Japanese First Area Army

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Japanese First Area Army

Capitulation of Japanese forces in Manchukuo
Active 1942-07-02-1945-08-15
Country Empire of Japan
Branch Imperial Japanese Army
Type Infantry
Role Field Army
Garrison/HQ Mukden
Nickname 鋭 (Ei = “sharp”)
Engagements Operation August Storm
Japanese First Area Army (1945)
Parent unit Kwangtung Army
Components

The Japanese First Area Army (第1方面軍 Dai ichi hōmen gun?) was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in northern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the closing stages of the war. [1]

Contents

[edit] History

The Japanese 1st Area Army was formed on 1942-07-04 under the control of the Kwangtung Army as a military reserve and garrison force to maintain security and public order in northern Manchukuo as many veteran divisions of the Kwangtung Army were transferred to the various southern fronts in the Pacific War. It consisted mostly of minimally-trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia, without adequate weapons or supplies. The 1st Area Army was headquartered in Dunhua, in what is now the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jilin Province, China.

The units of the 1st Area Army proved to be no match for the Red Army when the Soviet Union invaded Manchukuo in Operation August Storm at the end of World War II. Without adequate armor, ammunition or leadership, many units broke and fled, or surrendered en masse. [2] Many surviving soldiers of the 1st Area Army, including it commanding officer General Seiich Kita, became prisoners in Siberia and other parts of the Soviet Union after the surrender of Japan on 1945-08-15. [3]

[edit] List of Commanders

[edit] Commanding officer

Name From To
1 Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita 1 July 1942 26 September 1944
2 Lieutenant General Seiichi Kita 26 September 1944 15 August 1945

[edit] Chief of Staff

Name From To
1 Major General Kitsuju Ayabe 1 July 1942 7 December 1942
2 Major General Tsunahide Shidei 7 December 1942 16 October 1944
3 Major General Tadao Teragaki 16 October 1944 1 April 1945
4 Major General Ryozo Sakurai 1 April 1945 15 August 1945

[edit] References

[edit] Books

  • Frank, Richard B (1999). Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-41424-X. 
  • Glantz, David (2003). The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945 (Cass Series on Soviet (Russian) Military Experience, 7). Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-5279-2. 
  • Jowett, Bernard (1999). The Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 2, 1942-45). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841763543. 
  • Madej, Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945. Game Publishing Company. ASIN: B000L4CYWW. 
  • Marston, Daniel (2005). The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841768820. 
  • Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan. Belknap Press. ISBN 0-674-01693-9. 

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Jowett, The Japanese Army 1931-45
  2. ^ Glantz, The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945
  3. ^ Frank, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire