Thirty-Third Army (Japan)

Thirty-Third Army (Japan)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Japanese Thirty-third Army


caption= Japanese troops on elephant in Burma
dates= 1944-04-07 - 1945-08-15　
country= Empire of Japan
allegiance=
branch= Imperial Japanese Army
type= Infantry
role= Corps
garrison=Thaton
nickname= nihongo|Kon|昆| Descendant
battles=command structure
name= Japanese 33rd Army
date=1945
parent=Burma Area Army
subordinate=

* 18th Infantry Division

The nihongo|Japanese 33rd Army|第33軍 |Dai-sanjyūsan gun was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.

History

The Japanese 33rd Army was raised on 7 April 1944 in Rangoon, Japanese-occupied Burma as a garrison force, and in anticipation of Allied attempts to invade and retake northern Burma. It was under the overall command of the Burma Area Army.

When first formed, the army controlled the 18th Division facing the American-trained Chinese force advancing from Ledo in India, and the 56th Division facing the Chinese armies in Yunnan province. It also commanded a scratch force known as "Take Force" facing the Allied long-range penetration forces (the Chindits) around Indaw. During May, the army was reinforced by the 53rd Division which took on the Chindits, and regiments from the 2nd Division and 49th Division which reinforced 56th Division.

Facing the various Allied threats, the army was unable to prevent the capture of Mogaung and Myitkyina, although they temporarily halted the Chinese offensive from Yunnan and crippled the Chindits as a fighting force.

As the war situation on the Pacific front grew increasingly desperate for Japan, the Imperial Japanese Army was unable to provide reinforcements and resupply to units south of the Philippines. The Army (and all Japanese forces in Burma) was increasingly understrength and ill-equipped.

In March 1945, the Army Headquarters was unexpectedly called on to take charge of the forces around Meiktila, where the Japanese were trying to recapture the vital line-of-communication centre from British and Indian troops. The Army's signal units arrived only late in the battle, and the headquarters lacked adequate information. The Army was unable to coordinate the attacks by its hastily-collected units. The Japanese attacks were repulsed and at the end of the month they were forced to break off the battle.

The weakened Army attempted to defend a position at Pyawbwe to delay Allied pursuit, but were outflanked by Allied armoured units and again forced to retreat. Finally, about the middle of April, pursuing Allied armour attacked the Army HQ at Pyinmana. Although the Army commander (Lieutenant-General Masaki Honda) and his staff escaped on foot by night, they could no longer effectively control the remnants of their units, which allowed Allied units to advance to within striking distance of Rangoon.

After the fall of Rangoon, the Army regrouped in Tenasserim. Although reduced to the strength of barely a regiment, the Army nevertheless mounted an attack across the Sittang River to aid a breakout by Japanese forces still trapped in Burma. After a week-long battle, both the Japanese and Allies withdrew from the flooded "Sittang Bend".

The Army was finally disbanded following the Japanese surrender in late 1945.

List of Commanders

Commanding Officer

Chief of Staff

References

*cite book
last = Frank
first = Richard B
coauthors =
year = 1999
title = Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire
publisher = Random House
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-679-41424-X
*cite book
last = Jowett
first = Bernard
coauthors =
year = 1999
title = The Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 2, 1942-45)
publisher = Osprey Publishing
location =
id = ISBN 1841763543
*cite book
last = Louis
first = Allen
coauthors =
year = 1984
title = Burma: The Longest War
publisher = DentPublishing
location =
id = ISBN 0-460-02474-4
*cite book
last = Madej
first = Victor
coauthors =
year = 1981
title = Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945
publisher = Game Publishing Company
location =
id = ASIN: B000L4CYWW
*cite book
last = Marston
first = Daniel
coauthors =
year = 2005
title = The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima
publisher = Osprey Publishing
location =
id = ISBN 1841768820

External links

*cite web
last = Wendel
first = Marcus
url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7684
title = Axis History Factbook
work = Japanese 33rd Army


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