14th Division | |
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Active | 1905–1944 |
Country | Empire of Japan |
Branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | 25,000 men |
Garrison/HQ | Utsunomiya, Tochigi |
Nickname(s) | Shining Division |
Engagements | Russo-Japanese War Second Sino-Japanese War Pacific War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Tsuchiya Mitsuharu Samejima Shigeo Uehara Yusaku Hata Shunroku Kenji Doihara |
The 14th Division (第14師団, Dai Jūyon Shidan) was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the Shining Division (照兵団, Teru Heidan), and its military symbol was 14D. The 14th Division was one of four new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) in the closing stages of the Russo-Japanese War, after it turned out that the entire IJA was committed to combat in Manchuria, leaving not a single division to guard the Japanese home islands from attack.
The 14th Division was initially established in Kokura (present-day Kitakyushu, Fukuoka) under the command of Lieutenant General Tsuchiya Mitsuharu, with men recruited from Osaka, Zentsūji, Kagawa, Hiroshima and Kumamoto.