37th Army (Japanese Empire)

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37th Army

active April 11, 1942 to September 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 corps
Strength approx. 15,000
Insinuation South army
Location Kuching , Sarawak
Nickname Nada ( 灘 , "stormy sea")
Butcher Pacific War
Supreme command
list of Commander in chief

The 37th Army ( Japanese 第 37 軍 , Dai-sanjūnana-gun ) was from 1942 to 1945 a major unit of the Imperial Japanese Army , which emerged from the Japanese Burma Defense Army . She was stationed in Borneo during the Pacific War . The Tsūshōgō code (military code name) of the 37th Army was Stormy Sea ( 灘 , Nada ).

history

Operational area of ​​the Allied Operation Oboe (June / July 1945), which had the goal of driving or destroying the 37th Army from Borneo.

Burma Defense Army

After the Japanese invasion of Borneo in December 1941, which was completed in March 1942, the Southern Army formed the Burma Defense Army on April 11, 1942, led by Lieutenant General Maeda Toshinari . Maeda was killed in a plane crash on September 5, 1942 and was replaced by Lieutenant General Yamawaki Masataka .

37th Army

On September 12, 1944, the name was changed as 37th Army by the Southern Army. At the same time, the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade set up in Japan was placed  under her command, which together with the 71st Independent Mixed Brigade brought her strength to almost 15,000 men.

On May 1, 1945, the Allied Operation Oboe took place , the aim of which was to recapture Borneo from the Japanese. The 37th Army put up slow resistance, but could not prevent British / Australian success.

Lt. General Baba Masao meets with Australian negotiators on September 10, 1945 to sign the 37th Army's surrender.

On September 9, 1945, the 37th Japanese Army surrendered. Lieutenant General Baba Masao formally presented his sword to Major General George Wootten , the commanding officer of the Australian 9th Division, on the island of Labuan the following day .

Commander in chief

Commanders

Surname From To unit
1. Lieutenant General Maeda Toshinari April 11, 1942 September 5, 1942 Burma Defense Army
2. Lieutenant General Yamawaki Masataka September 5, 1942 September 22, 1944 Burma Defense Army
3. Lieutenant General Baba Masao September 22, 1944 September 1945 37th Army

Chiefs of Staff

Surname From To unit
1. Major General Makoto Satoshi April 11, 1942 September 22, 1944 Burma Defense Army
2. Lieutenant General Managi Keishin September 22, 1944 February 24, 1945 37th Army
3. Major General Kuroda Shigeru February 24, 1945 September 1945 37th Army

Subordinate units

literature

  • Victor Madej: Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945. Game Publishing, 1981, OCLC 833591372 , OCLC 833591376 .
  • Philip Jowett: The Japanese Army 1931-45 (1). Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 978-1-8417-6353-8
  • Gordon Rottman: Japanese Army in World War II (The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942–43). Osprey Publishing, ISBN 978-1-8417-6870-0
  • Gavin Long: The Final Campaigns. Australia in the War of 1939-1945. Series 1 - Army. Volume VII. Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1963

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Madej, p. 5
  2. ^ The Sarawak Gazette. Fujisaki Takeo, accessed November 18, 2015 . , P. 122
  3. ^ Long, p. 470
  4. ^ Peace Park . virtualmalaysia.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Maeda is the family name, Toshinari the first name.