2nd regional army

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2nd regional army

active July 4, 1942 to June 13, 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 approximately 120,000-350,000
Insinuation Kwantung Army
South Army
Location Manchuria
New Guinea
Sulawesi
Nickname Ki ( 輝 , "light up")
Butcher Pacific War
Supreme command
list of Commander in chief

The 2nd Regional Army ( Japanese 第 2 方面軍 , Dai-ni hōmengun ) was from 1942 to 1945 one of the regional armies of the Imperial Japanese Army . Your Tsūshōgō code (military code name) was light up ( 輝 , Teru ) or Teru 16300 .

history

On July 4, 1942, the 2nd Regional Army was set up under the command of Lieutenant General Anami Korechika in Manchukuo as part of the Kwantung Army . It served there as a garrison and reserve unit.

After it became clear that the Battle of Guadalcanal would be lost for the Japanese, and several Allied divisions landed in eastern New Guinea, the Daihon'ei (Japanese General Staff) realized that the American-Australian counter-offensive would take place on this section of the front. A reinforcement of the troops there was therefore imperative. On October 29, 1943, the Daihon'ei decided to move the headquarters of the 2nd Regional Army to Davao in the Philippines in order to direct operations on Western New Guinea and Halmahera from there. In addition, she was subordinate to the 2nd Army on West New Guinea, the 19th Army on Ceram , the 4th Air Army on Celebes and the 1st Field Base Unit on Halmahera. The 18th Army , which had recently belonged to the 8th Regional Army , was assigned to her. At sea they were supported by the 4th Southern Expeditionary Fleet . While the 19th Army was already in the operational area, the 2nd Regional Army and the 2nd Army had to be relocated by ship. The relocation of almost 120,000 men from Manchukuo to New Guinea, which is over 4,000 km away, put a great strain on the Japanese shipping capacities, which were already operating at maximum capacity due to the long distances within the large territorial gains. It was not until December 1, 1943, that General Anami was able to set up a provisional command post in Davao. At that time, the 2nd Army had no combat units in the area of ​​operations and reinforcements for the 19th Army did not arrive until February 1944. The 7th Air Division of the 4th Air Army suffered heavy losses during the fighting in East New Guinea and only had 50 machines. So she was only able to take on defensive tasks or convoy protection. Due to a lack of spare parts, the number of airworthy machines has steadily decreased. The Daihon'ei could only meet the demand of 600,000 gross register tons by the 2nd regional army with 300,000, since the focus of the Japanese defense was on the central Pacific.

As part of the Allied Operation Cartwheel , the Japanese fortress of Rabaul was isolated from June 1943 . Rabaul was able to be held by the 8th Regional Army until the end of the war in September 1945, but had been completely enclosed since the end of 1944 and no longer played a role in the course of the war. A similar fate met the 2nd regional army, which continued to offer resistance without adequate supplies. The 18th Army was destroyed in East New Guinea with the exception of a few survivors, while the 2nd and 19th Armies held out in isolation until the end of the war and posed no strategic threat to the Allies. Only a few units could be withdrawn towards the Philippines and were assigned to other units there.

The 2nd Regional Army was disbanded by the Daihon'ei on June 13, 1945.

Commander in chief

Commanders

Surname From To
1. Lieutenant General Anami Korechika July 1, 1942 December 26, 1944
2. Lieutenant General Iimura Jō December 26, 1944 May 29, 1945

Chiefs of Staff

Surname From To
1. Major General Yoshihara Kane 4th July 1942 November 9, 1942
2. Major General Watanabe Yō November 9, 1942 October 29, 1943
3. Lieutenant General Numada Katazō October 29, 1943 December 26, 1944
4th Major General Sakuma Ryozo December 26, 1944 May 29, 1945

Subordinate units

1942

When the 2nd Regional Army was set up, it consisted of the following units:

1943

The 2nd Regional Army was composed as follows in November 1943:

literature

  • Victor Madej: Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945. Game Publishing, 1981, OCLC 833591372 , OCLC 833591376 .
  • Bill Yenne: The Imperial Japanese Army: The Invincible Years 1941-42 Osprey Publishing, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78200-932-0
  • Philip Jowett: The Japanese Army 1931-45 (1) Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 978-1-84176-353-8
  • Morton, Louis: War in the Pacific: Strategy and Command. The First Two Years Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rottman, p. 13
  2. ↑ Madej, p. 2
  3. ^ Rottman, p. 43
  4. ↑ Morton, p. 554
  5. ^ Rottman, p. 44
  6. ↑ a b c Morton, p. 555
  7. ↑ Morton, p. 557
  8. ^ Rottman, p. 8
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Anami is the family name, Korechika the first name.