From November 1941, the division was transferred to the control of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group and transferred to the Philippines, landing at Lingayen Gulf on 26 February 1942. After the completion of the Philippines Campaign, from December 1943, the division was sent to French Indochina under the control of the IJA 38th Army, Assigned to a garrison role in Hanoi, it remained in Indochina through the end of the Pacific war except for a brief period in late 1944 when it crossed back into China to participate in Operation Ichi-Go. The division played a critical role in the Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina of March 1945, which resulted in the proclamation of the Empire of Vietnam independent from French rule. It remained as a garrison force in Hanoi until the surrender of Japan in August 1945. A number of its troops refused to return to Japan, and defected to join the Viet Minh in their struggle for independence (First Indochina War) against the returning French colonial forces.