160305-0044 - Imperial Army Troop Review

Review of the troops of the Imperial Japanese Army’s 1st Division (第1師団, Dai-ichi shidan) by their commanding officer Lieutenant-General Kyosuke Kawamura (河村恭輔中将, 1883–1950) before their departure for Manchuria, 1936 (Showa 11).

The division was sent to the Manchukuo-Soviet border and participated in the Kanchazu Island incident (乾岔子島事件), driving off Soviet invaders by June 30, 1937. Parts of the division also participated in the Nomonhan Incident (ノモンハン事件, Nomonhan jiken) of 1939 (Showa 14).

As one of the oldest Divisions in the Imperial Japanese Army, the 1st Division saw combat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War as well as the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War.

Officers of this division were involved in the attempted coup d’état of February 26, 1936, known as the February 26 Incident (二・二六事件, Niniroku Jiken).