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 Japanese 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.)
The Japanese 14th Army was formed on November 6, 1941, under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of invading and occupying the Philippines. It initially consisted of the IJA 16th Division, 48th Division, 56th Division, and 65th Independent Mixed Infantry Brigade. In January 1942, the 48th Division was detached and reassigned to the Japanese Sixteenth Army for 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 Imperial General Headquarters in June, 1942; however, the Southern Expeditionary Army Group in 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 4th Division came under control of the 14th Army, as did the 30th Division, which was assigned to the defense of Mindanao. As the war situation continued to deteriorate for Japan, and Allied forces prepared to invade the Philippines, the 14th Army restructured its independent infantry brigades and reserves to form the new 100th, 102nd, 103rd, and 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 8th Division and the 10th Division) arrived in August 1944 as reinforcements, and also in August the 35th Army came under its control. On October 10, 1944, General Tomoyuki Yamashita assumed the command of the 14th Area Army to defend the Philippines. In the various battles of the Philippines campaign (1944–45) against combined American and 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.
Breuer, William B. (1986). Retaking The Philippines: America's Return to Corregidor & Bataan, 1944–1945. St Martin's Press. ASIN B000IN7D3Q.
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. ISBN1-84176-882-0.
Nalty, Bernard (1999). War in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay : The Story of the Bitter Struggle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN0-8061-3199-3.
Rottman, Gordon (2005). Japanese Army in World War II: "The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942–43" (Battle Orders). Osprey Publishing. ISBN1-84176-789-1.
Weist, Andrew A (2005). The Pacific War: Campaigns of World War II (The Campaigns of World War II). Motorbooks International. ISBN0-7603-1146-3.
External linksEdit
Wendel, Marcus. "Axis History Factbook". Japanese Fourteenth Area Army.
NotesEdit
^Madej,Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945
^Who's Who in Twentieth Century Warfare by Spencer Tucker
October 24, 2023
japanese, fourteenth, area, army, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Japanese Fourteenth Area Army news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Fourteenth Area Army 第14方面軍 Dai jyuyon 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 Japanese Fourteenth Army 第14軍 Dai jyuyon gun An IJA area army was equivalent to a field army in other militaries while an IJA army was a smaller corps level formation Japanese Fourteenth Area ArmyGeneral Homma comes ashore at Lingayen GulfActiveNovember 6 1941 August 15 1945Country Empire of JapanBranch Imperial Japanese ArmyTypeInfantryRoleField ArmyGarrison HQManilaNickname s 尚武 shōbu militarism also a synonym for victory EngagementsBattle of the Philippines 1941 42 Philippines campaign 1944 45 Contents 1 History 2 List of commanders 2 1 Commanding officer 2 2 Chief of staff 3 Structure 4 References 4 1 Books 5 External links 6 NotesHistory EditThe Japanese 14th Army was formed on November 6 1941 under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of invading and occupying the Philippines It initially consisted of the IJA 16th Division 48th Division 56th Division and 65th Independent Mixed Infantry Brigade In January 1942 the 48th Division was detached and reassigned to the Japanese Sixteenth Army for 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 Imperial General Headquarters in June 1942 however the Southern Expeditionary Army Group in 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 4th Division came under control of the 14th Army as did the 30th Division which was assigned to the defense of Mindanao As the war situation continued to deteriorate for Japan and Allied forces prepared to invade the Philippines the 14th Army restructured its independent infantry brigades and reserves to form the new 100th 102nd 103rd and 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 8th Division and the 10th Division arrived in August 1944 as reinforcements and also in August the 35th Army came under its control On October 10 1944 General Tomoyuki Yamashita assumed the command of the 14th Area Army to defend the Philippines In the various battles of the Philippines campaign 1944 45 against combined American and 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 EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Commanding officer Edit Name From To1 Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma 6 November 1941 1 August 19422 Lieutenant General Shizuichi Tanaka 1 August 1942 19 May 19433 Lieutenant General Shigenori Kuroda 19 May 1943 26 September 19444 General Tomoyuki Yamashita 26 September 1944 15 August 1945Chief of staff Edit Name From To1 Lieutenant General Masami Maeda 6 November 1941 20 February 19422 Major General Takaji Wachi 20 February 1942 22 March 19443 Lieutenant General Haruki Isayama 22 March 1944 19 June 19444 Lieutenant General Tsuchio Yamaguchi 19 June 1944 28 July 19445 Major General Ryozo Sakuma 28 July 1944 5 October 19446 Lieutenant General Akira Mutō 5 October 1944 15 August 1945Structure EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Japanese 14th Area Army 1945 1st Infantry Division 10th Infantry Division 19th Infantry Division 23rd Infantry Division 26th Infantry Division 103rd Infantry Division 105th Infantry Division 2nd Tank Division 4th Air Division IJA 1st Special Forces Division 68th Independent Infantry Brigade 55th Independent Mixed Brigade 58th Independent Mixed Brigade Japanese 35th Army 16th Infantry Division 30th Infantry Division 100th Infantry Division 102nd Infantry Division 54th Independent Mixed Brigade Japanese 41st Army 8th Infantry Division 39th Independent Mixed Brigade 65th Independent Infantry Brigade 9th Artillery HeadquartersReferences EditBooks Edit Breuer William B 1986 Retaking The Philippines America s Return to Corregidor amp Bataan 1944 1945 St Martin s Press ASIN B000IN7D3Q 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 Nalty Bernard 1999 War in the Pacific Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay The Story of the Bitter Struggle in the Pacific Theater of World War II University of Oklahoma Press ISBN 0 8061 3199 3 Rottman Gordon 2005 Japanese Army in World War II The South Pacific and New Guinea 1942 43 Battle Orders Osprey Publishing ISBN 1 84176 789 1 Weist Andrew A 2005 The Pacific War Campaigns of World War II The Campaigns of World War II Motorbooks International ISBN 0 7603 1146 3 External links EditWendel Marcus Axis History Factbook Japanese Fourteenth Area Army Notes Edit Madej Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle 1937 1945 Farolan Ramon Mariveles Massacre Retrieved 2018 05 09 Toland The Rising Sun Who s Who in Twentieth Century Warfare by Spencer Tucker Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Japanese Fourteenth Area Army amp oldid 1144468927, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
