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 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 ...

. In July 1937, at the beginning of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, the brigade was known as the Sakai Brigade, for its commander, Lt. General Koji Sakai. The brigade participated in

Battle of Taiyuan The Japanese offensive called 太原作戦 or the Battle of Taiyuan was a major battle fought in 1937 between China and Japan named for Taiyuan (the capital of Shanxi province), which lay in the 2nd Military Region. The battle concluded in a v ...

in late 1937. After being promoted

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Masaomi Yasuoka was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Biography Military career Yasuoka was born in Sendai city, Kagoshima Prefecture (present day Satsumasendai, Kagoshima) and was the son of an officer in the Imperial Japanese ...

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 Carolines, the Marianas, and the

Ogasawara 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 readi ...

. The brigade was assigned to the 31st Army under General

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 J ...

. There the 1st Mixed Brigade and the 2nd Mixed Brigade became part of the 109th Division, commanded by General

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 batt ...

. The 1st Mixed Brigade was stationed on

Chichi-jima , 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 = , ...

U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle:Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939-1945 (Google eBook)
Retrieved 2014-04-17 with the division headquarters and the 2nd Brigade was moved to Iwo jima overseen by Kuribayashi. The brigade consisted of the following units: * 1st Independent Infantry Regiment * 4th Tank Battalion ** 12

Type 89 Medium Tanks The was a medium tank used by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1932 to 1942 in combat operations of the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Battles of Khalkhin Gol, Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. The Type 89B model ...

** 13

Type 95 Light Tank The was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry but, like the American M3 Stuart light tank, was not ...

s ** 12 Type 94 Tankettes ** 4

Armored Engineer Vehicle A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the armoured bulldozers that many nations field ...

s * 1st Independent Artillery Battalion * 1st Independent Engineer Company

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Independent Mixed Brigade Independent Mixed Brigades (Imperial Japanese Army) Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 1937 establishments in Japan 1944 disestablishments in Japan

See also

References