Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces: Uniforms and equipment 1932-45

Osprey Men at Arms #432

by Gary Nila, Robert A. Rolfe, Christa Hook (Illustrator)

The spearhead of Japan's assault landing operations both in China pre-Pearl Harbor, and in US and British territory post-Pearl Harbor, was provided by the Special Naval Landing Forces - 12 numbered battalion-size Imperial Japanese Navy units. They garrisoned a number of the islands which the US Marines then had to re-claim in some of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War of World War II (1939-1945). These included the infamous battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the elite force which has never before been examined in such detail in English, covering weapons and equipment as well as uniform and insignia.

Genres: History, Military Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2006

Reviews

[Austin · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is difficult to describe this book as anything other than a major disappointment. Good information regarding Japan's Special Naval Landing Forces, let alone in English, is extremely scarce. The book is focused on uniforms, not the entire history the SNLF, but it fails to provide much useful information on their uniforms. Primary sources are not consulted and lots of misinformation is present, or important details are completely omitted. For instance there is no mention of the brown summer uniforms originally worn by the SNLF in China starting in 1927 until the mid to late 30's. Winter uniforms are incorrectly said to have been replaced by a "tropical uniform" in 1933, with no evidence in provided to support such a claim. Thus, the standard and heavy winter uniforms worn at the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War by the SNLF are not mentioned at all in the book. Actual designations of the uniforms and photos or drawings of various uniform types are not included, making it difficult to follow the information presented. For instance the so-called "tropical uniform" frequently mentioned in the book is purely a collector's term and actually refers to what original Japanese documents designate as a "khaki colored summer uniform". The reference photographs could have compensated for the low quality of information presented, but the captions accompanying them further exemplify that the authors do not possess the knowledge of the subject they claim to have. One of the most egregious examples being the alleged photograph of the Maizuru 1st SNLF in 1937 with their banner displaying "Sugino Unit" shown on page 7. The authors are clearly unaware that the uniforms worn in the photo were not in common circulation until the following year and the Maizuru 1st SNLF did not exist until three years later. "Sugino Unit" actually refers to Commander Sugino, head of the Kure 3rd SNLF between 1938 and 1939, revealing the caption to be entirely incorrect. Such false information is astoundingly prevalent, with about half of the photographs accompanied by incorrect captions, which one can conclude are nothing more than figments of the authors' imaginations. Another photograph on page 20 supposedly depicts SNLF troops in Shanghai in 1934, but their caps and pouches clearly point to 1937 or later. This prevalence of misinformation is extremely damaging, as a reader unfamiliar with the subject will likely develop a skewed impression of what SNLF troops actually wore in certain years. There are countless examples of other incorrect captions, but for brevity's sake I will omit them from this review. The models and mannequins wearing uniforms mostly wear the items incorrectly, with little to no accordance to naval uniform and/or equipment regulations observed. The photographs of the models are once again accompanied by a number of false captions, such as the "Type 3 Uniform" being noted as 1942-45, despite it not entering regulations until late 1943. The book attempts to cover 1932-1945, but suffers from a lot of missing information due to low research. The 20+ SNLF units that saw action in China prior to the outbreak of the Pacific War are not mentioned spare for the Shanghai SNLF and a few incorrectly captioned photos. There is also a claim that SNLF units fought on Okinawa and Iwo Jima in 1945, but there is no specific unit mentioned for either of the battles and official Japanese monographs as well as Allied records do not support such an assertion. I can not recommend this book to anybody, as the overwhelming amount of misinformation will cause more harm than good. I am disappointed that the authors have spread such unprecedented levels of false claims regarding the Special Naval Landing Forces and hope they will correct their errors or remove the book from publication to prevent further damage to history.

[Zare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a mixed bag. On one hand we have a presentation of a little known (at least for a European readers) Japanese SNLF units - we have a historical representation from Shanghai conflicts 'til end of WW2. But this section is a very short one - majority of the book contains information on militaria - unit markings, uniform cuts, equipment overview etc etc

That's fine for militaria collectors but for general overview of unit itself and its combat history it is more than lacking. At the times it felt like I was reading through collectors catalog of Japanese militaria. Again, very interesting but not something I have expected.

If you are interested in Japanese WW2 elite units buy it but don't expect too much in terms of unit combat history.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In introducing the Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF), the SNLF was the beach/land assault branch of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Its expertise lay in beach landings and the occupation of captured territory. While the SNLF has been erroneously equated to the United States Marine Corps (although their function was the similar), the SNLF was not independent of the Japanese Navy, unlike the USMC, which operated with the US Navy. At the beginning of the Second Sino Japanese War and on into the occupation of the Pacific Islands, the SNLF was used extensively in its intended role, but as the war dragged on, many units were relegated to island defense. The elite nature of the SNLF made them tough fighters, and lead to much of the SNLF being decimated in battles across the Pacific. Why no book has been written about them, I do not know. They were the best Japan had to offer.

I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in collecting uniforms or modeling figures. There is scant information on the SNLF in terms of its history as a fighting force. It does not include anything on the tactics or campaigns of the SNLF (although this would be more appropriate for a larger work, given that they fought in almost every major battle). The book only deals with uniforms, equipment and weapons. The equipment and weapons sections are wanting. I would have liked to have known more about such things as gas masks, rations, and med kits. The weapons are also only briefly touched upon, and it appears to be a somewhat incomplete list in that SNLF units used almost every weapon Japan produced.

Given its narrow scope, it does a good job of dealing with the subject of uniforms, but that is where it stops. It could certainly be expanded upon.

[Steve Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well done book with interesting photos of IJN SNLF I’d never seen before. Clearly these were outstanding troops.

The author disputes that these were Japanese Marines, but technically they were, even though they were vastly different than the US Marines they faced. Marines are naval infantry. SNLF fit that job description.