The
32nd Division was subordinated to the
12th Army and transferred to China in May 1939 to participate in the
Second Sino-Japanese War, initially posted to
Shanxi. Due to the Japanese defeat in the
Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang, the initially assigned positions became unreachable and the 32nd Division arrived in southeast
Shandong in June 1939 and saw action in the
1939–40 Winter Offensive, initially protecting the
Tai'an -
Tengzhou line. The division was able to start a counter-attack on 2 December 1939 as part of the
Shandong Operation. After the offensive, the 32nd Division was garrisoned at
Jinan. In April 1944, the 32nd Division was assigned to the
14th Army and departed for
Mindanao. The division saw action against the
United States Army during the
Battle of Morotai from September 1944 until the end of the war. Two battalions of the 211th Infantry Regiment were sent to
Morotai, which was only a short distance from Halmahera, to develop an airfield in May 1944, but these were withdrawn in July 1944 when the airfield was abandoned due to drainage problems. This left
Morotai only lightly defended when a large Allied force landed there on 15 September 1944, and the Allies were able to quickly secure their objectives in the island's south west. Elements of the 32nd Division, including the 3rd Battalion of the 210th Infantry Regiment and the entire 211th Infantry Regiment, were transported to
Morotai through a US Navy blockade between September and November 1944 in an attempt to attack the Allied base which was being developed on the island. The division was not able to launch this attack, however, as sufficient supplies could not be brought through the US blockade. As a result, the Japanese troops on
Morotai retreated to the center of the island where many died from disease and starvation. The 32nd Division continued to fight against the US forces on
Morotai until the end of the war. In December 1944 the US 136th Infantry Regiment launched an offensive against the 211th Regiment's positions on
Morotai. The US force assaulted the main Japanese positions on 3 January 1945, capturing them two days later. Following this the Americans pursued the remnants of the 211th Regiment until 14 January 1945, by which time they claimed to have killed 870 Japanese soldiers and captured ten for a loss of 46 killed and 127 wounded and injured. The US
93rd Infantry Division launched a further offensive against the Japanese on Morotai in April 1945 and captured the 211th Regiment's commander on 6 August. Following the end of the war, the remnants of the 32nd Division on
Morotai and
Halmahera surrendered to the
93rd Infantry Division on 26 August 1945. ==See also==