Formally, the Empire of Japan entered World War II with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, but from 1937, Japan carried out large-scale military operations in China. At the end of 1941, the Japanese army consisted of 51 divisions, which, together with numerous separated units, had a strength of approximately 1.7 million people. More than half of these forces (27 divisions) were stationed in China. The basic type of armed force in the Japanese army was, of course, infantry. Interestingly, in 1938, Japanese infantry divisions underwent an organization, as a result of which most of them (but not all!) Consisted of 3 infantry regiments, and each regiment consisted of 3 infantry battalions. At the division level, the infantry regiments were also joined by staff subunits, an artillery regiment, a cavalry battalion, an engineer battalion as well as transport, communication and medical units. In total, the Japanese infantry division (the so-called B-type) had about 19,800 full-time employees. It is worth adding that it had relatively weak anti-tank and anti-aircraft armament, and its supporting artillery was usually 70 or 75 mm caliber. Artillery units with more than 100 mm caliber artillery were rare. It should also be said that Japanese infantry units were characterized by a very high morale, almost fanatic, with iron discipline, but also (especially after 1942) they were clearly inferior tactically or in firepower to their Allied opponents. It should also not be forgotten that Japanese infantry units have committed a great many war crimes, bearing the hallmarks of crimes against humanity, with the macabre Nanking Massacre at the turn of 1937 and 1938 at the forefront.
The Battle of Peleliu Battle of Peleliu) was fought during the fights for the Marian Islands and Palau, which were fought as part of the operation code-named Stalemate II . The battle itself lasted from September 15 to November 25, 1944. Throughout the battle, 47,500 soldiers were directly or indirectly involved on the American side. About 12,000 people fought on the Japanese side. The main target of the fights for the Marian Islands, including the battles of Fr. Peleliu , was the desire to master convenient bases for further landing operations in the Western Pacific region, and above all - the maximum ease of the planned landing in the Philippines. As with other landing operations in the Pacific, the Americans used significant naval forces, and the landing itself was preceded by very intense fire and air bombardment of Japanese positions. During the first two days of fighting, American troops captured almost the entire southern part of the island, but from the third day of fighting - when they began to advance into the interior of the island - the pace of the offensive slowed down dramatically and the losses began to increase. The Japanese dug in very well and masked their positions. The fights were also fought in the terrain that favored the defenders and in highly unfavorable weather conditions. The American side finally won, but suffered relatively high losses - around 2,400 killed and around 8,400 wounded. On the other hand, the Japanese side lost its entire garrison of about 12,000 people.