Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Categories: Imperial Japanese Navy | Marines | Military units and formations of Japan in World War II
|
The Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF), (海軍陸戦隊 Kaigun Rikusentai) were the marine troops of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and were a part of the IJN Land Forces. They saw extensive service in the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the Pacific theatre of World War II.
HistoryImage:GanghwaLanding.jpg
The landing of the Japanese Marines from the Unyo at Ganghwa Island, Korea, in the 1875 Ganghwa Island incident.
Image:Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces on the deck board of the IJN xxx, June 11th.jpg
JSNLF troops during the attack of Anqing, June 11, 1938
Prior to the late 1920s the IJN did not have a separate marine force, instead it used naval landing forces or rikusentai formed from individual ships's crews, who received infantry training as part of their basic training, for special and/or temporary missions. In the late 1920s, the navy began to form Special Naval Landing Forces as standing regiments (albeit of battalion size). These forces were raised at — and took their names from — the four main naval districts/bases in Japan: Kure, Maizuru, Sasebo, and Yokosuka. These bases all raised more than one SNLF. These SNLF units saw action in China from 1932 in the January 28 Incident and at the Battle of Shanghai and in naval operations along the China coast and up the Yangtze River and its tributaries during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Other SNLF were later raised from IJN personnel in China, at Hankow, and Shanghai, for service in Canton and on the Yangtze River. On 7 December 1941 there were 16 SNLF units, this increased to 21 units during the war. The strengths of each SNLF ranged from the prewar peak of 1,200 to a later 650 personnel. There was also a special detachment in the Kwantung area, garrisoning the ports of Dairen and Ryojun. In 1941, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Yokosuka SNLF were converted to parachute units. They conducted more combat drops than Japanese Army parachute units during World War II. The SNLF paratroopers were used during the attack on Celebes, to much lauded success by the Imperial government. The original SNLF personnel were well-trained, high quality troops with good morale and they performed well against unprepared and unorganized opposition across Southeast Asia. However, when faced with determined resistance, such as at the invasion of Timor and the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942, they often experienced heavy casualties due to their unwillingness to surrender. When completely out of ammunition, they would often resort to hand-to-hand fighting with their swords. They were also responsible for the war crimes committed in their defence of Manila during the American invasion of the Philippines during 1944. In an infamous last stand in 1943, 2,619 men of the 7th Sasebo SNLF and 2,000 base personnel at the Battle of Tarawa accounted for over 3,000 U.S. Marine Corps casualties. They wore a greener version of the Imperial Japanese Army's uniform with an anchor on their helmet. The SNLF Paratroopers wore a green uniformmade from rip stop parachute silk with built in bandoliers and cargo pockets, being better designed than other paratrooper models of the time. (Note: the Imperial Japanese Army also raised amphibious units called Sea Landing Brigades. These 3,500-strong brigades were used to assault and then garrison islands.) SNLF UnitsInfantry Units
Paratroopers and Others Infantry Units
Tank and Armor Units
Weapons of the SNLF UnitsHeavy weapons
Armor and Tanks
APCs and Armored Cars
Amphibious Trucks and Land Trucks
Infantry Weapons
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
|
