91st Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

The 91st Division (第91師団) was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the Future Division (先兵団). It was created 12 April 1944 in Paramushir. The nucleus for the formation was the 1st Kuril Islands Garrison Group. It was an oversized type C(hei) security division, with its constituent brigades consisting of six infantry battalions each from July 1944. Highly unusually, the division had two artillery regiments.

Action
The 91st Division was assigned to the 27th Army upon formation. The division's garrison zone was Shumshu and Shiashkotan, garrisoning Kita Chishima Fortress, with its headquarters being placed on Shumshu, On 18 August 1945, the Battle of Shumshu began as part of the Soviet Invasion of the Kuril Islands. After several days of fighting, the 91st Division received the order to surrender on 21 August 1945 after the Red Army had established a large beachhead on Shumshu. Sporadic fighting continued until 23 August 1945.

The majority of 91st Division was taken prisoner by Soviet forces, and they started to return to Japan in late 1946.

References and further reading
This article incorporates material from the article 第91師団 (日本軍) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on 24 June 2016.
 * List of Japanese Infantry Divisions
 * Madej, W. Victor. Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945 [2 vols] Allentown, PA: 1981