81st Division (Imperial Japanese Army) explained

Unit Name:	81st Division
Native Name:	第81師団
Country:	Empire of Japan
Dates:	1944 - 1945
Allegiance:	36th army
Branch:	Imperial Japanese Army
Type:	Infantry
Garrison:	Utsunomiya
Nickname:	Nō Division
Battles:	none

81st Division
Date:	1945
Parent:	36th army
Subordinate:	171. Infantry regiment (Utsunomiya) 172. Infantry regiment (Mito) 173. Infantry regiment (Takasaki) 81. Field artillery regiment 81. Engineer regiment 81. Transport regiment 81. Automatic cannon company 81. Signals company 81. Ordnance company 81. Sanitation company 81/1. Field hospital 81/4. Field hospital 81. Chemical warfare company 81. Veterinary department

The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . It was created 4 April 1944 in Utsunomiya, simultaneously with the 44th and 86th divisions. It was a triangular division. The men of the division were drafted through Utsunomiya mobilization district, although the divisional backbone was the 51st division headquarters.

Action

The 81st division was assigned to the 36th army 21 July 1944. Because the troops were engaged in farming for self-sustenance, and of the pronunciation of the divisional call sign, the 81st division was also jokingly called "Agricultural division". The division spent the time until the surrender of Japan 15 August 1945 building fortifications around Yūki, Ibaraki and did not engage in actual combat.

References and further reading

• List of Japanese Infantry Divisions
• Madej, W. Victor. Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 [2 vols] Allentown, PA: 1981

This article incorporates material from the article 第81師団 (日本軍) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on 20 June 2016.