Hi Colleagues,
In a shift from old doctrine, Japan's Self Defense Force is resurrecting a command that once once an integral part of the Imperial Japanese Navy , and saw combat duty throughout the Pacific War. The Japan Ground Self Defense Force is cooperating with the United States Marine Corp in creating the Rikusentai [Naval Strike Force]. There is not much article on this development in english language, but only through Japanese news media, so I want to cover it here.
History of the Kaigun Rikusentai
Before 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 batallion size). These forces were raised at — and took their names from — the four main naval districts/bases in Japan: Kur, Maizuru, Sasebo and Yokosuka. These bases all raised more than one SNLF [Special Naval Landing Force].
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 2nd 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 Kwangtung 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 Manila Massacre during the Allied invasion of the Philippines in February 1945, where 10,000 SNLF troops under the command of Vice Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi disobeyed orders and stayed behind to fight the combined American and Filipino ground troops.
In a well known 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 Corp casualties.
Uniform of the Kaigun Rikusentai
![800px-Japanese_Special_Naval_Landing_Forces_on_the_deck_board_of_the_IJN_xxx,_June_11th[1].jpg](https://defence.pk/attachments/800px-japanese_special_naval_landing_forces_on_the_deck_board_of_the_ijn_xxx-_june_11th-1-jpg.183061/ "800px-Japanese_Special_Naval_Landing_Forces_on_the_deck_board_of_the_IJN_xxx,_June_11th[1].jpg")
![Salute_for_the_dead_in_Nanking[1].jpg](https://defence.pk/attachments/salute_for_the_dead_in_nanking-1-jpg.183062/ "Salute_for_the_dead_in_Nanking[1].jpg")
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Current Development and Training of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force's Modern-Day Rikusentai
Japan recently has been in the news as a result of several high-profile territorial incidents with its neighbor China. The incidents involve what Japanese call the Senkaku Islands—the Diaoyu islands to the Chinese. Japan has legal ownership of the islands, which China disputes. The incidents have involved non-government activists and the coast guards of both nations, with many fearing an escalation could lead to some form of armed conflict.
Spurred on by those developments, Japan has accelerated what have been until now quiet plans to develop a specialized unit of marine infantry. This force, mentored by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, is seen by Japan as essential in guarding the Senkakus, as well as other disputed territories. Like the Navy/Marine Corps team, the Japanese force will be a joint group consisting of the Ground, Air, and Maritime Self- Defense Forces, with everything from infantry to air support to the ships that carry them.
The creation of the Japanese marine unit is part of a series of a wide-ranging overhaul of Japan’s ability to defend its borders. During the Cold War, Japan anticipated a Soviet invasion of the northernmost island of Hokkaido and built up forces there appropriately. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of Japan’s neighbors, particularly China, Japan has shifted attention from the far north to the far south, in particular the Ryukyu and Senkaku islands west of Okinawa.
Specifically, Japan was concerned that activists from other countries with whom it has territorial disputes (countries including Russia, China, and South Korea) would land on Japanese territory and symbolically seize it, perhaps with weapons. Unfortunately these islands are on the periphery of Japan, without nearby military facilities, or even ports or airstrips. That necessitated an expeditionary force capable of self-deploying by air and sea to the periphery of the Japanese archipelago.
In a shift from old doctrine, Japan's Self Defense Force is resurrecting a command that once once an integral part of the Imperial Japanese Navy , and saw combat duty throughout the Pacific War. The Japan Ground Self Defense Force is cooperating with the United States Marine Corp in creating the Rikusentai [Naval Strike Force]. There is not much article on this development in english language, but only through Japanese news media, so I want to cover it here.
History of the Kaigun Rikusentai
Before 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 batallion size). These forces were raised at — and took their names from — the four main naval districts/bases in Japan: Kur, Maizuru, Sasebo and Yokosuka. These bases all raised more than one SNLF [Special Naval Landing Force].
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 2nd 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 Kwangtung 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 Manila Massacre during the Allied invasion of the Philippines in February 1945, where 10,000 SNLF troops under the command of Vice Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi disobeyed orders and stayed behind to fight the combined American and Filipino ground troops.
In a well known 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 Corp casualties.
Uniform of the Kaigun Rikusentai
======================================================================
Current Development and Training of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force's Modern-Day Rikusentai
Japan recently has been in the news as a result of several high-profile territorial incidents with its neighbor China. The incidents involve what Japanese call the Senkaku Islands—the Diaoyu islands to the Chinese. Japan has legal ownership of the islands, which China disputes. The incidents have involved non-government activists and the coast guards of both nations, with many fearing an escalation could lead to some form of armed conflict.
Spurred on by those developments, Japan has accelerated what have been until now quiet plans to develop a specialized unit of marine infantry. This force, mentored by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, is seen by Japan as essential in guarding the Senkakus, as well as other disputed territories. Like the Navy/Marine Corps team, the Japanese force will be a joint group consisting of the Ground, Air, and Maritime Self- Defense Forces, with everything from infantry to air support to the ships that carry them.
The creation of the Japanese marine unit is part of a series of a wide-ranging overhaul of Japan’s ability to defend its borders. During the Cold War, Japan anticipated a Soviet invasion of the northernmost island of Hokkaido and built up forces there appropriately. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of Japan’s neighbors, particularly China, Japan has shifted attention from the far north to the far south, in particular the Ryukyu and Senkaku islands west of Okinawa.
Specifically, Japan was concerned that activists from other countries with whom it has territorial disputes (countries including Russia, China, and South Korea) would land on Japanese territory and symbolically seize it, perhaps with weapons. Unfortunately these islands are on the periphery of Japan, without nearby military facilities, or even ports or airstrips. That necessitated an expeditionary force capable of self-deploying by air and sea to the periphery of the Japanese archipelago.
