The was an

infantry division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), 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 mak ...

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 assigne ...

was the . It was created 16 April 1942 in

Hunchun Hunchun (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 혼춘; Hangul: 훈춘) is a county-level city in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, far eastern Jilin province. It borders North Korea (North Hamgyong province) and Russia (Primorsky Krai), has over 250,000 inha ...

and disbanded in September 1945 in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It was a

triangular division A triangular division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade head ...

. The men of the division were drafted through 7th military district, located in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Action

After the training was completed in June 1942, the division was subordinated to the

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

and sent to the eastern part of the Soviet border in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

Division split

In February 1944, according to order number 948, the divisional headquarters and several infantry battalions (total about 2150 or 3000 men) were split and sent to

Pagan Island Pagan is a volcanic island in the Marianas archipelago in the northwest Pacific Ocean, under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It lies midway between Alamagan to the south, and Agrihan to the north. The islan ...

, departing from

Pusan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

3 March 1944 and arriving to

18 March 1944. Also at the same time, one battalion of the 140th infantry regiment was sent to the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

. In July 1944, remnants of the division was swapped with the 10th division, leaving the borderland. In January 1945, the division was ordered to

, arriving in February 1945 in

Chiayi County Chiayi County (Mandarin pinyin: ''jiā yì xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Ka-gī-koān'') is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. It is the sixth largest county in Taiwan. Name The former Chinese placename was ...

. The regiments were subordinated to the 10th area army (and to the

40th army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fro ...

in time it was based on

in early 1945). Due to reorganization of the coastal defense, the infantry regiments were disbanded and used to reinforce other units. The Allies never invaded

, but the division suffered heavy casualties due to

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

, with an 80% casualty rate in the worst-affected 88th Infantry regiment. Following 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 ...

, the majority of personnel were returned from

to mainland Japan in the first half of 1946.

Garrison of Pagan Island

The five detachments of the 71st division become the 9th Independent Mixed Regiment in late February 1944, landing on

on 20 March 1944 after sailing from

. Reorganized later as garrison group 17583, it continued to defend

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

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 ...

. Although never invaded, the garrison suffered from severe food shortages and daily air raids. Several hundred soldiers died because of malnutrition before the garrison was evacuated to mainland Japan in late October 1945.

Further detachments

An elements of ''71st division'' comprising an 34th anti-aircraft battalion and the battalion from 71st mountain artillery regiment, were further detached and sailed from

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

3 December 1944, only to be sunk by

USS Segundo (SS-398) USS ''Segundo'' (SS-398) was a , of the United States Navy named for the segundo, a cavalla fish of Caribbean waters. Construction and commissioning ''Segundo'' was laid down on 14 October 1943 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in launched_on_5_Feb ...

submarine 6 December 1944 with the nearly total loss of life.FUKUYO MARU: Tabular Record of Movement
/ref>

Notes and references

This article incorporates material from the article 第71師団 (日本軍), 第71師団 (日本軍) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on 13 January 2015. * Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945'' volsAllentown, PA: 1981 *秦郁彦編『日本陸海軍総合事典』第2版、東京大学出版会、2005年。 *外山操・森松俊夫編著『帝国陸軍編制総覧』芙蓉書房出版、1987年。 *『別冊歴史読本戦記シリーズNo.32 太平洋戦争師団戦史』、新人物往来社、1996年。 *示村貞夫『旭川第七師団』新北海、1984年。

References