The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. 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 created 4 April 1944 in

Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 303,579 and a population density of 1,320 persons per km². The total area is 229.96 km². On February 5, 2005, the town of Kitano (from ...

, simultaneously with the 44th and 81st divisions. 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 hea ...

. The divisional backbone was the 56th division headquarters.

Action

The ''86th division'' was assigned to the Western District Army upon formation, and garrisoned

Miyakonojō is a city in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1924. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 161,137, with 70,549 households and a population density of 247 per km2. The total area is 653.36 km2 ...

. It was transferred to 57th army and tasked with the coastal defense of

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a year later, 8 April 1945. Because Operation Downfall was never implemented, the ''86th division'' has spent time until surrender of Japan 15 August 1945 fortifying positions without seeing an actual combat.

References and further reading

* List of Japanese Infantry Divisions * Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945'' volsAllentown, PA: 1981 This article incorporates material from the article 第86師団 (日本軍) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on 21 June 2016. Japanese World War II divisions Infantry divisions of Japan Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1944 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan {{mil-unit-stub