56th Independent Mixed Brigade

The 56th Independent Mixed Brigade was an Imperial Japanese Army unit of World War II. The brigade was formed in Japan in June 1944 and transferred to Borneo the following month. It saw combat against Australian forces in the Borneo Campaign during June and July 1945, and was disbanded following the end of the war.

History
The 56th Independent Mixed Brigade was formed in Japan in June 1944, and comprised six infantry battalions (the 366th to 371st Independent Infantry Battalions) and supporting artillery, engineer and signal units. It came under the command of Major General Taijiro Akashi. In July 1944 it arrived at Tawau in north-east Borneo. The brigade was placed under the command of the 37th Army when the latter was formed in September 1944.

During early 1945 the brigade, less the 369th and 370th Independent Infantry Battalions, marched across Borneo to assume responsibility for defending the Brunei Bay area against an expected Allied invasion. Many of the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade's soldiers fell sick during the march, and all four infantry battalions were considerably below their authorised strength by the time they arrived at Brunei Bay. The 370th Independent Infantry Battalion was transferred to the direct control of the 37th Army and remained at Tawau, and the 369th Independent Infantry Battalion was shipped to Banjarmasin in South Borneo during March and assigned to the 22nd Special Naval Base Force.

The 56th Independent Mixed Brigade was spread across the Brunei Bay area. In June 1945, the brigade headquarters and the 366th and 367th Independent Infantry Battalions were stationed in Brunei. The 368th Independent Infantry Battalion was located at Beaufort and the 371st Independent Infantry Battalion formed the main body of the garrison for the island of Labuan. Of the support units, the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade Artillery Unit was at Brunei and the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade Engineer and Signal Units were at Beaufort. All of the brigade's heavy weapons had been left behind at Tawau, and due to the casualties incurred during the march across Borneo its combat units were not fit for battle.

Two brigades of the Australian 9th Division with large numbers of support units invaded the Brunei Bay area on 10 June 1945. The 371st Independent Infantry Battalion was destroyed on Labuan by the 24th Brigade during 11 days of at times fierce fighting. The 367th Independent Infantry Battalion retreated from Brunei to the Trusan River as a formed unit, and the 366th Independent Infantry Battalion disintegrated as it fought a rearguard action against the Australian 20th Brigade. While Beaufort was attacked by the 24th Brigade, the 368th Independent Infantry Battalion was not involved in its defence.

During the last weeks of the war the remnants of the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade in the Brunei Bay area were pursued by Australian Army patrols, air attacks and groups of local Dayaks organised by the Australian Services Reconnaissance Department. The 369th and 370th Independent Infantry Battalions did not see combat, and remained largely intact at the end of the war. Following the Japanese surrender, the survivors of the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade were concentrated in locations selected by the Australian forces.

Structure
The 56th Independent Mixed Brigade comprised the following units:
 * Brigade headquarters
 * 366th Independent Infantry Battalion
 * 367th Independent Infantry Battalion
 * 368th Independent Infantry Battalion
 * 369th Independent Infantry Battalion
 * 370th Independent Infantry Battalion
 * 371st Independent Infantry Battalion
 * 56th Independent Mixed Brigade Artillery Unit
 * 56th Independent Mixed Brigade Engineer Unit
 * 56th Independent Mixed Brigade Signal Unit