Between 1937 and 1945 the

Japanese Imperial 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 ...

formed 126 Independent Mixed Brigades (numbered 1–136 with some gaps), typically composed of various units detached from other formations. Some were composed of separate, independent assets (usually Independent Infantry Battalions). These brigades were task organized under unified command and were normally used in support roles, as security, force protection, POW and internment camp guards and labor in occupied territories. An Independent Mixed Brigade had between 5,000 and 11,000 troops.

History

The first two of these Independent Mixed Brigades formed by the

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

in the 1930s were the

IJA 1st Independent Mixed Brigade The 1st Independent Mixed Brigade or 1st Mixed Brigade (獨立混成第1旅團) was an experimental combined arms formation of the Imperial Japanese Army. In July 1937, at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the brigade was known as the S ...

and the IJA 11th Independent Mixed Brigade. Each of these brigades was organized in a unique manner; the 1st was disbanded in 1937 while the 11th was formed into the

IJA 26th Division The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . The ''26th Division'' was raised 30 September 1937 out of the three independent infantry regiments from the original 11th Independent Mixed Brigade and reserve ...

in 1938. Later a series of Independent Mixed Brigades were formed for the purpose of garrisoning the large territories of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

captured in the early phase of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

.Rottman ''Japanese Army in World War II, The South Pacific and New Guinea'', p. 18 This variety for China was usually organized with five infantry battalions, an artillery unit, and labor troops. In the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

they had different and more varied configurations of subordinate units. The Hong Kong Defence Force, which was established in 1942 to occupy Hong Kong, was equivalent to an Independent Mixed Brigade.

List of Independent Mixed Brigades

Kwangtung Army

(posted at

Chichi-jima , formerly known as Peel Island, is the largest island in the Ogasawara Islands, Ogasawara archipelago. Chichijima is about north of Iwo Jima. The island is within the political boundaries of Ogasawara, Tokyo, Ogasawara Village, Ogasawara Subpref ...

) * IJA 11th Independent Mixed Brigade (became 26th division)

Brigades formed for the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
and
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

* (list is believed to be complete)

Bibliography

* Victor Madej: ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945.'' Game Publishing, 1981, , . * Philip Jowett: ''The Japanese Army 1931–45 (1)'' Osprey Publishing, 2002, * Gordon Rottman: ''Japanese Army in World War II, Conquest of the Pacific'' Osprey Publishing, 2005, * Gordon Rottman: ''Japanese Army in World War II, The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942–43'' Osprey Publishing, 2005,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ija Independent Mixed Brigades Japanese World War II brigades Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

History

List of Independent Mixed Brigades

Kwangtung Army

See also

Bibliography

References