Central Defense Command
|
Central Defense Command |
|
|---|---|
| active | July 5, 1941 to April 8, 1945 |
| Country |
 Japanese Empire
|
| Armed forces |
 Japanese armed forces
|
| Armed forces |
Japanese army
|
| Branch of service | infantry |
| Type | Army Group |
| Location | Tokyo |
| Butcher | Second World War |
The Central Defense Command ( Japanese 防衛 総 司令部 , Bōei Sōshireibu ) was a commanding body of the Imperial Japanese Army with the structure of a main army , comparable to that of an Army Group , which during the Pacific War had command of all units of the Army and the Army Air Forces in the area of Japan and its colonies Chosen and Taiwan held.
history
The Central Defense Command was set up on July 5, 1941, before the start of the Pacific War in December, and was formally directly under the Tennō . In its representation, the Imperial Headquarters had authority over the Defense Command. The garrison troops of the six army districts of Japan, whose nominal strength roughly corresponded to that of an army corps , were subordinate to this. This classification served not only for better administration but also for better recruitment. The Defense Command commanded the following armies:
- Eastern District Regional Army with headquarters in Tokyo , responsible for Kantō and northern Honshū .
- Regional Army Western District with headquarters in Fukuoka , responsible for southwestern Honshū, Shikoku and the Ryūkyū Islands .
- Regional Army Northern District with headquarters in Sapporo , responsible for Hokkaidō and Karafuto .
- Regional Army Central District with headquarters in Osaka , responsible for the central Honshū.
- Chosen Army with headquarters in Keijō , responsible for Chosen.
- Taiwan Army with headquarters in Taihoku , responsible for Taiwan.
The Central Defense Command was also responsible for air defense and civil defense training in its command area . 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.
Commanders
Commanding Officer
| # | rank | Surname | Taking command | adoption | image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rikugun Taishō | Yamada Otozo | July 7, 1941 | December 9, 1941 |
 |
| 2. | Gensui | Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko | December 9, 1941 | April 15, 1945 |
 |
chief of staff
| # | rank | Surname | Taking command | adoption | image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rikugun Chūjō | Kawabe Torashirō | July 31, 1941 | December 1, 1941 |
 |
| 2. | Rikugun Chūjō | Kobayashi Asasaburō | December 1, 1941 | June 10, 1943 | |
| 3. | Rikugun Chūjō | Sano Tadayoshi | June 10, 1943 | March 28, 1944 | |
| 4th | Rikugun Chūjō | Kobayashi Asasaburō | March 28, 1944 | February 1, 1945 | |
| 5. | Rikugun Chūjō | Sudō Einosuke | February 1, 1945 | April 6, 1945 |
literature
- Edward J. Drea: Japanese Preparations for the Defense of the Homeland & Intelligence Forecasting for the Invasion of Japan . in In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army . University of Nebraska Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8032-1708-0 .
- Richard B. Frank: Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire . Random House, New York 1999, ISBN 0-679-41424-X .
- Bernard Jowett: The Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 2, 1942-45) . Osprey Publishing, 1999, ISBN 1-84176-882-0 .
- Victor Madej: Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 . Game Publishing Company, 1981
- Daniel Marston: The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima . Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-84176-882-0 .
- John Ray Skates: The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall . University of South Carolina Press, New York 1994, ISBN 0-87249-972-3 .