The IJA 356th Division was a division of 10,000 troops in the Imperial Japanese Army that fought in the Liberation of Manila in 1945, where it was destroyed.
History[]
The 356th Division was made up of the IJA 712th Brigade and IJA 713th Brigade, and was created in February 1945 in Yokohama, Japan, intended for reinforcing the Philippine Islands. The 356th Division was transported by transports of the Imperial Japanese Navy to Luzon, the Philippine Mainland, and was put under the command of Lieutenant-General Michisuke Genji. Lt. Gen. Genji was stationed in the outlying towns near Manila, but his division was forced back and into the city by Allied offensives, and the Japanese army in Manila, led by Iwabuchi Sanji, lost 16,000 killed; half of those belonged to the 356th, while the rest of them were captured by the Allied troops.