Western District Army (Japan)

The Western District Army (西部方面軍, Seibu-hōmen gun) was a regional command of the Imperial Japanese Army (equivalent to a field army) responsible for the defense of the Kantō region and western Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū during the Pacific War. It was one of the regional commands in the Japanese home islands reporting to the General Defense Command.

Western District Army
ActiveAugust 1, 1937 – November 30, 1945
CountryEmpire of Japan
BranchImperial Japanese Army
TypeInfantry
RoleField Army
EngagementsOperation Downfall

History

The Western District Army was established on 2 August 1937 as part of the regional realignment of the Imperial Japanese Army as the Western Defense Command (西部防衛司令部, Seibu Boei Shireibu). It was essentially a home guard and garrison responsible for recruitment and civil defense.

On 1 August 1940, it was renamed again as the Western Army (西部軍, Seibu-gun), which became the Western District Army on 1 February 1945.

The Western District Army existed concurrently with the Japanese 16th Area Army and the Japanese 15th Area Army, which were tasked with organizing the final defenses of Kyūshū and Shikoku against the expected American invasion of the Japanese home islands. The Western District Army assumed all administrative functions, whereas the individual area armies were operational combat commands.

The Western District Army remained active for several months after the surrender of Japan to help maintain public order until the arrival of the American occupation forces, and to oversee the final demobilization and dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Army.

Commanders

Commanding officer

NameFromTo
1Lieutenant General Tomou Kodama2 August 193715 July 1938
2Lieutenant General Takuro Matsui15 July 19389 March 1940
3Lieutenant General Heitaro Kamimura9 March 194010 April 1941
4General Keisuke Fujie10 April 194122 March 1944
5General Sadamu Shimomura22 March 194422 November 1944
6Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama22 November 194413 October 1945
7Lieutenant General Kanji Nishihara13 October 194530 November 1945

Chief of Staff

NameFromTo
1Major General Shuntoku Nagami2 August 193715 July 1938
2Major General Rion NIshimura15 July 19389 March 1940
3Lieutenant General Kazuo Isa9 March 19401 March 1941
4Lieutenant General Shinnosuke Sasa1 March 194122 December 1942
5Lieutenant General Wataro Yoshinaka22 December 19423 May 1945
6Lieutenant General Masazumi Ineda3 May 194513 October 1945

See also

Further reading

  • Brooks, Lester (1968). Behind Japan's Surrender: The Secret Struggle That Ended an Empire. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
  • Drea, Edward J. (1998). "Japanese Preparations for the Defense of the Homeland & Intelligence Forecasting for the Invasion of Japan". In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-1708-0.
  • Frank, Richard B (1999). Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-41424-X.
  • Jowett, Bernard (1999). The Japanese Army 1931–45 (Volume 2, 1942–45). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-354-3.
  • Madej, Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945. Game Publishing Company. ASIN: B000L4CYWW.
  • Marston, Daniel (2005). The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-882-0.
  • Skates, John Ray (1994). The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall. New York: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-972-3.
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