3rd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

3rd Division
Soldiers of 6th Inf. Regt., 3rd Division crossing the Bái hé River during Ichang Operation, 8 May 1940.
Active	1888–1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Garrison/HQ	Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Nickname(s)	"Lucky Division"
Engagements	First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War Siberian Intervention Shandong Incident
Commanders
Notable commanders	Taro Katsura Yoshimichi Hasegawa Yusaku Uehara Nobuyoshi Muto

The 3rd Division (第3師団, Daisan shidan) was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the Lucky Division (幸兵団, Kō-heidan).

History

The 3rd Division was formed in Nagoya in January 1871 as the Nagoya Garrison (名古屋鎮台, Nagoya chindai), one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. The Nagoya Garrison had responsibility for the central region of Japan. This region was known as the Chūbu district, and stretched from Aichi Prefecture to Ishikawa Prefecture. Upon the recommendations of the Prussian military advisor Jakob Meckel to the Japanese government, the six regional commands were transformed into divisions under the army reorganization of 14 May 1888. As one of the oldest divisions in the Imperial Japanese Army, the 3rd Division participated in combat operations during the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, the Siberian Intervention, and the Shandong Incident. Some of its more noteworthy commanders included Katsura Taro, Hasegawa Yoshimichi, Uehara Yusaku and Nobuyoshi Muto.

During the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War the 3rd Division participated in the Battles of Shanghai and Xuzhou and was subsequently was one of the divisions assigned to the China Expeditionary Army (CGA) headquartered in Nanjing. The 3rd Division also served in nearly every theatre in central China. During the Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign it was converted into a triangular division. It later served, for a time as a headquarters and garrison division for strategic Zhejiang Province. Battles and Campaigns fought in China (1937–1945)

• Battle of Shanghai
• Battle of Xuzhou
• Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang
• Battle of Changsha (1939)
• 1939-40 Winter Offensive
• Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang
• Central Hopei Operation
• Battle of South Henan
• 2nd Battle of Changsha
• 3rd Battle of Changsha
• Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign
• Battle of West Hubei
• Battle of Changde
• Battle of Changsha (1944)
• Battle of Guilin-Liuzhou
• Battle of West Henan-North Hubei

At the end of World War II, with the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Army, the 3rd Division was formally disbanded in Zhejiang.

Organization

The originally the 3rd Division was organized as a square division:

3rd Division

• 5th Infantry Brigade
  • 6th Infantry Regiment
  • 68th Infantry Regiment
• 29th Infantry Brigade
  • 18th Infantry Regiment (Toyohashi)
  • 34th Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
• 3rd Cavalry Regiment
• 3rd Engineer Regiment
• 3rd Transport Regiment

On July 4, 1942 the order of battle for 3rd Division was reorganized as a triangular division in China.

3rd Division

• 3rd Infantry Brigade Group
  • 6th Infantry Regiment
  • 34th Infantry Regiment
  • 68th Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Cavalry Regiment
• 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
• 3rd Construction Regiment
• 3rd Transport Regiment

See also

• List of Japanese Infantry Divisions

Reference and further reading

• Madej, W. Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945. Allentown, PA: Game Marketing Co. OCLC 8930220.