Spring 1942
Invasion of Burma by 2 Japanese armies the XV and the Southern army
XV army under Lieutenant-General Shojiro Iida. Its innitial composition was only two divisions, but this was later increased to four including the 18th Imperial Guards Division.
Invading Infantry Divisions Spring 1942
18th Imperial Guards Division later arrivals attached to Iida's command.
33rd Division 16,000 men (under Lieutenant-General Shozo Sakurai) part of 15th army
55th Division 14,000 men (under Lieutenant-General Yutaka Takeuchi) part of the 15th army
56th Division
Invading Infantry Regiments Spring 1942
112th Regiment (55th Division)
213th Regiment (33rd Division)
214th Regiment (33rd Division)
215th Regiment (33rd Division)
Japanese Forces in Burma March 1944
Japanese Commander Kawabe
28 Army at Arakan under Sakurai
15 Army in Central Burma under Mutaguchi
33 Army North Burma under Honda
5 Air Division under Tazoe
Mutaguchi had his army torn to peices with losses of over 60,000 men in the Kohima, Imphal offensive. Two of his three divisional commanders were replaced and then he was himself dismissed from 15th Army. His replacement was Lt-General Katamura.
General Yamauchi was replaced by Shibata Ryuichi on the 10th of June. General Kawabe was replaced by General Hoyotara Kimura. Honda's command was reduced to two Divisions. The 15th Army was made up of four divisions and the 28th, three divisions.
| 28 Army | 15 Army | 33 Army |
|---|---|---|
| 55 Division | 15 Division | 18 Division |
| 54 Division | 31 Division | 53 Division |
| 2 Division | 33 Division | 56 Division |
| 72 Indepedent Brigade | 24 Independent Brigade |
There were major changes to the Japanese hierachy after the failures of the Spring offensive. For the campaign beginning December 1944, there were 10 Divisions in the Burma area, a much reduced tank regiment (about 20 tanks) and two independent Brigades. The divisions were the 2, 15, 18, 31, 33, 49, 53, 54, 55 and 56 a total of about 100,000 men. The 49th was a late arrival to the Burma theatre and was held in reserve along with 2nd Guards Division. Japanese Divisions were nominally 10,000 men strong, but often fielded only half this number.
| 28 Army | 15 Army | 33 Army |
|---|---|---|
| 54 Division | 15 Division | 18 Division |
| 55 Division | 31 Division | 56 Division |
| Indepenedent Brigade | 33 Division |
Japanese Infantry Regiments 1944
4th Infantry Regiment 2 Division (Ichikari)
16th Infantry Regiment 2 Division (Sakai)
29th Infantry Regiment 2 Division (Miyake)
51st Infantry Regiment 15 Division (Omoto)
55th Infantry Regiment 18 Division (Yamazaki)
56th Infantry Regiment 18 Division (Nagahisa)
58th Infantry Regiment 31 Division (Fukunaga)
60th Infantry Regiment 15 Division (Matsumura)
67th Infantry Regiment 15 Division (Yanagizawa)
111th Infantry Regiment 54 Division (Koba)
112th Infantry Regiment 55 Division (Tanahashi)
113th Infantry Regiment 56 Division (Matsui)
114th Infantry Regiment 18 Division (Maruyama)
119th Infantry Regiment 53 Division (Asano)
121st Infantry Regiment 54 Division (Nagazawa)
124th Infantry Regiment 31 Division (Miyamoto)
128th Infantry Regiment 53 Division (Okada)
138th Infantry Regiment 31 Division (Torikai)
143rd Infantry Regiment 55 Division (Yamamoto)
146th Infantry Regiment 56 Division (Imaoka)
148th Infantry Regiment 56 Division (Kurashige)
151st Infantry Regiment 53 Division (Hashimoto)
154th Infantry Regiment 54 Division (Yamamura)
213th Infantry Regiment 33 Division (Miyawaki)
214th Infantry Regiment 33 Division (Sakuma)
215th Infantry Regiment 33 Division (Sasahara)
| Division | Commander | Division | Commander |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Guards Division | Kunomura Okazaki | 53 Division | Takeda |
| 15 Division | Yaumachi Shibata Ryuichi | 54 Division | Katamura Miyazaki |
| 18 Division | Tanaka Shinichi Naka | 55 Division | Hanaya |
| 72 Independent Brigade | Yamamoto | 56 Division | Matsuyama |
| 31 Division | Sato | 24th Independent Brigade | Hayashi |
| 33 Division | Yanagida Tanaka |