Russo-Japanese War The 13th Division was initially raised in Takada city in now
Jōetsu, Niigata from men in
Niigata Prefecture under the command of Lieutenant General
Haraguchi Kensai. It was given the independent assignment of
occupying Sakhalin before the conclusion of the
Portsmouth Treaty, landing on Sakhalin on 7 July 1905, only three months after being formed, and securing the island by 1 August 1905. As a result of its successful operation, Japan was awarded southern
Karafuto during the Portsmouth Treaty, one of Japan's few territorial gains during the war.
Interwar period The division returned on 6 November 1908 to its original divisional headquarters located in
Takada,
Niigata prefecture. Future Chinese premier
Chiang Kai-shek served in the field artillery battalion of the 13th Division while it was based at Takada. Also while at Takada, under the command of Lieutenant General
Gaishi Nagaoka, a military advisor from the Empire of
Austria-Hungary,
Theodor Edler von Lerch, was invited to teach
mountain warfare and
skiing to the troops of the IJA 58th Infantry Regiment in Takada under the 13th Division in early 1911. On 12 April 1913, the division was ordered to
Liaoyang in Manchuria, where it remained until 3 June 1915 on garrison duty under the command of Lieutenant General
Akiyama Yoshifuru before returning to Takada. After a brief period on garrison duty in
Korea, the 13th Division was one of the divisions selected to participate in the
Japanese intervention in Siberia in 1920. The
13th division of that period specialized in winter warfare, with all infantry on
skis. However, on 1 May 1925, it was dissolved by Minister of War
Ugaki Kazushige as part of a cost-saving measure during the
Kato Takaaki administration, together with the
15th,
17th and
18th divisions.
Second Sino-Japanese War In July 1937, open hostilities broke out against
China and the
Second Sino-Japanese War commenced. The 13th Division was re-established in
Sendai on 10 September 1937 as a
triangular division, out of the reserve forces of the
IJA 2nd Division, and ordered to China 11 September 1937 together with
9th division and
101st division. Under the command of Lieutenant General
Rippei Ogisu, it was assigned to
Shanghai Expeditionary Army and saw combat during the
Battle of Shanghai and
Battle of Nanjing, although as a reserve force it was not present at the subsequent
Nanjing Massacre. It came under the control of the
Central China Expeditionary Army from February 1938, the 13th Division it was at the
Battle of Xuzhou, and as part of the
Japanese Second Army from July 1938, it was at the
Battle of Wuhan under the command of Lieutenant General
Shizuichi Tanaka. From November 1938, the 13th Division was assigned to the
Japanese Eleventh Army and remained in China throughout the
Pacific War, participating in numerous campaigns and battles, notably the
Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang,
Battle of West Hubei and
Battle of Changde. A particularly heavy Chinese attacks in
Yichang were repulsed in October 1941 with the extensive use of chemical weapons by
13th division. In December 1942, the 58th infantry regiment was transferred to the
31st division, and
13th division has become a
triangular division. It was also part of
Operation Ichi-Go (the
Battle of Henan-Hunan-Guangxi). In the final stages of the campaign 1 November 1944, the
13th division has captured two airstrips at
Guilin airbase. Later it was used to secure the front on the west of
Liuzhou, between
3rd division to the south and
58th division to the north-east. 18 April 1945, it was assigned to directly to the
China Expeditionary Army together with
3rd division and was retreating toward
Nanjing. The
capitulation of Japan 15 August 1945 has happened while the
13th division was in
Changsha,
Hunan Province. Although there were plans to send the 13th Division to
Guam in September 1943 to counter the threat posed by the United States in the
Pacific War, only a 300-man detachment was sent. ==See also==