The Imperial Japanese Navy’s land forces consisted of the following units: •
Naval Landing Force or 海軍陸戦隊
Kaigun-rikusen-tai; also referred to as naval shore parties. These were
ad hoc units formed from ship's crews for temporary use ashore as
naval infantry. •
Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF) or 海軍特別陸戦隊
Kaigun-tokubetsu-rikusen-tai: the Imperial Japanese Navy's professional
marines. Units were typically battalion-sized and formed at the naval corps-level for both offensive and defensive operations. There was also three
Special Naval Landing Forces paratroop units (although only two would participate in operational airborne jumps), which were composed of SNLF marines who received jump training from the Imperial Japanese Army at
Kantō Plain. The SNLF were entirely under the control of the Imperial Japanese Navy as opposed to an independent or quasi-independent military branch such as the
United States Marine Corps or the United Kingdom's
Royal Marines, respectively, and should not be confused with •
Shanghai Special Naval Landing Force or 上海海軍特別陸戦隊
Shanghai-kaigun-tokubetsu-rikusen-tai: the sole permanent Special Naval Landing Force, established in Shanghai following the
January 28th Incident in 1932. The unit had an authorized strength of approximately 2000 men and was organized into a brigade made up of several battalions and smaller special weapons units. •
Combined Special Naval Landing Force or 連合特別陸戦隊
Rengō-tokubetsu-rikusen-tai: a headquarters unit which combined several Special Naval Landing Force units into a brigade sized unit with greater firepower. •
Base Force or 根拠地隊
Konkyochi-tai and the
Special Base Force or 特別根拠地隊
Tokubetsu-konkyochi-tai provided a variety of services both administrative and tactical in areas outside Japan proper,
Korea, and
Formosa. The Japanese raised around fifty of these units which ranged in size from 250 to 1500 men depending on location and function. The Base Force could also include afloat units. •
Defense Units or 防備隊
Bōbi-tai: units of from 250 to 2000 men organized for defense of naval installations and areas of strategic importance within Japan. Some Defense Units included artillery emplacements and some controlled the
minefields in Japanese waters. •
Guard Units or 警備隊
Keibi-tai: 100 to 1500 men units responsible for ground defense of Imperial Japanese Navy facilities. They were frequently assigned to Base Forces and Special Base Forces. The Japanese raised around one hundred of these units. Many of these units played a notable part in the defense of Japanese held islands during the later stages of the war, such as the Iwo Jima Keibi-tai consisting of 1000 men led by Captain Samaji Inouye. •
Anti-Aircraft Defense Units or 防空隊
Bōkū-tai:
Anti-aircraft artillery units of 200–350 men. There were three types which differed based on the number and kind of anti-aircraft weapons assigned. Type A includes AA artillery and machine guns, Type B machine guns only, and Type C machine guns and machine-cannon. The Japanese formed over two hundred of these units which were primarily located in areas outside Japan, Formosa, and Korea. They were usually assigned to Base Forces, Special Base Forces, Special Naval Landing Forces, and Guard Forces. •
Construction Battalions or 設営隊
Setsuei-tai built and repaired naval facilities of all kinds, including airstrips, barracks, ammunition bunkers, and fuel depots on remote islands as well as Japan's major naval bases. Most personnel were civilian employees and unarmed. The units also included naval engineers overseeing the operations and sailors guarding the unit, both being lightly armed for defense. The Construction Battalions often made use of local labor whose service was compulsory. •
Communications Units or 通信隊
Tsūshin-tai of 100–2,000 men were stationed ashore to provide communications between Japan's widespread naval installations and to and from the fleets and ships at sea. •
Tokkeitai or 特警隊 Navy
military police units carried out ordinary military police functions in naval installations and occupied territories; they also worked with the
Imperial Japanese Army's
Kempeitai military police, the
Keishi-chō civil police and
Tokkō secret units on matters concerning security, intelligence collection, and
counter-intelligence. •
Anti-Aircraft Artillery Batteries or 高射砲中隊
Koshaho Chutai were units of forty or fifty men organized for the air defense of important installations and were subordinate to Air Defense Sectors which in turn were subordinate to Defense Units. These batteries were separate from the previously mentioned
Bobitai. Several hundred of them were in existence at the end of the war. •
Naval Corps or 海兵団
Kaiheidan were units in each of the four naval districts (
Yokosuka,
Kure,
Sasebo and
Maizuru) that were responsible for training of enlisted and
non-commissioned officer personnel for the navy. ==Armored units==