issued. Also, divisional medical, chemical and biological warfare units were authorized but not formed. Finally, ''136th division'' had a shortage of anti-tank explosive charges. 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 ...

9 August 1945 the division was improving fortifications at

. Immediately orders to move were received, and majority of troops gathered in

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

. Also,

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 was sent to

Wensheng District Wensheng District () is a district of the city of Liaoyang, Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. Administrative divisions There are six subdistricts within the district. Subdistricts: *Wensheng Subdistrict (), Wusheng Subdistrict (), X ...

while two battalions of the 372nd infantry regiment were sent to

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 ...

. Also, with the start of the invasion, the Aritomi

(assault) battalion in

Xinmin, Liaoning The city of Xinmin () is a county-level city of Liaoning Province, Northeast China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shenyang. It contains the westernmost point of and is by far the most spacious of the county-level div ...

was assigned to ''136th division''. Also, 10 August 1945, the Mizunima detachment formerly belonging to 108th division was received and also ordered to

. 13 August 1945, the divisional fortifications plans were approved and 371st infantry regiment was sent back to

to implement it. The division was partially disarmed 19 August 1945, leaving about 15% of weapons for security duties. 20 August 1945, the division commander (Atsushi Nakayama) together with many other Japanese generals was kidnapped 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, after ...

, resulting in his

forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

. The entire division was taken prisoner by

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

forces 10 September 1945, and sent to

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 ...

s. Majority of the men of the ''136th division'' were taken prisoner to the

in September 1945 - February 1946 period and then were housed in several

labour camps 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 ...

, in Siberia and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

.136th Division (Fubatsu)
/ref>

Notes and references

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第136師団 (日本軍), accessed 8 July 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 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1945 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan {{mil-unit-stub

Action

See also

Notes and references