The Japanese 39th Infantry Division was formed on June 30, 1939 in Hiroshima

Hiroshima

is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

. On October 2nd it joined 11th Army

Eleventh Army (Japan)

The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.-History:The Japanese 11th Army was formed on July 4, 1938 under the Japanese Central China Area Army for the task of conquering and occupying the central provinces of China between the Yangtze River and the Yellow...

 in central China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The division was assigned to 34th Army

Japanese Thirty-Fourth Army

The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of World War II.-History:The IJA 34th Army was formed in Hopei province, in Japanese-occupied China on July 3 1944 from the , a force created out of reserve elements of the IJA 11th Army to protect Japanese rear lines when the...

 in July 1944. In late March to late May, 1945 the division participated in the Battle of West Henan–North Hubei. It joined the Thirtieth Army

Thirtieth Army (Japan)

The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.-History:The Japanese 30th Army was initially raised on July 30, 1945 in the Manchukuo capital of Hsinking. As the war situation on the Pacific front grew increasingly desperate for Japan, the Imperial Japanese...

 under the Japanese Third Area Army

Japanese Third Area Army

The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in southern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the very final stages of the war.-History:...

 to defend Manchukuo

Manchukuo

Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...

 on July 30, 1945 shortly before the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.

• 39th Division - Lt Gen.