Independent Mixed Brigades (Imperial Japanese Army)

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This article is about the Japanese military unit. For the Spanish formation, see Mixed Brigade.
Independent Mixed Brigades
独立混成旅団
Active1937–1945
Country Empire of Japan
BranchJapanese Imperial Army
TypeMixed Brigade
RoleOccupation forces
Size5,000 to 11,000 troops
EngagementsSecond Sino-Japanese War
World War II

Between 1937 and 1945 the Japanese Imperial Army formed 126 Independent Mixed Brigades (numbered 1–136 with some gaps), typically composed of various units detached from other formations. Some were composed of separate, independent assets (usually Independent Infantry Battalions). These brigades were task organized under unified command and were normally used in support roles, as security, force protection, POW and internment camp guards and labor in occupied territories. An Independent Mixed Brigade had between 5,000 and 11,000 troops.[1]

History[edit]

The first two of these Independent Mixed Brigades formed by the Kwantung Army in the 1930s were the IJA 1st Independent Mixed Brigade and the IJA 11th Independent Mixed Brigade. Each of these brigades was organized in a unique manner; the 1st was disbanded in 1937 while the 11th was formed into the IJA 26th Division in 1938.

Later a series of Independent Mixed Brigades were formed for the purpose of garrisoning the large territories of China captured in the early phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War.[1] This variety for China was usually organized with five infantry battalions, an artillery unit, and labor troops. In the Pacific theater they had different and more varied configurations of subordinate units.

The Hong Kong Defence Force, which was established in 1942 to occupy Hong Kong, was equivalent to an Independent Mixed Brigade.[2]

List of Independent Mixed Brigades[edit]

Kwantung Army[edit]

Brigades formed for the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific War[edit]

Number Timeline Notes
1 Taiyuan, 1937 – Iwo Jima, 1944 -
2 Iwo Jima, 1944 split from 109th division
3 North China, 1941–1945, 1st Army -
4 Taiyuan, 1943 became 62nd division
5 Shandong, 1939–1941, 12th Army -
6 Taiyuan, 1941–1943, 12th Army became 62nd division
7 1941, 12th army – 1944, Henan became 115th division
8 North China, 1941 – Chengde, 1945 -
9 North China, 1941 -
10 Jinan, 1941, 12th Army -
11 Taiyuan, 1937; Battle of West Henan–North Hubei, 1945 2 separate units, formed in 1937 and 1939
12 Taiyuan, 1937,[3] Chuzhou, 1939 -
13 Lu'an, 1943 became 65th Division
14 Jiangxi, 1942 became 68th Division
15 Taiyuan, 1937[3] -
16 Linfen, 1942 became 69th Division
17 1941, 13th Army – 1945, 6th Area Army -
18 Dangyang, 1940 -
19 Guangzhou, 1941, 23rd Army became 129th and 130th Divisions
20 Ningbo, 1942 became 70th Division
21 French Indochina, 1941 detached from 104th Division
22 Guangzhou, 1941, 23rd Army -
23 1945, 23rd Army -
24 Myitkyina, 1944 -
25 Sumatra, January 1944, 25th Army[4] -
26 south Sumatra, January 1944, 25th Army – Singapore, May 1945[5] -
27 Jakarta, 1944, 16th Army Taiwan mixed brigade
28 eastern Java, 1944, 16th Army[6] -
29 Bangkok, December 1943 – Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, August 1944[7] -
30 Shanghai, 1943 – Mindanao, 1944[8] became 100th Division
31 Bohol, June 1944[9] became 102nd Division
32 Baguio, July 1943[10] became 103rd Division
33 Luzon, 1944[11] became 105th Division
34 Nanjing, 1943 – Saigon, 1944[12] -
35 Tokyo, 1944 – Andaman Islands, 1945, 29th Army do not confuse with Kawaguchi Detachment
36 Tokyo, 1944 – Nicobar Islands, 1945, 29th Army -
37 Osaka, 1944 – Malaysia, 1945, 29th Army -
38 Bouganville, 1944 -
39 Solomon Islands, 1944 – 1945, 41st Army -
40 Solomon Islands, 1944 -
43 Iturup, 1945 became 89th Division
44 Okinawa, 1945 -
45 Okinawa, 1945 -
46 Taipei, 1944 became 66th Division
47 Saipan, 1944 -
48 Guam, As Sombreru Pillboxes, 1944 -
49 Palau minor islands, Yap and Fais Island, May 1944 -
50 Woleai -
51 Chuuk Lagoon, Mortlock Islands -
52 Ponape Island, May 1944 -
53 Palau Islands -
54 Leyte, 1944, 14th Area Army -
55 Leyte, 1944, 14th Area Army -
56 Borneo, 1944 -
57 Jolo, 1944[13] -
58 Luzon, 1944, 14th area army split from 47th Division
59 Okinawa, 1945 -
60 Mudanjiang, August 1944 – Miyako-jima, September 1944[14] -
61 China, 1944 – Taiwan, August 1944[15] – Luzon, 1944, 14th Area Army – July 1945, Babuyan Islands, 10th Area Army[16] -
62 Fuzhou, 1944[17] -
64 Yamaguchi, 1944 – Amami Ōshima, 1945[18] -
65 Hiroshima, 1941 – Guadalcanal, 1942 – Rabaul, 1944[19] -
66 1945, 6th army – August 1945, Nii-jima, 12th Area Army -
67 August 1945, Hachijō-jima, 12th Area Army -
68 Keelung, July 1944 – Leyte, December 1944[20] -
69 Hokkaido, 1945 became 89th Division
70 Saigon, December 1944 – Malaysia, 1945, 29th Army[21]
71 Kota Kinabalu, May 1944 – Kuching, February 1945[22] -
72 Thanbyuzayat, 1944[23] -
73 Sunwu County, October 1944 became 123rd Division
75 Hengchun, 26 October 1944[24][25] – Penghu, January 1945, 40th army – Hsinchu, June 1945[26] forced beaching at Hengchun
76 Keelung, January 1945, 10th Area Army[27] -
77 Taiwan, 1944[24] became 135th Division
78 Jiamusi, July 1945 became 134th Division
79 Mudanjiang, March 1945, 3rd Area Army[28] -
80 Hailar, April 1945 – Jalainur, August 1945, 4th Army[29] -
81 Xiangtan, March 1945, 20th Army[30] -
82 Zhuzhou, March 1945, 20th Army[31] -
83 Hankou, March 1945, 6th Area Army[32] -
84 Jiujiang, March 1945, 6th Area Army[33] -
85 Yingcheng, March 1945, 6th Area Army[34] -
86 Xiangxi, April 1945, 20th Army[35] -
87 Hengyang, April 1945, 20th Army[36] -
88 Guangxi, April 1945, 11th Army[37] -
89 Jinhua, August 1944 – Fenghua, August 1945, 6th Army split from 60th Division[38]
90 Yangzhou, February 1945, 10th army[39] or 13th Army[40] contradictory data
91 Ningbo, February 1944, 6th Army[41] -
92 Datong, February 1945, 13th Army – Xuzhou, August 1945[42] -
95 Hachinohe, 1945, 50th Army -
96 6 February 1945, Tokyo – August 1945, Tateyama, Army of Tokyo Bay -
97 Fujieda, Shizuoka, 1945, 54th Army -
98 Koyama, 1945, 57th Army -
100 Kaohsiung, 1945, 10th Area Army[43] -
101 Shibetsu, February 1945 – Hayakita, Hokkaido, 7 May 1945, 5th Area Army[44] assigned to 77th Division, 11 February 1945[45]
102 Hualien, February 1945, 10th Area Army[46] split from 66th Division
103 Kaohsiung, February 1945, 10th Area Army – Taipei, May 1945[47] -
105 Yangon, February 1945[48] -
107 Gotō, Nagasaki, 1945, 16th Area Army -
108 Jejudo, April 1945, 58th Army[49] -
109 Tanegashima, 1945, 57th Army[50] -
112 Yilan, April 1945, 10th Area Army[51] -
113 Iwaki, 1945, 11th Area Army -
114 23 May 1945, Nagano- August 1945, Yokosuka, Army of Tokyo Bay -
115 Shibasaki, 1945, 51st Army -
116 Hokota, 1945, 51st Army -
117 Numazu, Shizuoka, 1945, 53rd Army -
118 Saiki, Ōita, 1945, 16th Area Army -
119 Shizuoka, Shizuoka, 1945, 54th Army -
120 Shimizu, Shizuoka, 1945, 54th Army -
121 Gobō, Wakayama, 1945, 15th Area Army – Tokushima, August 1945, 55th Army replaced by 123rd Independent Mixed Brigade in Gobō
122 Nagasaki, 1945, 16th Area Army -
123 Gobō, Wakayama, 23 May 1945, 15th Area Army[52] -
124 Shimonoseki, 1945, 59th Army -
125 Ibusuki, Kagoshima, May 1945, 40th Army -
126 Amakusa, 1945, 16th Area Army -
127 Busan, May 1945 – Ulsan, August 1945[53] -
128 north-east Halmahera, May 1945[54] -
129 Urup, 1945[55] split from 42nd Division
130 Liaoning, July 1945, 3rd Area Army[56] -
131 Harbin, July 1945, 4th army[57] -
132 Dongning, July 1945, 3rd Army[58] assigned to 128th division, August 1945
133 Siping, July 1945, 34th Army[59] -
134 Jinzhou, July 1945, 3rd Area Army[60] – Linjiang, August 1945 assigned to 125th Division[61]
135 Aihui, July 1945, 4th Army[62] -
136 Nencheng, July 1945 – Qiqihar, August 1945, 4th Army[63] -
  • (list is believed to be complete)
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Independent Mixed Brigade
Independent Mixed Brigade
Infantry Division (including guard divisions)
Infantry Division (including guard divisions)
Independent Armored Brigade
Independent Armored Brigade
Armored division
Armored division
class=notpageimage|
Japanese infantry and armored units in Home Islands, 15 August 1945

See also[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Victor Madej: Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945. Game Publishing, 1981, OCLC 833591372, OCLC 833591376.
  • Philip Jowett: The Japanese Army 1931–45 (1) Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 978-1-8417-6353-8
  • Gordon Rottman: Japanese Army in World War II, Conquest of the Pacific Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-1-8417-6789-5
  • Gordon Rottman: Japanese Army in World War II, The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942–43 Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-1-8417-6870-0

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Rottman Japanese Army in World War II, The South Pacific and New Guinea, p. 18
  2. ^ Ness, Leland (2015). Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937–1945: Volume 1: Tactical Organization of Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces. Helion. p. 178. ISBN 9781912174577.
  3. ^ a b "Japanese Forces Battle of Taiyan September through November 1937" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  4. ^ 25th Independent Mixed Brigade (Ban)
  5. ^ 26th Independent Mixed Brigade (Gaku)
  6. ^ 28th Independent Mixed Brigade (Kei)
  7. ^ 29th Independent Mixed Brigade (Tai)
  8. ^ IJA Landing Craft Depot Ship SHINSHU MARU: Tabular Record of Movement
  9. ^ IJN LST T.101: Tabular Record of Movement
  10. ^ 103rd Division (Shun)
  11. ^ IJN TEIA MARU: Tabular Record of Movement
  12. ^ 34th Independent Mixed Brigade (Iku)
  13. ^ IJA Transport MEXICO MARU: Tabular Record of Movement
  14. ^ 60th Independent Mixed Brigade (Koma)
  15. ^ KENJO MARU Tabular Record of Movement
  16. ^ 61st Independent Mixed Brigade (Yoroi)
  17. ^ RISING STORM – THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY AND CHINA 1931–1941
  18. ^ 64th Independent Mixed Brigade (Tama)
  19. ^ 65th Independent Mixed Brigade (Natsu)
  20. ^ 68th Independent Mixed Brigade (Hoshi)
  21. ^ 70th Independent Mixed Brigade (Kakan)
  22. ^ 71st Independent Mixed Brigade (Kanto)
  23. ^ 72nd Independent Mixed Brigade (Kantetsu)
  24. ^ a b Japanese Forces Formosa 1 January 1945
  25. ^ IJN Subchaser CH-38:Tabular Record of Movement
  26. ^ 75th Independent Mixed Brigade (Kyo)
  27. ^ 76th Independent Mixed Brigade (Tsu)
  28. ^ 79th Independent Mixed Brigade (Jobu)
  29. ^ 80th Independent Mixed Brigade (Eihou/Hikari)
  30. ^ 81st Independent Mixed Brigade (Shikyo)
  31. ^ 82nd Independent Mixed Brigade (Shiretsu)
  32. ^ 83rd Independent Mixed Brigade (Shimou)
  33. ^ 84th Independent Mixed Brigade (Shiyu)
  34. ^ 85th Independent Mixed Brigade (Shiketsu)
  35. ^ 86th Independent Mixed Brigade (Shusou)
  36. ^ 87th Independent Mixed Brigade (Shindo)
  37. ^ 88th Independent Mixed Brigade (Chuten)
  38. ^ 89th Independent Mixed Brigade (Shijun)
  39. ^ 90th Independent Mixed Brigade (Shinrai)
  40. ^ Japanese China Expeditionary Army Forces in China Late April 1945
  41. ^ 91st Independent Mixed Brigade (Chiku)
  42. ^ 92nd Independent Mixed Brigade (Shiken)
  43. ^ 100th Independent Mixed Brigade (Banjaku)
  44. ^ 101st Independent Mixed Brigade (Tatsu)
  45. ^ "勇払平野の防御陣地". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  46. ^ 102nd Independent Mixed Brigade (Hachiman)
  47. ^ 103rd Independent Mixed Brigade (Hachiku)
  48. ^ 105th Independent Mixed Brigade (Kan'i)
  49. ^ 108th Independent Mixed Brigade (Sui)
  50. ^ Japanese 16th Army Homeland Defense June–August 1945
  51. ^ 112th Independent Mixed Brigade (Raijin)
  52. ^ "独立混成第１２３旅団". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  53. ^ 127th Independent Mixed Brigade (Sodan)
  54. ^ 128th Independent Mixed Brigade (Kai)
  55. ^ 129th Independent Mixed Brigade (Takane)
  56. ^ 130th Independent Mixed Brigade (Fun'yaku)
  57. ^ 131st Independent Mixed Brigade (Funshin)
  58. ^ 132nd Independent Mixed Brigade (Funsen)
  59. ^ 133rd Independent Mixed Brigade (Fukuju)
  60. ^ 134th Independent Mixed Brigade (Funrei)
  61. ^ Record of Operations Against Soviet Russia Northern and Western Fronts (August–September 1945), p. 69
  62. ^ 135th Independent Mixed Brigade (Fukyu)
  63. ^ 136th Independent Mixed Brigade (Fun'yaku)

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