Fiftieth Army (Japan)

The Japanese 50th Army (第50軍, Dai-gojyū gun) was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.

Japanese Fiftieth Army
Active	June 19, 1945 – August 15, 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Corps
Nickname(s)	Shun (俊, Genius)
Engagements	Operation Downfall

History

The Japanese 50th Army was formed on June 19, 1945, under the Japanese 11th Area Army as part of the last desperate defense effort by the Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces in the northern prefectures of the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū during Operation Downfall. The Japanese 50th Army was based in Aomori Prefecture and consisted mostly of poorly trained and poorly armed reservists, conscripted students, Volunteer Fighting Corps militia and walking wounded. It was demobilized at the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945, without having seen combat.

List of Commanders

	Name	From	To
Commanding officer	Lieutenant General Toshimoto Hoshino	10 June 1945	15 August 1945
Chief of Staff	Major General Kimihide Ota	1 June 1945	1 November 1945

References

• 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.

External links

• Wendel, Marcus. "Axis History Factbook". Japanese Fiftieth Army.