| 1st Tank Division | |
|---|---|
 Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks of the IJA 1st Tank Division during a night training exercise, 1943 | |
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Disbanded | 1945 |
| Country |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Type | Armored division |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Tokyo,Japan |
| Nickname | 拓 =Taku (expand) |
| Engagements | Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
The1st Tank Division (戦車第1師団,Sensha Dai-ichi Shidan), was one of fourarmored divisions of theImperial Japanese Army inWorld War II.
The 1st Tank Brigade was created out of four separate armored regiments based inManchukuo on June 24, 1942.[1] With the addition of one infantry regiment, it was soon raised to the status of a full armored division. Stationed inNing'an in northern Manchukuo, it was tasked primarily withborder patrol of Manchukuo's eastern frontier with theSoviet Union under the overall command of theJapanese First Area Army.
As the situation in thePacific War against theAllies deteriorated for Japan, in March 1944, the IJA 9th Armored Regiment of the 1st Tank Division was reassigned to theIJA 31st Army, and sent toSaipan,[1] where it was annihilated at the subsequentBattle of Saipan andBattle of Guam. The remaining three regiments participated inOperation Ichi-Go inmainland China. The IJA3rd Armored Regiment of the 1st Tank Division was reassigned to China and attached to the 11th Army until the end of the war.
In March 1945, the 1st Tank Division with its 5th Armored Regiment was reassigned to theJapanese home islands in preparation for the expectedinvasion by Allied forces.[1][2] It gained the IJA 1st Armored Regiment from the3rd Tank Division,[2] and formed part of theIJA 36th Army under theJapanese Twelfth Area Army. The headquarters unit and IJA 1st Armored Regiment were based inSano, Tochigi, with the IJA 5th Armored Regiment stationed atŌtawara, Tochigi (and later relocated toKazo, Saitama, and the IJA 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment and the Division’s mechanized artillery stationed atTochigi. Anticipating that Allied forces would land atKujūkuri Beach, the 1st Tank Division was to hold a defensive line stretching fromMount Tsukuba to theTama River, with forward units deployed toChoshi, Chiba. Thesurrender of Japan came before the landing, and the 1st Armored Division did not see any combat on Japanese soil.
The 1st Tank Division wasdemobilized in September 1945 with the rest of the Imperial Japanese Army.
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant GeneralToshimoto Hoshino | 1 September 1942 | 15 June 1945 |
| 2 | Lieutenant GeneralNobuo Hosomi | 15 June 1945 | 30 September 1945 |
The 1st Tank Division, after being relocated to Japan in 1945, consisted of a division headquarters, two tank regiments (roughly battalion-sized), one motorized infantry regiment, one motorized artillery regiment, one anti-tank battalion, one motor transport battalion, one maintenance battalion, and one engineer battalion.[3]