Utsunomiya – 14th Division HQ

The 14th Division (第14師団) was one of four new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army in the closing stages of the Russo-Japanese War (1905). In September 1907, the divisional headquarters was established at Utsunomiya, Tochigi, with reorganization complete by October 1908. The division, known as the "Shining Division" (照兵団), comprised: 59th Infantry Regiment (Utsunomiya), 2nd Infantry Regiment (Mito), 15th Infantry Regiment (Takasaki), 18th Cavalry Regiment, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, and 14th Logistics Regiment. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the division was deployed to China in 1937 under General Kenji Doihara, participating in the Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation and Battle of Lanfeng. The division was stationed in Manchuria from 1940, and in April 1944 it was transferred to Palau to defend the island chain. The battles of Peleliu and Angaur proved catastrophic: at Angaur, 1,338 of 1,400 defenders were killed; at Peleliu, 10,695 of 11,000 defenders perished. The division's main body on Babeldaob was never invaded but suffered from air raids and starvation until the surrender. The divisional headquarters site is now occupied by the National Hospital Organization Tochigi Medical Center.