2nd Railroad Division

[Joan Pinyol]

This unit seems formed in March 1938. COL OKA Tetsunosuke was appointed as CO on March, 1st. In July 1940 it was renamed 2nd Railroad HQ, sent to South-east Asia and assigned to the Order of Battle of XXV Corps.
I haven't found any trace of the assignment of this unit in the period 1938-1940, the place where it was deployed and its order of battle. The most plausible assumption is South China, but it not appears in the Order of Battle of XXI Corps, South China Area Army or XXIII Corps.

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

Kind regards

[fontessa]

Hello Joan,

There were two "2nd Railroad ○○○○○"s.
There seems some confusion.

The One: 第2野戦鉄道司令部 2nd Field Railroad HQ
Formed on 15 June 1938.
Subordinated to North China Area Army.
Stayed North China during the war.
The location at the end of the war was Beijing.
Commanding Officers were as follows.
MG Mai Tsuguo: 8 June 1938 ~ 30 October 1938
MG Kusaba Tatsumi: 30 October 1938 ~ 9 March 1939 (Overlapped)
MG Numata Norishige: 30 October 1938 ~ 9 March 1939 (Overlapped)
MG Yokoyama Shizuo: 9 March 1939 ~ 1 October 1940.
MG Hattori Gyotaro: 1 October 1940 ~ 19 September 1941
???? : 19 September 1941 ~ 20 June 1942
MG Murahari Toshio: 26 June 1942 ~ 20 January 1945 (Promoted to LG on 26 October 1944)
MG Kamata Senichi: 20 January 1945 ~ 17 August 1945 (Promoted to LG on 1 March 1945)
MG Imai Amane: 17 August 1945 ~

The Other: 第2鉄道監部 2nd Railroad Superintendent
Formed on 19 September 1941
Subordinated to 25th Army on 19 October 1941
Subordinated to 15th Army on 14 July 1942
Subordinated directly to Southern Army on 27 February 1943
The location at the end of the war was Chumphon, Thailand.
Commanding Officers were as follows.
LG Hattori Gyotaro: 19 September 1941 ~ ????
MG Shimoda Nobuo: ???? ~ ????
MG Takasaki Sukemasa: ???? ~ ????
MG Ishida Shigekuma: ???? ~ ????
MG Yamamoto Kiyoe: ???? ~ ????
MG Hamada Sueo: ???? ~ ????

fontessa

[VJK]

Hi Joan,

Here is some supplemental info:

第2鉄道監部 2nd Railroad Superintendent
Lt. General Hattori Gyotaro: 19 Sep 1941 - 10 Jan 1942 (promoted to Lt. General on 15 Oct 1941)
Lt. General Shimoda Nobuo: 15 Apr 1942 - 26 Jan 1943 (KIA, promoted to Lt. General )
Maj. General Takasaki Sukemasa: 3 Feb 1943 - 6 Aug 1943 (KIA on 24 Jan 1944, promoted to Lt. General)
Maj. General Ishida Shigekuma: 6 Aug 1943 - 14 Feb 1944 (promoted to Lt. General on 1 Mar 1945)
Maj. General Yamamoto Kiyoe: 14 Feb 1944 - 19 Jun 1944 (promoted to Lt. General on 1 Mar 1945)
MG Hamada Sueo: 19 Jun 1945 - Sep 1945

PS: In your post you referred to "Corps" - the IJA did not have such a designated unit, I suspect you mean "Army".

Kind regards,

VJK

[Joan Pinyol]

Dear friends, Fontessa and VJK,
Thanks a lot for your comments. You are so kind.
As for corps. I use the term corps to translate 軍 gun, which in a literal translation from Japanese are “armies”. The reports of the Allied Intelligence Services in the first stages of war referred to corps using the word “army”, in a literal translation. But, in 1944-1945 they began to use the word “corps”. In the demobilization progress reports of late 1945 and early 1946 they are also named corps. I prefer to use the notation of the demobilization progress reports. I think it is a more clear translation and allows an easier comparison with similar units of the Western armies. But it is not out of question. The convention in modern Western literature is to use the word "armies". For an expert is clear. For a profane I think it is far from being clear. What do you think about?

[Akira Takizawa]

My policy is simple. I use more popular translation. If using a rare or new translation, readers cannot refer to other sources on it.

Taki

[Joan Pinyol]

Certainly, this is a good reason to call them "armies".

Kind regards

[Joan Pinyol]

Reviewing the Sakura DB in its current version (http://sakurataro.org/dd):

第2鉄道輸送司令部
Oka Tetsunosuke Colonel: July 25, 1940 - August 2, 1943
Oda Shirokichi Lieutenant Colonel: -? March 19, 1945

第2鉄道線区司令部
Oka Tetsunosuke Colonel: March 1, 1938 - July 25, 1940

Sources quoted in Sakura DB
上法快男監修,外山操編『陸海軍将官人事総覧』陸軍篇
JACAR Ref.C12120937000, March, No. 66 1945 20th Army Changes report

[fontessa]

Hello Joan,

Reviewing the Sakura DB in its current version (http://sakurataro.org/dd):
第2鉄道輸送司令部
Oka Tetsunosuke Colonel: July 25, 1940 - August 2, 1943
Oda Shirokichi Lieutenant Colonel: -? March 19, 1945
第2鉄道線区司令部
Oka Tetsunosuke Colonel: March 1, 1938 - July 25, 1940

Thanks for the information.
Because 第2鉄道輸送司令部 was deactivated before the end of the war, the information of this unit is a little.
According to JACAR C01005911500, C14020323300 and C15011235500, the outline of 第2鉄道輸送司令部 was as follows.

- The completion date of activation: 31 July 1940
- The Army Regulation "A" for the activation: No.39 dated 13 July 1940
- 第2鉄道線区司令部 was deactivated by this Army Regulation.
- Authorized Strength: 37 men
- The date of deactivation: 16 March 1945
- Subordinated to 13th Army for a certain period after the activation
- 13th Army was stationed in Middle China
- 兵団文字符: 治(Osamu)1622
- 治 was 兵団文字符 (Unit Code Letter) of 16th Army.
- 16th Army was stationed in Indonesia
- The location at the time of deactivation: Java

So 第2鉄道輸送司令部 was established in China and transported to Indonesia on unknown day.

fontessa