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 on 10 July 1940 at

Kanazawa is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape ...

, simultaneously with 51st, 54th, 55th, 56th, and 57th divisions. The formation nucleus was the headquarters of the 9th division. The men for the ''52nd division'' were recruited from Ishikawa,

Toyama Toyama may refer to: Places and organizations * Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island * Toyama, Toyama, the capital city of Toyama Prefecture * Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, ...

and

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

prefectures. The ''52nd division'' was the provisional unit, intended to form sub-units usable by other military units, rather than being used itself. In particular, ''16th mountain artillery regiment'' and ''52nd cavalry regiment'' were detached in October 1943. The division was renamed Kanazawa mobilization district in 1941 (not to be mistaken with the Kanazawa mobilization district command formed in 1945). In January 1944, the ''52nd division'' was reformed as marine division, absorbing artillery and engineer units into infantry regiments, and sent to

Chuuk Lagoon Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harbo ...

, to be incorporated into the 31st army formed 18 February 1944. As

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

have bypassed the Japanese supply center of

(Truk), the ''52nd division'' had not seen much action or hardship besides being occasionally bombed during

Operation Hailstone Operation Hailstone ( ja, トラック島空襲, Torakku-tō Kūshū, lit=airstrike on Truk Island), 17–18 February 1944, was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon conducted as part of the American offensive drive ...

Notes

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第52師団 (日本軍), accessed 2 June 2016

Reference and further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:52nd Division (Imperial Japanese Army) Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1940 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan

See also

Notes

See also

Reference and further reading