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 assigne ...

was the . It was created 28 February 1945 in Toyohara (later known as Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.) 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 divisional backbone was the Karafuto mixed brigade.

Action

The ''88th Division'' was assigned to the 5th area army upon formation. With the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

plans becoming obvious, the division received an action plan for the expected battle 3 August 1945. The Soviet forces started the attack by shelling Poronaysk (Sisukacho) town 9 August 1945. The division firmly maintained its positions until 15 August 1945. The 125th Infantry Regiment fought off

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

attacked with particular distinction. Japanese forces lost 568 men killed, and an estimated over one thousand deaths plus several dozens tanks in return. The Japanese defense broke

Karafuto Fortress The Karafuto Fortress was the defensive unit formed by the Karafuto fortification installations, and the Karafuto detachment of Japanese forces, the 88th Division. The headquarters was in Toyohara, capital of the province, based on the Suzuya pla ...

defensive line only after 20 August 1945, when the Red Army landed an additional forces in Kholmsk (Maoka). Although the division have received an order to surrender after losing Poronaysk (Sisukacho) town 22 August 1945, negotiations with the Soviets broke down for some time. In the persistent killing frenzy, the elements of the

near Kholmsk (Maoka) has massacred over 100 officers and soldiers under the white flag of surrender, and over 500 soldiers trying to surrender overall. Russian sources are attributing continued massacre to the Japanese soldiers continuing to fight under alleged "secret orders" from the Japanese government. Overall, 18,320 soldiers of the ''88th division'' and ''Koton Fortified Region'' were taken prisoner. The majority of prisoners were moved to labor camps in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, while other prisoners were used in Sakhalin labor camps.88th Division (Kaname)
/ref>

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88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 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1945 establishments in Japan 1945 disestablishments in Japan {{mil-unit-stub