The was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of 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 assign ...

was the . The division was formed 15 June 1944 in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. The nucleus of the formation was the 32nd Independent Mixed Brigade. The ''103rd division'' was a Type C (hei) security division therefore the division backbone has comprised independent infantry battalions instead of infantry regiments.

Action

Initially ''103rd division'' was tasked with the garrisoning of north

, with 79th infantry brigade covering north-west and 80th infantry brigade covering north-east quarter of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

. During the

Battle of Luzon The Battle of Luzon ( tl, Labanan sa Luzon; ja, ルソン島の戦い; es, Batalla de Luzón) was a land battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony the Philippines, and allies agai ...

since 9 January 1945, the ''103rd division'' zone of responsibility was from

Aparri Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of ...

to west. Soon the ''103rd division'' has retreated to the mountains inland and largely survived around Magat River until surrender of Japan 15 August 1945.

Notes and references

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 第103師団 (日本軍), accessed 26 June 2016 * Madej, W. Victor. ''Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945'' volsAllentown, PA: 1981 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

Action

See also

Notes and references