TO&E drawing, Japanese Infantry Company and Assault Company, IJA infantry regiment Type 1, 1945

On 28 February 1945 Imperial Japanese Army introduced new TO&Es for the divisions to be formed for the Homeland defense.

 

Type 1 infantry regiments were for the "Coastal Deployment Divisions" (沿岸配備師団) to defend the coastline proper (Type 2 infantry regiments were to be formed for the "Mobile Striking Divisions" (機動打撃師団), intended to counter-attack US forces, that landed on the Japanese Islands).

 

For static coast defense firepower was preferred over maneuverability. Each infantry company had 6 machine guns and 2 battalion guns – on par with some Japanese infantry battalions. Each of first three infantry battalions of Type 1 infantry regiment had 3 such companies and 1 infantry gun company (armed with any guns IJA could find, including old tank guns, installed in tank turrets).

But Japanese refused to abandon the ground rule of their tactics, that defense must be active. That’s why they’ve created smaller assault company for local counter-attacks against landings. Each of first three infantry battalions of Type 1 infantry regiment received 1 assault company, while fourth battalion of the regiment was entirely composed of 3 such companies.

 

Squad organization of those companies was different from the standard IJA infantry organization.

First of all, in 1945 the Infantry Training Inspectorate published "Infantry Combat Training", which officially introduced the so-called "group tactics". Now rifle squads were to be made up of groups with its own designated leaders. Also grenade discharger groups now could be attached to the rifle squads, which was not allowed before.

Second, squads in companies of Type 1 infantry regiments were smaller, then standard IJA infantry squads. Compared to standard 13-men squad assault companies had only 10 men in squads, while infantry companies had only 7 men (TO&E note prescribed 8 men and 7 rifles in each rifles squad, but detailed organization research shows such number of men was impossible to maintain while such number of rifles was simply unavailable in TO&E).

Third, rifle squad of assault company was unique, as it had no LMG, but instead had SMG and grenade discharger. And from the TO&E it seems, that IJA still treated SMG as “mini-LMG”, because it was not just crewed with LMG-men, but there were 2 of them – so SMG wasn’t personal, but crew-served weapon.