Japanese Seventeenth Area Army

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Japanese Seventeenth Area Army


caption=Withdrawal of Japanese troops from Korea
dates= 1945-01-22 - 1945-08-15
country= Empire of Japan
allegiance=
branch= Imperial Japanese Army
type= Infantry
role= Field Army
garrison=Keijō
nickname= 築 (chiku = “construct”)
battles=Operation August Stormcommand structure
name= Japanese Seventeenth Area Army
date=1945
parent=General Defense Command
subordinate=

* Japanese 58th Army (Saishutō)
* 120th Infantry Division (Keijō)
* 150th Infantry Division (Gunsan)
* 160th Infantry Division (Kōshu)
* 320th Infantry Division (Pusan)
* IJA 127th Independent Mixed Brigade (Pusan) The nihongo| Japanese Seventeenth Area Army|第 17方面軍|Dai jyūnana hōmen gun was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of World War II.

History

The Japanese 17th Area Army was formed on 1945-01-22 under the Imperial General Headquarters as the successor to the Chosen Army of Japan as part of the last desperate defense effort by the Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces in Korean peninsula during Operation Downfall (or nihongo|Operation Ketsugō|決号作戦|Ketsugō sakusen in Japanese terminology). It was headquartered in Keijō. However, the actual administrative structure of the former Chosen Army remained in place, and thus the leadership of the 17th Area Army concurrently held the equivalent posts within the Chosen Army, which was also called the Korean District Army. [Madej, Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 ]

As with the field armies raised on the Japanese home islands it consisted mostly of poorly-trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia, as most of the veteran, trained troops of the Chosen Army had already been transferred to other fronts in the Pacific War. In addition, the Japanese had organized the Patriotic Citizens 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".]

On 1945-08-02, the 17th Area Army was transferred to the control of the Kwangtung Army and ordered north to oppose the Soviet Red Army forces advancing southward in Manchukuo in Operation August Storm. However, the war came to an end before the 17th Area Army could cross the Yalu River.

The 17th Area Army was thus demobilized without having seen combat, and units remained armed and in their garrisons until United States Army forces arrived in Korea.

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=6751
title = Axis History Factbook
work = Japanese 17th Area Army