Fourteenth Area Army

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Fourteenth Area Army
Philippines campaign (1944–45)

The Fourteenth Area Army (第14方面軍, Dai-jyūyon hōmen gun) was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. It was originally the 14th Army, formed on November 6, 1941, for the upcoming invasion of the Philippines. It was reorganized in the Philippines on July 28, 1944, when Allied landings were considered imminent. The Fourteenth Area Army was formed by reinforcing and renaming the Fourteenth Army (第14軍, Dai-jyūyon gun). (An IJA "area army" was equivalent to a field army in other militaries, while an IJA "army" was a smaller, corps-level formation.)

History

The Japanese 14th Army was formed on November 6, 1941, under the

invasion of the Netherlands East Indies,[1] and was replaced with the Fourth Division. As the army was still fighting in the Philippines, its commanding officer, Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, requested more reinforcements. The 10th Independent Garrison was sent to the Philippines as was the 21st Division Infantry Group, and the First Field Artillery Headquarters to command the field artillery units. The Fourth and Seventh Tank Regiments were part of the 14th Army, as well as the First, Eighth, and 16th Field Artillery Regiments and the 9th Independent Field Artillery Battalion. This army was responsible for the Bataan Death March after the surrender of US and Filipino forces in Bataan, and the 65th Independent Brigade was also accused of the Mariveles Massacre.[2]

The 14th Army came under the direct control of

Saigon continued to issue orders, at times in conflict with those received from Tokyo, and the 14th's commanding officer was plagued by insubordination from junior officers who used the situation to issue orders without his approval, or to countermand orders with which they did not agree.[3] In August 1942, Homma was replaced by Lieutenant General Shizuichi Tanaka.[4]

In July 1942 the

105th Divisions.[citation needed
]

In March 1944 the 14th Army officially reverted to the control of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group. On July 28, 1944, the Japanese 14th Army officially became the Japanese 14th Area Army. Two more divisions (the

Philippine Commonwealth armed forces in Leyte, Mindanao and parts of Luzon, the Japanese 14th Area Army suffered over 350,000 casualties, including virtually all of the 18,000 men of the 16th Infantry Division in the Battle of Leyte.[citation needed
]

Troops of the 14th Area Army were responsible for the

Palawan Massacre
of December 14, 1944.

List of commanders

Commanding officer

Name From To
1 Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma 6 November 1941 1 August 1942
2 Lieutenant General Shizuichi Tanaka 1 August 1942 19 May 1943
3 Lieutenant General Shigenori Kuroda 19 May 1943 26 September 1944
4 General Tomoyuki Yamashita 26 September 1944 15 August 1945

Chief of staff

Name From To
1 Lieutenant General Masami Maeda 6 November 1941 20 February 1942
2 Major General Takaji Wachi 20 February 1942 22 March 1944
3 Lieutenant General Haruki Isayama 22 March 1944 19 June 1944
4 Lieutenant General Tsuchio Yamaguchi 19 June 1944 28 July 1944
5 Major General Ryozo Sakuma 28 July 1944 5 October 1944
6 Lieutenant General Akira Mutō 5 October 1944 15 August 1945

Structure

Notes

  1. ^ Madej,Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945
  2. ^ Farolan, Ramon. "Mariveles Massacre". Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  3. Toland, The Rising Sun
  4. ^ Who's Who in Twentieth Century Warfare by Spencer Tucker

References

External links
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