Japanese Fourteenth Area Army
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Japanese Fourteenth Area Army | |
|---|---|
 General Homma comes ashore at Lingayen Gulf |
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| Active | 1942-11-06-1945-08-15 |
| Country | Empire of Japan |
| Branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Field Army |
| Garrison/HQ | Manila |
| Nickname | 尚武 (shōbu = “militarism", also a synonym for "victory") |
| Engagements | Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) Philippines campaign (1944–45) |
| Japanese Fourteenth Area Army (1945-08-15) | |
|---|---|
| Parent unit | Southern Expeditionary Army |
| Components |
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The Japanese Fourteenth Area Army (第14方面軍 Dai jyūyon hōmen gun?) was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Japanese 14th Army was formed on 1942-11-06 under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of invading and occupying the Philippines. It initially consisted of the IJA 16th Division, IJA 48th Division and IJA 56th Division. After the successful invasion of the Philippines, the 48th Division was detached in January 1942 and re-assigned to the Japanese Sixteenth Army for the invasion of the Netherlands East Indies. [1]
In June 1942, the 14th Army came under the direct control of Imperial General Headquarters; however, the Southern Expeditionary Army Group from its headquarters in Saigon continued to issue orders, at times in conflict with orders received from Tokyo, and its commanding officer, General Masaharu Homma was plagued by insubordination by junior officers who used the situation to issue orders without his approval or to countermand orders with which they did not agree [2]. In March 1944, the 14th Army officially reverted to the control of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group.
In July 1942, the IJA 4th Division came under control of the 14th Army, as did the IJA 30th Division, which was assigned to the defense of Mindanao.
As the war situation continued to deteriorate for Japan, and Allied forces began preparations for invading the Philippines, the 14th Army restructured its Independent Infantry Brigades and reserves to form the new IJA 100th Division, IJA 102nd Division, IJA 103rd Division, and IJA 105th Divisions.
On 1944-07-28, the Japanese 14th Army officially became the Japanese 14th Area Army. Two more divisions (the IJA 8th Division and IJA 10th Division arrived in August 1944 as reinforcements, and also in August, the Japanese 35th Army also came under its control.
In the various battles of the Philippines campaign (1944–45) against American and Philippine forces in Leyte, Mindanao and parts of Luzon, the Japanese 14th Area Army suffered over 350,000 casualties, including virtually all of the 18,000 man IJA 16th Infantry Division in the Battle of Leyte.
[edit] List of Commanders
[edit] Commanding Officer
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma | 6 November 1941 | 1 August 1942 |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Shizuichi Tanaka | 1 August 1942 | 19 May 1943 |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Shigenori Kuroda | 1 August 1942 | 26 September 1944 |
| 4 | General Tomoyuki Yamashita | 26 September 1944 | 15 August 1945 |
[edit] Chief of Staff
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant General Masami Maeda | 6 November 1941 | 20 February 1942 |
| 2 | Major General Takaji Wachi | 20 February 1942 | 22 March 1944 |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Haruki Isayama | 22 March 1944 | 19 June 1944 |
| 4 | Lieutenant General Tsuchio Yamaguchi | 19 June 1944 | 28 July 1944 |
| 5 | Major General Ryozo Sakuma | 28 July 1944 | 5 October 1944 |
| 6 | Lieutenant General Akira Muto | 5 October 1944 | 15 August 1945 |
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Breuer, William B. (1986). Retaking The Philippines: America's Return to Corregidor & Bataan, 1944-1945. St Martin's Press. ASIN B000IN7D3Q.
- 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.
- Nalty, Bernard (1999). War in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay : The Story of the Bitter Struggle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806131993.
- Rottman, Gordon (2005). Japanese Army in World War II: "The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942-43" (Battle Orders). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841767891.
- Weist, Andrew A (2005). The Pacific War: Campaigns of World War II (The Campaigns of World War II). Motorbooks International. ISBN 0760311463.
[edit] External links
- Wendel, Marcus. Axis History Factbook. Japanese Fourteenth Area Army.
