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 marine i ...
division 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 ...
, activated 30 June 1939 in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
, simultaneously with the
39th,
40th and
41st Divisions. 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 .
Action
The division was initially assigned in October 1939 to the
21st Army to provide security services in
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
province in the wake of Imperial Army's
Canton Operation
The Canton Operation (; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Zhànyì) was part of a campaign by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade China to prevent it from communicating with the outside world and importing needed arms and materials. Contr ...
. On 9 February 1940 the 21st Army was dissolved and 38th Division was reassigned to
South Army. On 28 June 1941 the South Army was also dissolved and the 38th Division was incorporated into the
23rd Army.
The division saw heavy action during the
Pacific campaign 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 opposin ...
. Its main combat units were three infantry regiments: the
228th,
229th and
230th. These were supported by the 38th Mountain Artillery Regiment, the 38th Engineer Regiment, the 38th Transport Regiment and a tankette company.
Initially, the division participated in
conquest of Hong Kong in 1941. On 4 January 1942, the 38th Division was assigned to the
16th Army and its 230th Infantry Regiment (converted for this occasion into the 3rd Mixed Regiment) took part in the
Battle of Java (1942)
The Battle of Java (Invasion of Java, Operation J) was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. It occurred on the island of Java from 28 February – 12 March 1942. It involved forces from the Empire of Japan, which invaded on 28 ...
. In November 1942 the 3rd Battalion of the 229th Infantry Regiment was sent to participate in the
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...
, where by January 1943 it was completely decimated following multiple engagements on the island chain with Australian forces.
The remnants of the division fell back to
Rabaul
Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...
after these losses and took part in the fortification of the port. From October 1942 to February 1943, the rest of 38th Division also took heavy losses in the
Guadalcanal Campaign
The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...
and was thereafter assigned to the defense of the
New Georgia
New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world.
Geography
New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of ...
, the
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
These rainforest-co ...
,
New Britain
New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
, and
New Ireland occupational garrisons until the end of the war. In particular, the 229th Infantry Regiment participated in the
New Georgia Campaign
The New Georgia campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied strategy in the South Pacific to isolate the ...
throughout July and August. The majority of the 38th Division capitulated after the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
on 15 August 1945 in Rabaul.
The division's soldiers were accused of committing
war crimes during their operations in the Pacific theater. One of the division's senior officers,
Takeo Itō, was convicted of war crimes by an Allied
military tribunal
Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...
after the war.
Some Noteworthy War Criminals
Source: ''History of the United Nations War Crimes Commission and the Development of the Laws of War'', United Nations War Crimes Commission (London: HMSO, 1948)
See also
* List of Japanese Infantry Divisions
References
* This article incorporates material from the Japanese Wikipedia page 第38師団 (日本軍), accessed 18 March 2016
Footnotes
Books
*
*
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*
*
Web
*
*
* See p. 163 for a breakdown of the division's organization in September 1942.
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:38th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
Japanese World War II divisions
Infantry divisions of Japan
Military units and formations established in 1939
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
1939 establishments in Japan
1945 disestablishments in Japan