WWII Japanese Army
Philippines 1944

CD OOB

by Loren Wiseman and Greg Novak

The "Shimbu Group" was organized to hold the area east and northeast of Manilla on the island of Luzon. It is used here as an example of how the Japanese could and did build a military force out of support units.

SHIMBU FORCE

HEADQUARTERS:
Headquarters, 8th Infantry Division
8th Engineer Regiment (less 1st Company)

SHIMBU GROUP ARTILLERY
22nd Medium Artillery Regiment (less 1st Battalion)
20th Independent Heavy Artillery Battalion (less 1st and 4th Batteries)

SHIMBU GROUP RESERVE FORCE

    KOBAYASHI UNIT
      Headquarters, 31st Infantry Regiment
      Elements, Antitank and Infantry Gun Companies, 31st Infantry
      1st Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment
      1st Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment
      13th Independent Machine Gun Battalion (Less 1st Company)
      3rd Company, 114th Surface Raiding Battalion

    TAKANAMI UNIT

      Headquarters, 26th Infantry Regiment
      Elements, Antitank and Infantry Gun Companies, 26th Infantry
      2nd Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment

    KUWAZAWA UNIT

      3rd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment
      Elements, Infantry Gun Companies, 26th Infantry Regiment
      1st Company, 21st Medium Mortar Battalion

    RAILWAY PROVISIONAL INFANTRY BATTALION (Formed from 8th Railway Regiment)
    NAGAMATSU PROVISIONAL INFANTRY BATTALION (Formed from 1st, 2nd, and 4th Signal Units.)
    8th RECONNAISSANCE REGIMENT

KAWASHIMA FORCE

Headquarters, 82nd Infantry Brigade, 105th Infantry Division
Ueda Detachment (Antiaircraft Unit)
1st Company, 78th Field AAA Battalion
51st Machine Cannon Company
52nd Machine Cannon Company
Kawashima Force Artillery
Headquarters, 8th Field Artillery Regiment

    2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment (less 8th Battery)
    3rd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment (less 9th Battery)
    4th (Provisional) Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment
      11th Battery
      12th Battery

1st Assault Regiment (Hanabusa Detachment)

    Headquarters, 9th Air Intelligence Regiment
      Maeda Unit
      Nishimura Company
      Harai Company
      Yagi Company

    Regimental Antitank Unit

      1st Provisional Antitank Platoon
      2nd Provisional Antitank Platoon
      Hattori Antitank Unit

    Regimental Machine Gun Unit

      1st Company, 25th Independent Machine Gun Company
      Araki Independent Machine Gun Unit

    1st Battalion, (formed from the:)

      10th Air Intelligence Regiment
      1st Company, 13th Independent Machine Gun Battalion
      118th Surface Raiding Battalion

    2nd Battalion, (formed from the:) 9th Air Intelligence Regiment
    3rd Battalion, (formed from the:) 9th Provisional Infantry Battalion

2nd Assault Regiment (Tomono Detachment)

    Headquarters, 12th Air Intelligence Regiment
    23rd Independent Antitank Battalion

    1st Battalion, (formed from the:)

      1st Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment
      4th Company, 12th Air Signal Regiment
      3rd Company, 359th Independent Infantry Battalion
      4th Provisional Machine Gun Company
      11th Provisional Machine Gun Company
      Adachi Heavy Machine Gun Unit
      Shigeo Machine Gun Unit
      Sato Antitank Platoon
      Kanda Antitank Platoon

    2nd Battalion, (formed from the:)

      2nd Company, 12th Air Signal Regiment
      1st Company, 4th Special Air Signal Unit
      10th Provisional Machine Gun Company

    3rd Battalion, (formed from the:)

      4th Company, 10th Air Intelligence Regiment
      Guard Company, 10th Air Intelligence Regiment
      Machine Gun Company, 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry

    Muroya Provisional Infantry Battalion (formed from the following:)

      Headquarters, 2nd Air Signal Regiment
      Elements, 12th Air Signal Regiment
      Elements, 5th Air-Ground Signal Unit
      Elements, 6th Air-Ground Signal Unit
      124th Independent Radio Platoon
      128th Independent Radio Platoon
      129th Independent Radio Platoon
      Casusals, 132nd Infantry Regiment
      Casusals, 154th Infantry Regiment

    Kasama Battalion

      358th Independent Infantry Battalion
      Elements, 2nd Survey Regiment
      Elements, 5th Air-Ground Signal Unit
      Elements, 6th Air-Ground Signal Unit
      2nd Company, 25th Independent Machine Gun Battalion
      2nd Platoon, Antitank Unit

KOBAYASHI FORCE

    Headquarters
      7th Company, 105th Engineer Unit
      1st Provisional Engineer Company
      2nd Provisional Engineer Company

    Kobayashi Force Artillery: 3rd Battalion, 53rd Field Artillery Regiment

    Kobayashi Force Reserve

      "X" Battalion
        1st and 2nd Companies, 359th Independent Infantry Battalion
        2nd Company, 355th Independent Infantry Battalion
        3rd Company, 178th Independent Infantry Battalion
        5th Provisional Infantry Company
        Yamauye Provisional Infantry Battalion
        Kawabe Provisional Infantry Battalion

      Right Sector Unit (Hayashi Detachment)

        4th Provisional Infantry Battalion
        7th Provisional Infantry Battalion
        6th Provisional Antitank Company

        Sector Machine Gun Unit

          5th Provisional Machine Gun Co.
          10th Provisional Machine Gun Co.
          12th Provisional Machine Gun Co.

        Sector Artillery

          2nd Battery, 1st Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment
          5th Provisional Artillery Battery
          7th Provisional Artillery Battery

      Central Sector Unit (Degura Detachment)

        10th Provisional Infantry Battalion
        Ebisu Provisional Infantry Battalion
        4th Medium Mortar Battalion

      Left Sector Unit (Nambu Detachment)

        8th Provisional Infantry Battalion
        Imanari Provisional Infantry Battalion
        11th Air Sector Command Provisional Infantry Battalion (Formed from elements of the following units)
          Headquarters, 11th Air Sector Command
          77th Field AAA Battalion
          11th Airdrome Battalion
          134th Airdrome Battalion
          148th Airdrome Battalion
          180th Airdrome Battalion
          111th Land Duty Company
          8th Machine Cannon Company

        5th Provisional Antitank Company
        7th Provisional Machine Gun Company
        Sector Artillery: 6th Provisional Artillery Battery
        Ishimaru Unit
        106th Surface Raiding Base Battalion

NOGUCHI FORCE

    Headquarters Troops
      Headquarters, 81st Infantry Brigade
      2nd, 8th, and 9th Engineer Companies, 105th Engineer Unit

    Noguchi Force Artillery

      3rd Battalion, 53rd Field Artillery Regiment
      1st Battalion, 22nd Medium Artillery Regiment
      1st and 3rd Companies, 105th Artillery Unit
      4th Company, 20th Independent Heavy Artillery Battalion
      2nd and 3rd Companies, 21st Medium Mortar Battalion

    Okita Detachment

      186th Independent Infantry Battalion
      1st Provisional Infantry Battalion
      Suzuki Provisional Infantry Battalion (formed from the following elements)
        22nd Airdrome Construction Unit
        136th Airdrome Construction Unit
        137th Airdrome Construction Unit

      Kuromiya Detachment

        181st Independent Infantry Battalion
        Iwashita Provisional Infantry Battalion
        Fukuzawa Provisional Infantry Battalion
        1st Company, 4th Medium Mortar Company
        21st Medium Mortar Battalion (-1)
        6th Company, 105th Engineer Unit

      Kimura Detachment: 182nd Independent Infantry Battalion

      Sugiyama Detachment: 185th Independent Infantry Battalion

      Fujita Provisional Infantry Battalion

      Kumazawa Provisional Infantry Battalion formed from 24th Shipping Engineer Regiment

      Noguchi Force Reserve formed from the 107th, 109th, and 113th Surface Raiding Base Battalion


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© Copyright 1991 by Greg Novak.
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