70th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) explained

Unit Name:70th Division
Native Name:第70師団
Country:Empire of Japan
Dates:1942 - 1945
Branch:Imperial Japanese Army
Type:Infantry
Role:Internal security
Battles:Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign
Notable Commanders:Uchida Takayuki (内田孝行)
108th Division
Date:1945
Parent:6th army
Subordinate:
  • 61. Infantry Brigade (Hiroshima)
    • 102. Independent Infantry Battalion
    • 103. Independent Infantry Battalion
    • 104. Independent infantry Battalion
    • 105. Independent infantry Battalion
  • 62. Infantry Brigade (Hiroshima)
    • 121. Independent Infantry Battalion
    • 122. Independent Infantry Battalion
    • 123. Independent infantry Battalion
    • 124. Independent infantry Battalion
  • 70. Artillery company
  • 70. Signal company
  • 70. Ordnance company
  • 70. Engineer company
  • 70. Transport company
  • 70. Field hospital

The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. It was created on February 2, 1942 by blending a detachment from 20th Independent Mixed Brigade (Imperial Japanese Army) to 62nd infantry brigade in Ningbo, simultaneously with the 68th and 69th divisions. Being the counter-insurgency division (C-type/hei-type) it has a backbone composed of independent infantry battalions and lacked an artillery force. The men of the division were drafted through 5th military district, located in Hiroshima Prefecture. Its callsign was "Spear Division" (槍師団).

Action

After completing a training, the division was assigned to the 13th army and sent to Shanghai area in April 1942 to take a part in Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign.[1] From May 1942, the division operated in Guangde County, Quzhou, Lishui, Wenzhou and other prefectures. A large reinforcement for the 70th division has sailed from Karatsu 25 May 1942, and arrived to Shanghai 28 May 1942.[2] Later it taken a defensive positions in the direction of Jiaxing. It was subordinated to the Kwantung Army as part of 6th army, and ordered to go to Manchuria during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945.

See also

Reference and further reading

This article incorporates material from the article 第70師団_(日本軍) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on 13 January 2015.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Japanese Forces Battle of Chekiang-Kiangsi Late April 1942 . 2016-06-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923203631/http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/945JDAF.PDF . 2015-09-23 . dead .
  2. http://www.combinedfleet.com/Surabaya_t.htm SURABAYA MARU: Tabular Record of Movement