page_title: 109th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
section_title: Preparations
hierarchical_section_title: 109th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) / Second formation / Preparations
caption_attribution_description: HILL 362A on Iwo Jima looking at top and north face. Dotted lines indicate the underground Japanese tunnel system. One of five sketches prepared by the 31st U.S. Naval Construction Battalion.
context_page_description: The 109th Division was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the Courage Division. It was formed on 24 August 1937 in Kanazawa as a square division, simultaneously with the 108th division. The nucleus for the formation was the 9th division headquarters. It was subordinated from the beginning to the Japanese Northern China Area Army.
context_section_description: With preparations underway Kuribayashi worked with the tactic of defense-in-depth building numerous pillboxes for machine-gunners and 13,000 yards of tunnels with even a field-hospital worked in. However he had issues with many officers—dismissing 18 of them along with his Chief-of-staff, Kuribayashi also lost control of the Naval troops who dug in on the beaches.
caption: A U.S. map of tunnel defences around Iwo Jima built by the 109th
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