2nd main army

2nd main army
Area of ​​operations of the 2nd Main Army of the Imperial Japanese Army, 1945
active	April 8, 1945 to November 30, 1945
Country	Japanese Empire
Armed forces	Japanese armed forces
Armed forces	Japanese army
Branch of service	infantry
Type	Main army ( army group )
Strength	approx. 900,000
Location	Hiroshima
Nickname	Saihō ( 西方 , "West")
Butcher	Pacific War Operation Downfall

The 2nd Main Army ( Japanese 第 2 総 軍 , Dai-ni Sōgun ) was a main army ( Army Group ) of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War . In 1945 it was one of two main armies that were set up because of the feared Allied landings on the Japanese mainland . Your Tsūshōgō code (military code name) was West ( 西方 , Saihō ).

history

From 1941 to April 1945, the Central Defense Command was entrusted with the command of all units of the Army and Army Air Forces in the area of Japan and its colonies Chosen and Taiwan . In fear of an Allied invasion of Japan , the Central Defense Command was disbanded on April 8, 1945. Its tasks were taken over by the newly formed 1st and 2nd Main Army, whose area of ​​command only included the main Japanese islands. The first commander of the 2nd Main Army was Gensui (Field Marshal) Hata Shunroku , who had two regional armies with five armies and a total of 26 divisions , three tank brigades and countless smaller units, a total of around 900,000 men.

The task of the 2nd main army consisted in the defense of Kyūshūs , Shikoku and the southern part of Honshus , with the focus on Kyūshū.

Many of the subordinate divisions had not been set up until 1945 and had fewer men (sometimes only 50%) than the divisions set up before the Pacific War. Most of these new divisions had 100 and 300 numbers. Since they had practically no means of transport, they were only intended for static defense and were called coastal divisions . Furthermore, enough weapons were only available for 65% of the troops, so weapons from the 19th century and even bamboo spears had to be used. The ammunition supply was only 50%.

In addition, the Japanese had called on all civilians to organize themselves in patriotic combat corps in order to provide combat support and also to carry out combat missions themselves. There was a general lack of weapons and training, but it was expected that everyone would fight the invasion with all their might.

Since the headquarters of the 2nd Main Army was in Hiroshima, thousands of soldiers were killed during the first military use of nuclear weapons on August 6, 1945 . Shortly after the attack, the Japanese Empire was forced to surrender . The 2nd Main Army was therefore not used in combat and was disbanded in November 1945.

Commander in chief

Commanders

	Surname	From	To
1.	Gensui (Field Marshal) Hata Shunroku	April 8, 1945	November 30, 1945

Chiefs of Staff

	Surname	From	To
1.	Lieutenant General Wakamatsu Tadakazu	April 6, 1945	July 18, 1945
2.	Lieutenant General Okazaki Seizaburō	July 18, 1945	October 15, 1945

Subordinate units

The following units were subordinate to the 1st Main Army:

• 15th Regional Army
  • 55th Army
    • 11th division
    • 155th Division
    • 205th Division
    • 344th Division
    • 121st Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 10th Artillery Brigade
    • 20th Transport Brigade
  • 59th Army
    • 144th Division
    • 225th Division
    • 230th division
    • 231st Division
    • 123rd Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 124th Independent Mixed Brigade
  • Subordinated directly to the 15th Regional Army:
    • 144th Division
    • 255th division
    • Yura Fortress Garrison Unit
    • 3rd Flak Division
    • 45th Panzer Regiment
    • Other smaller units
• 16th regional army
  • 40th Army
    • 77th Division
    • 146th Division
    • 206th Division
    • 303rd Division
    • 125th Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 4th Artillery Brigade
  • 56th Army
    • 57th Division
    • 145th Division
    • 312nd Division
    • 351st Division
    • 4th Independent Panzer Brigade
    • 6th Artillery Brigade
    • Iki Fortress Garrison Unit
    • Shimonoseki Fortress Garrison Unit
  • 57th Army
    • 25th division
    • 86th Division
    • 154th Division
    • 156th Division
    • 212th Division
    • 98th Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 109th Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 5th Independent Panzer Brigade
    • 6th Independent Panzer Brigade
    • 1st Artillery Brigade
  • Subordinated directly to the 16th Regional Army:
    • 216th Division
    • 4th Flak Division
    • 64th Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 107th Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 118th Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 122nd Independent Mixed Brigade
    • 126th Independent Mixed Brigade
    • Tsushima Fortress Garrison Unit

literature

• Philip Jowett: The Japanese Army 1931-45 (1) Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 978-1-84176-353-8
• Gordon Rottman: Japanese Army in World War II, Conquest of the Pacific Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84176-789-5
• Steven Zaloga: Defense of Japan 1945 (Fortress) , Osprey Publishing, ISBN 978-1-8460-3687-3
• DM Giangreco: Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 , Naval Institute Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-5911-4316-1

Web links

• 総 軍 ・ 方面軍. Organization of IJA, accessed January 2, 2015 (Japanese). 
• List of Higher Echeron Army Headquarters. Organizations of IJA & N, accessed January 1, 2015 . 
• Japanese Homeland Land Armies, April 8, 1945. Combined Arms Research Library, accessed November 30, 2015 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Zaloga, p. 33
2. ↑ 総 軍 ・ 方面軍. (No longer available online.) Organization of IJA, archived from the original on April 20, 2015 ; Retrieved January 2, 2015 (Japanese). 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Japanese Homeland Land Armies, April 8, 1945. (No longer available online.) Combined Arms Research Library, archived from the original on December 8, 2015 ; accessed on November 30, 2015 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.