The ''Boeitai'' (防衛隊, "Defense Corps") was a Japanese force 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 opposing ...
. It was established by the War Ministry in June 1944 in response to the worsening war situation facing Japan, and initially comprised all reservists in the 20–40 age group including those who would not normally be liable for military service under the Japanese conscription system. The
Imperial Japanese Army's area armies had responsibility for raising and administering ''Boeitai'' units, and there was considerable variation in how these formations were structured and used.
[Nichols and Shaw (1955), p. 53] ''Boeitai'' units were established in the Japanese home islands, Okinawa, Korea and Formosa.
[Hayashi (2005), p. 52] Unlike regular Japanese Army soldiers, ''Boeitai'' personnel were not indoctrinated to fight to the death or consider themselves to be imperial subjects.
Around 20,000 local ''Boeitai'' were involved in the
Battle of Okinawa during 1945, with most initially serving as labourers or in support roles but some augmenting frontline Army units.
Most of the Okinawan ''Boeitai'' were teenagers or aged in their 30s and 40s.
As the fighting continued, many of the support personnel were assigned to combat duties despite not being provided with any training for this role or effective weapons; some ''Boeitai'' personnel were ordered to conduct missions in which they attempted to blow up tanks with
satchel charge
250px, Weapons used in the Winter War. The original Finnish satchel charge is on the left.
A satchel charge is a demolition device, primarily intended for combat, whose primary components are a charge of dynamite or a more potent explosive s ...
s.
In addition, several Okinawan ''Boeitai'' groups fought as
partisans armed mainly with spears and grenades.
[Nichols and Shaw (1955), p. 110] Morale among ''Boeitai'' personnel in Okinawa was low, due to the discrimination they suffered at the hands of Japanese military personnel and a widespread belief that the war was lost. In addition, many ''Boeitai'' conscripts had families to support. As a result, around 20 percent of ''Boeitai'' personnel on Okinawa
deserted or surrendered to American forces. However, 50 percent of the personnel became casualties during the battle.
[Hayashi (2005), pp. 53-54]
See also
* ''
Gakutotai''
*
Himeyuri students
The , sometimes called "Lily Corps" in English, was a group of 222 students and 18 teachers of the Okinawa Daiichi Women's High School and Okinawa Shihan Women's School formed into a nursing unit for the Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle o ...
*
Volunteer Fighting Corps
were armed civil defense units planned in 1945 in the Empire of Japan as a last desperate measure to defend the Japanese home islands against the projected Allied invasion during Operation Downfall (''Ketsugo Sakusen'') in the final stages of ...
References
;Citations
;Works consulted
*
*{{cite book, last1=Nichols, first1=Chas. S., last2=Shaw, first2=Henry I., title=Okinawa: Victory in the Pacific, date=1955, publisher=Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, location=Washington D.C., url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Okinawa/
Imperial Japanese Army
1944 establishments in Japan
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
Paramilitary organizations based in Japan
Japan campaign