From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

2nd Tank Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

Field	Value
unit_name	2nd Tank Division
image	Japanese light tanks moving toward Manila.jpg
caption	Japanese tanks moving toward Manila
dates	1942–1945
country	Empire of Japan
branch	Imperial Japanese Army
type	Armored division
garrison	Tokyo, Japan
notable_commanders
identification_symbol_2
nickname	撃 = Geki (Attack)
battles

Second Sino-Japanese War
Second World War
- Pacific War
  - Invasion of Lingayen Gulf
- Philippines campaign
  - Battle of Luzon
- 1. Armored Regiment
- 7.Armored Regiment
1. Armored Brigade
- 1. Armored Regiment
- 1. Armored Regiment
1. Mechanized Infantry Regiment
1. Self-propelled gun regiment
1. Tank automatic cannon (AT) company
1. Tank reconnaissance regiment
1. Tank anti-aircraft company
1. Tank engineer company
1. Tank maintenance company
1. Tank transport company
- 1. Armored Regiment
- 7.Armored Regiment
- 1. Armored Regiment
1. Mechanized Infantry Regiment
1. Self-propelled gun (mobile artillery) regiment
1. Tank automatic cannon (AT) company
1. Tank engineer company
1. Tank maintenance company
1. Tank transport company
1. Signal unit
1. Field hospital (casualty clearance unit)

The 2nd Tank Division was one of four armored divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II.

History

The 2nd Tank Division was raised in Manchukuo on June 24, 1942. Stationed in Mudanjiang in northeastern Manchukuo, it was tasked primarily with border patrol of Manchukuo's eastern frontier with the Soviet Union under the overall command of the Japanese First Area Army.

In February 1944, the 11th Tank Regiment was sent to the Kuriles. In the following month, the Recon Unit was renamed the 27th Tank Regiment and with the AA unit, sent to China. As the situation in the Pacific War against the Allies deteriorated for Japan, in early August 1944 the remaining units of the 2nd Tank Division were reassigned to the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army, and sent to the Philippines, where it was deployed on the main island of Luzon.

In January 1945, the US forces made amphibious landings on Luzon and the army units pushed inland. General Tomoyuki Yamashita held back the tank division so as not to waste them in large scale counterattacks against superior forces. He had them withdraw inland to northern defensive positions. During this time, the 2nd Tank Division came under heavy air attacks. Most of the 2nd Tank Division, dug in around San Jose. It lost 108 of its 220 tanks in heavy fighting in just over a week. By March 5, the division had lost a total of 203 Type 97 Chi-Ha and 19 Type 95 Ha-Go tanks, and two of its new Type 4 Ho-Ro self-propelled guns. The remaining tanks were used to support infantry or were dug in like pillboxes and annihilated during the remainder of the Battle of the Philippines in various engagements on Luzon, Leyte and Mindanao.

The 2nd Tank Division was reconstituted in Japan as a training unit after the disaster in the Philippines. In February 1945, its 11th Armored Regiment was transferred to the control of the Japanese Fifth Area Army and attached to the 91st Infantry Division. It was stationed in the northern Kuril Islands, where it was in combat against the Soviet Red Army at Paramushir during Invasion of the Kuril Islands at the end of World War II. It was officially demobilized in September 1945 with the rest of the Imperial Japanese Army. Also, the reconnaissance regiment was transferred to Okinawa where it was converted to the 27th armored regiment attached to the 24th Division, and finally anti-aircraft company was transferred to 20th Army.

Commanding officer

		Name		From		To
1
2

Notes

References

{{cite book | url-access = registration
{{cite book
{{cite book
{{cite book
{{cite book
{{cite book

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

military-units-and-formations-established-in-1942 military-units-and-formations-disestablished-in-1945 1942-establishments-in-japan 1945-disestablishments-in-japan tank-divisions-of-japan

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 2nd Tank Division (Imperial Japanese Army) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report