33rd Division
Open the military map第三十三師団
Army Division
The 33rd Division played a central role in the Imphal Operation (1944), tasked with encircling and destroying the Indian 17th Division at Tiddim before advancing on Imphal from the south. The operation ended in catastrophic failure.
- Armament
- 歩兵第213連隊・歩兵第214連隊・歩兵第215連隊・山砲兵第33連隊
- Fate
- In being at the end of the war
History
The 33rd Division (第三十三師団, Dai-sanjūsan Shidan) was formed on February 7, 1939. Its call sign was the "Bow Division" (弓兵団, Yumi Heidan). Originally raised for service in China, the division was subsequently transferred to Burma.
In the Imphal Operation (March–July 1944), Lt. Gen. Mutaguchi Renya assigned the 33rd Division under Lt. Gen. Yanagida Motoso the task of surrounding and destroying the Indian 17th Infantry Division at Tiddim, then attacking Imphal from the south. The 33rd Division cut the Tiddim Road in the opening phase, trapping the 17th Indian Division, but the Indians fought their way out. The advance on Imphal bogged down against determined British-Indian resistance, and with no supply lines through the mountainous jungle terrain, the division was reduced to starvation. Yanagida was relieved of command mid-battle. The retreat from Imphal was a death march, with soldiers collapsing and dying along the route. The 33rd Division lost over half its strength to combat, disease, and starvation.
Related sites (3)
- Battle24.800, 93.950
Imphal, Manipur, India — Operation U-Go (Imphal), March–July 1944
- Battle23.370, 93.520
Tiddim, Chin State, Burma — encirclement of Indian 17th Division
- Deployed21.500, 93.780
Burma — stationed with 15th Army for Burma campaign