 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (February 2015) |
| 15th Division | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:University_Memorial_Hall_of_Aichi_University_100822.jpg) former IJA 15th Division HQ in Toyohashi, Aichi | |
| Active | 1 April 1905 – May 1925 4 April 1938 – 1945 |
| Country | Empire of Japan |
| Branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 25,000 men / 15,000 men |
| Garrison/HQ | Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan |
| Nickname(s) | Festival Division |
| Engagements | Russo-Japanese War Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Prince Nashimoto Morimasa, Minami Jiro, and Kanji Ishiwara |
The 15th Division (第15師団, Dai Jūgo Shidan) was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the Festival Division (祭兵団, Sai Heidan), and its military symbol was 15D. The 15th Division was one of four new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army in the closing stages of the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). With Japan's limited resources towards the end of that conflict, the entire IJA was committed to combat in Manchuria, leaving not a single division to guard the Japanese home islands from attack. The 15th Division was initially raised from men in the area surrounding Nagoya under the command of Lieutenant General Okihara Kofu.