The was an infantry division 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 ...

. The division was formed in 1939 and was disbanded in 1945. 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 . The ''35th Division'' was activated at

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

7 February 1939, simultaneously with 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 36th and 37th divisions.

History

The division was deployed to China in May 1939 to perform rear area security duties in 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 ...

. It initially operated in Shanxi and northern

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

. From some time in 1940 to March 1944 the ''35th Division'' was stationed in the

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

area of North China.Madej (1981), p. 63 The division was reorganised between 1 May 1943 from standard to garrison division, and this led to the artillery regiment and reconnaissance regiment being removed. The engineer and transport regiments were also downgraded to companies and the sanitation company was replaced by a field hospital. After reorganization, the division was assigned to the 12th army, and participated in the mop-up operations in the

Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...

. In July 1943, it was reinforced by 54th infantry brigade from the 59th division. The ''35th Division'' was selected for service in western

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

in early April 1944. The 219th Regiment was detached to garrison the St. Andrew Strait and sailed from

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

on 6 April 1944. The divisional headquarters also sailed with the 219th Regiment, but was to trans-ship at

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

and continue to New Guinea.Willoughby (1966), p. 258 The remainder of the division left

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

on 17 April 1944 in the

Take Ichi convoy The was a Japanese convoy of World War II. The convoy left Shanghai on 17 April 1944, carrying two infantry divisions to reinforce Japan's defensive positions in the Philippines and western New Guinea. United States Navy (USN) submarines attac ...

. The convoy was attacked by

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

submarines on 26 April 1944 and 6 May 1944, and was diverted to

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island. Ha ...

in the Netherlands East Indies to prevent further attacks. Transports carrying elements of the division were sunk during the 6 May 1944 attack, and only four of the division's six infantry battalions which embarked in the convoy and a single artillery battery remained at the end of the voyage. The ''35th Division'' was moved forward from

Sorong Sorong is the largest city and the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's ...

in small ships during May 1944. The 219th regiment was also successfully transferred to New Guinea, though a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

was left behind to garrison the St. Andrew Strait. Majority of 221st regiment was assigned to garrison

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under pro ...

. Elements of the ''35th Division'' subsequently fought in the

Battle of Biak The Battle of Biak was part of the Western New Guinea campaign of World War II, fought between the United States Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, Japanese Army from 27 May to 17 August 1944. Taking place on the island of Biak, in Geelvink Ba ...

on 27 May 1944 (resulting in annihilation of Japanese garrison) and the

Battle of Sansapor The Battle of Sansapor (Operation Globetrotter) was an amphibious landing and subsequent operations around Sansapor, Dutch New Guinea on the Vogelkop Peninsula during World War II. Naval force Admiral William Fechteler's Attack Force (Task For ...

on 30 July 1944 on the

Bird's Head Peninsula The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces ...

. As a result, the Japanese defenses at

were isolated as of September 1944.Smith (1953), p. 263, pp. 443–444 and p. 449. The Japanese forces retreated to a final defensive perimeter around

in May 1945, where they thrived until the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

on 15 August 1945, thanks to abundant local supplies of

Sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is ...

-derived foodstuffs.

Notes

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第35師団 (日本軍), accessed 17 March 2016

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:35th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Imperial Japanese Army, 35th Division Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1939 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan

History

See also

Notes

References

External links