5th Division (Hiroshima Division)

The 5th Division (第五師団, Dai-go Shidan) originated as the Hiroshima Garrison, established in 1871, and became a division on May 14, 1888 in Hiroshima. Its call sign was the "Carp Division" (鯉兵団, Koi Heidan), named after Hiroshima Castle's nickname "Carp Castle." The division was one of the most combat-experienced formations in the IJA. In the Second Sino-Japanese War it fought in the Chahar operation and the Battle of Taiyuan in 1937, later operated in south China, and in September 1940 formed the core of the force that occupied northern French Indochina.

On December 8, 1941 (local time), the 5th Division formed the main force of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, landing at Singora and Patani in southern Thailand. The simultaneous landing at Kota Bharu on the northeast coast of British Malaya was made by the Takumi Detachment of the 18th Division; it began more than an hour before the attack on Pearl Harbor, making it the first hostile action of the Pacific War.

From its Thai beachheads the 5th Division crossed the frontier and drove south down the west side of the Malay Peninsula in a rapid campaign of bicycle infantry tactics and flanking maneuvers that stunned the British defenders. It broke the Jitra position on December 11, 1941, fought at Kampar, routed the defenders at the Slim River in early January 1942, and took Kuala Lumpur on January 11.

On the night of February 8, 1942 the division crossed the Johor Strait to Singapore Island, capturing Tengah airfield and advancing along the Bukit Timah road. The campaign culminated in the Fall of Singapore on February 15, 1942. The division later served in the eastern Dutch East Indies and ended the war on Ceram.