Japanese Twelfth Area Army

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Japanese Twelfth Area Army


caption= Invasion Map for Tokyo region during Operation Downfall
dates= 1945-02-01 - 1945-08-15
country= Empire of Japan
allegiance=
branch= Imperial Japanese Army
type= Infantry
role= Field Army
garrison=Tokyo
nickname=幡(Hata = “banner”)
battles=Operation Downfallcommand structure
name= Japanese Twelfth Area Army
date=1945
parent=Japanese First General Army
subordinate=

* Japanese 36th Army (Urawa, Saitama)
* Japanese 51st Army (Tsuchiura, Ibaraki)
* Japanese 52nd Army (Sakura, Chiba)
* Japanese 53rd Army (Isehara, Kanagawa)
* Tokyo Bay Garrison (Choshi, Chiba)
* 321st Infantry Division (Tokyo)
* IJA 66th Independent Mixed Brigade (Niijima, Tokyo)
* IJA 67th Independent Mixed Brigade (Hachijōjima)
* IJA 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade (Ueno, Tokyo)
* IJA 2nd Artillery Headquarters (Ichikawa, Chiba)
The nihongo| Japanese Twelfth Area Army|第12方面軍|Dai jyūni hōmen gun was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

History

The Japanese 12th Area Army was formed on 1945-02-01 under the First General Army as part of the last desperate defense effort by the Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces in central Honshū during Operation Downfall (or nihongo|Operation Ketsugō|決号作戦|Ketsugō sakusen in Japanese terminology). [Skates, The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall ] The Japanese 12th Area Army was responsible for the Kantō region of Japan and was headquartered in Tokyo.

It consisted mostly of poorly-trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia. In addition, the Japanese had organized the Volunteer Fighting Corps — which included all healthy men aged 15–60 and women 17–40 — to perform combat support, and ultimately combat jobs. Weapons, training, and uniforms were generally lacking: some men were armed with nothing better than muzzle-loading muskets, longbows, or bamboo spears; nevertheless, they were expected to make do with what they had. [Frank, "Downfall", p. 188–9. Bauer and Coox, "OLYMPIC VS KETSU-GO".]

The 12th Area Army was demobilized at the surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945 without having seen combat.

List of Commanders

Commanding officer

=Chief of Staff=

References

Books

*cite book
last = Drea
first = Edward J.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1998
chapter = Japanese Preparations for the Defense of the Homeland & Intelligence Forecasting for the Invasion of Japan
title = In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army
publisher = University of Nebraska Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-8032-1708-0
*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 = 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
*cite book
last = Skates
first = John Ray
coauthors =
year = 1994
title = The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall
publisher = University of South Carolina Press
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-87249-972-3

External links

*cite web
last = Wendel
first = Marcus
url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6746
title = Axis History Factbook
work = Japanese Twelfth Area Army

Notes