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The 56th Independent Mixed Brigade was an
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 ...
unit of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was raised in June 1944 to reinforce the defences of Japanese-occupied
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
, and was initially stationed in the north-east of the island. In early 1945 most of the brigade's units were ordered to move to the
Brunei Bay
Brunei Bay ( ms, Teluk Brunei) is on the northwestern coast of Borneo island, in Brunei and Malaysia.
Brunei Bay is located 5°00'43.44", 115°17'26.66"; east of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
It is the ocean gateway to the isolated Temburong Dis ...
area of west Borneo, with the brigade's personnel subsequently making a difficult march across the centre of the island.
During June and July 1945 the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade saw combat against Australian forces in the
Borneo Campaign
The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held British Borneo and Dutch Borneo. Designated collectively as Operation Oboe, ...
. Its units were greatly under-strength at this time due to the casualties suffered while moving across Borneo, and the elements which engaged Australian forces were rapidly defeated. The remainder of the brigade withdrew into central Borneo, and surrendered to the Australians following the end of the war.
History
Formation
During mid-1944 the Imperial Japanese Army's General Staff decided to reinforce the garrisons of the southern Philippines and Borneo ahead of an expected
Allied
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 ...
offensive to liberate these areas. As part of this effort, the
54th,
55th, 56th,
57th and
58th Independent Mixed Brigades were ordered to be formed for service with the
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
''Nanpō gun''
, image = 1938 terauchi hisaichi.jpg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = Japanese General Count Terauchi Hisaichi, right, commanding officer of the Southern Expeditiona ...
during June. Aside from the 58th Independent Mixed Brigade, which was formed by converting an existing unit, these new brigades were to be organised in forward areas from personnel shipped from Japan. Upon formation, the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade was assigned to the
Borneo Defence Force (BDF).
The process of establishing the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade took longer than expected, which delayed its deployment to Borneo. While three battalions worth of personnel departed Japan in mid-July 1944, the first did not arrive at Borneo until September. The final elements of the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade reached Borneo in mid-November. The 8,000 personnel allocated to the brigade had not trained together while in Japan, and were organised into fighting units after their arrival in Borneo. They were also shipped to Borneo separately from their weapons and other equipment. Once its organisation was complete, the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade comprised six infantry
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 are ...
s (the 366th to 371st Independent Infantry Battalions), each with an authorised strength of 997 men, and small artillery, engineer and signal units. Like the other independent mixed brigades raised in mid-1944, the 56th had only 18 trucks and a small number of horses to transport its equipment and supplies. The brigade was commanded by Major General
Taijiro Akashi.
The BDF and its superior headquarters, the
Seventh Area Army, initially disagreed over where the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade should be deployed. In July 1944 the BDF believed that the Allies were likely to invade northern Borneo in January 1945 or later, and wanted to station the brigade in this area. However, the Seventh Area Army judged that Allied forces were more likely to attack the
Brunei Bay
Brunei Bay ( ms, Teluk Brunei) is on the northwestern coast of Borneo island, in Brunei and Malaysia.
Brunei Bay is located 5°00'43.44", 115°17'26.66"; east of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
It is the ocean gateway to the isolated Temburong Dis ...
region in western Borneo to support a drive on
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. Moreover, the area army believed that it would be difficult to transfer units from northern to western Borneo due to the island's rugged terrain. The BDF eventually won the debate, and the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade's units were landed in the
Sandakan
Sandakan (, Jawi: , ) formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of ...
area of north-east Borneo as they arrived from Japan.
Once the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade arrived in Borneo, the brigade headquarters and all the combat battalions other than the 371st Independent Infantry Battalion were concentrated at
Tawau
Tawau (, Jawi: , ), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is located on the Semporna Peninsula in the southeast coast of t ...
. The 371st Independent Infantry Battalion was stationed in Sandakan and placed under the command of the 41st Independent Garrison Battalion. As of 20 December 1944, the brigade had responsibility for defending the area around Tawau and
Tarakan Island
Tarakan is an island and the largest city of the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. The island city is located in northern Borneo, midway along the coast of the province. The city boundaries are co-extensive with the island (including a co ...
.
Redeployment
![N borneo ops 1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/N_borneo_ops_1945.jpg)
In late 1944 the 37th Army (the former BDF) changed its views on likely Allied intentions, and concluded that the expected invasion would probably be focused on the Brunei Bay region. The Southern Expeditionary Army Group agreed with this assessment, and ordered in January 1945 that the 37th Army's forces be concentrated around Brunei Bay. As the Allies had air superiority over Borneo and nearby waters, it was not possible to move the units in north-east Borneo by sea. Instead, they would need to march across the island.
The 56th Independent Mixed Brigade, less its 369th and 370th Independent Infantry Battalions, began to march across Borneo in late January 1945. This proved difficult, with the movement through the mountainous jungle in the centre of the island being hampered by the poor state of the road network, bad weather and food shortages. Many of the brigade's soldiers fell sick during the march, and all four infantry battalions were considerably below their authorised strength by the time they arrived at Brunei Bay between April and June. The 370th Independent Infantry Battalion was transferred to the direct control of the 37th Army and remained at Tawau, and the 369th Independent Infantry Battalion was shipped to
Banjarmasin
)
, translit_lang1 = Other
, translit_lang1_type1 = Jawi
, translit_lang1_info1 = بنجر ماسين
, settlement_type = City
, motto = ''Kayuh Baimbai'' ( Banjare ...
in southern Borneo during March and assigned to the 22nd Special Naval Base Force.
The brigade was widely dispersed following its arrival in the Brunei Bay area. In June 1945, the brigade headquarters and the 366th and 367th Independent Infantry Battalions were stationed in
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
. The 368th Independent Infantry Battalion was located at the inland town of
Beaufort Beaufort may refer to:
People and titles
* Beaufort (surname)
* House of Beaufort, English nobility
* Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England
* Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility
Places Polar regions ...
, and the 371st Independent Infantry Battalion formed the main body of the island of
Labuan
Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...
's garrison. Of the support units, the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade Artillery Unit was at Brunei and the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade Engineer and Signal Units were at Beaufort. All of the brigade's heavy weapons had been left behind at Tawau, and due to the casualties incurred during the march across Borneo its combat units were not fit for battle.
Battle of North Borneo
Two brigades of the Australian
9th Division with large numbers of support units
invaded the Brunei Bay area on 10 June 1945. At this time the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade was the main Japanese combat force in the region, but was in the process of withdrawing inland to defensive positions located around rice-growing areas.
The 371st Independent Infantry Battalion was
destroyed on Labuan by the
24th Brigade during 11 days of at times fierce fighting. The 367th Independent Infantry Battalion retreated from Brunei to the
Trusan River
Terusan (also known as Trusan) is a settlement in Sabah, Malaysia. It is about three feet above sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from ...
as a formed unit, and the 366th Independent Infantry Battalion broke up into small groups as it fought a rearguard action against the Australian
20th Brigade. While Beaufort was attacked by the 24th Brigade, the 368th Independent Infantry Battalion was not involved in its defence.
During the last weeks of the war the remnants of the 366th Independent Infantry Battalion were pursued by Australian Army patrols, air attacks and groups of local
Dayaks
The Dayak (; older spelling: Dajak) or Dyak or Dayuh are one of the native groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each wi ...
organised by the Australian
Services Reconnaissance Department
Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD), also known as Special Operations Australia (SOA) and previously known as Inter-Allied Services Department (ISD), was an Australian military intelligence and special reconnaissance unit, during World War II. ...
. These attacks led to the disintegration of the unit. Major General Akashi led the remnants of the forces stationed at Brunei as well as a number of Japanese civilians to the inland town of
Tenom
Tenom ( ms, Pekan Tenom, ) is the capital of the Tenom District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 5,148 in 2010. It is located about 176 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and 128 kilometres n ...
; this trek took 40 days and involved traversing mountainous and trackless terrain. However, the forces involved suffered heavy casualties, with 50 percent of the 367th Battalion's soldiers being killed between 10 June and the end of the war. The 369th and 370th Independent Infantry Battalions did not see combat, and remained largely intact at the end of the war. Following the Japanese surrender, the survivors of the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade were concentrated in locations selected by the Australian forces.
Structure
The 56th Independent Mixed Brigade comprised the following units:
*Brigade headquarters
*366th Independent Infantry Battalion
*367th Independent Infantry Battalion
*368th Independent Infantry Battalion
*369th Independent Infantry Battalion
*370th Independent Infantry Battalion
*371st Independent Infantry Battalion
*56th Independent Mixed Brigade Artillery Unit
*56th Independent Mixed Brigade Engineer Unit
*56th Independent Mixed Brigade Signal Unit
See also
*
Borneo campaign (1945) order of battle
This is the complete order of battle of Allied and Japanese forces during the Borneo campaign of 1945. As the campaign was fought in three geographically separate areas and the same air and naval units supported more than one of these battles the ...
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:56th Independent Mixed Brigade
Independent Mixed Brigades (Imperial Japanese Army)
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
1944 establishments in Japan
1945 disestablishments in Japan