The was an

infantry division A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Histo ...

in 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 , also Ikazuchi 3200 and Ikazuchi 3229 was used. The 29th Division was formed on 1 April 1941 as a standard (Type B) triangular division in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

city.

Action

The ''29th division'' was tasked with the defense of the

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 F ...

area in Manchukuo state, as part of the strategic reserve under direct control of the

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

. In early March 1944, the division was taken out of reserve and assigned to the 31st Army. The bulk of the division, comprising the 18th and 38th infantry regiments, was sent to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

island together with the 48th Independent Mixed Brigade. Smaller detachments were sent to

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...

and Rota islands.

Battle of Guam (1944) The Battle of Guam (21 July–10 August 1944) was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the United States in the First Battle of Guam in 1941 during ...

started on 21 July 1944. On the evening of 25 July 1944 General Takeshi Takashina ordered several

banzai charge Banzai charge is the term that was used by the Allied forces of World War II to refer to Japanese human wave attacks and swarming staged by infantry units. This term came from the Japanese battle cry , and was shortened to banzai, specificall ...

s, all of which were repulsed with the Japanese suffering heavy losses. Takashina himself was mortally wounded 28 July 1944, and the division ceased to function as an organized unit. All resistance to US forces ceased 10 August 1944. The island of

was protected by 8039-strong Japanese force, including 50th infantry regiment and a 29th tank company. The

Battle of Tinian The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The 8,000-man Japanese garrison was eliminated, and the island joined Saipan ...

have started 24 July 1944, and by 30 July the remnants of the Japanese forces were holed up in the caves on the north of the island. Resistance on Tinian ended by 3 August 1944. Only about 200 men of the Japanese garrison survived the fighting. The Rota island was never invaded, although it was sporadically bombed by the US aircraft until the surrender of Japan 15 August 1945. The ''29th division'' was officially dissolved in September 1945.

Reference and further reading

* Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945'' volsAllentown, PA: 1981 {{DEFAULTSORT:29th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 1941 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan

Action

See also

Reference and further reading