14th Regional Army

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14th Regional Army

Masaharu Homma ashore at Lingayen Gulf.jpg

General Homma Masaharu lands on December 12th with the 14th Army (14th Regional Army from 1944) in the Philippines
active November 6, 1941 to August 15, 1945
Country JapanJapan Japanese Empire
Armed forces JapanJapan (war flag) Japanese armed forces
Armed forces JapanJapan (war flag) Japanese army
Branch of service infantry
Type army
Strength 1941 approx. 50,000
1944 approx. 250,000
Location Manila
Nickname Shōbu ( Japanese 尚武 , "warrior worship")
Butcher Pacific War
Supreme command
list of Commander in chief

The 14th Regional Army ( Japanese 第 14 方面軍 , dai-jūyon-hōmengun ) was one of the regional armies of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1941 to 1945. Originally set up in 1941 as the 14th Army ( Japanese 第 14 軍 , Dai-jūyon-gun ), which was instrumental in the conquest of the Philippines , it was converted in July 1944 into the 14th Regional Army, which defended the islands during the reconquest of the Philippines by Allied troops.

history

14th Army

Japanese tanks and troops of the 14th Army in Bataan, March / April 1941
Japanese troops of the 14th Army celebrate after taking Corregidor Fortress, May 1942

The 14th Army was set up on November 6, 1941, consisting of the 16th and 48th Divisions , the 65th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 4th and 7th Panzer Regiment, as part of the South Army (corresponds to Army Group South). The cover name of the 14th Army was Shōbu ( 尚武 , "warrior worship"). On December 8, 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the war that followed the US entry into World War II, landed units of the 14th Army of the Philippines , being the largest island of Luzon against strong American resistance on the peninsula Bataan revenue . Troops of the 14th Army also occupied large parts of Dutch East India and Borneo by 1943 , but the main troops, consisting of the 16th and 48th Divisions, remained stationed in the Philippines until 1944. The headquarters of the 14th Army was in Manila , although orders from the Southern Army Group came from Saigon .

14th Regional Army

On July 28, 1944, it was reorganized into a regional army, with four infantry divisions landing on Luzon for reinforcement. In November 1944, during the Battle of Leyte , the 35th Army , made up of three infantry divisions, was sent to the island to fight against American troops. In January 1945, several reservists were called up and two more divisions were set up before the 14th Regional Army was destroyed in the course of the American reconquest of the island of Luzon .

Commanders

Surname From To
1. Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu November 6, 1941 August 1, 1942
2. Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizuichi August 1, 1942 May 19, 1943
3. Lieutenant General Kuroda Shigenori May 19, 1943 September 26, 1944
4th General Yamashita Tomoyuki September 26, 1944 End of the war in 1945

History of unity

Structure and locations at the end of the war

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chun, p. 24