Fifty-Ninth Army (Japan)

The Japanese 59th Army (第59軍, Dai-gojyūku gun) was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.

Japanese Fifty-Ninth Army
Active	June 15, 1945 – August 15, 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Corps
Nickname(s)	山陽 (San'yo, after San'yo region)
Engagements	Operation Downfall

History

The Japanese 59th Army was formed on June 15, 1945, under the Japanese 15th Area Army as part of the last desperate defense effort by the Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces in the San'yo region of western Honshū during Operation Downfall. The Japanese 59th Army consisted mostly of poorly trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia. Headquartered in Hiroshima, most of its command staff, including its commander Lieutenant General Yoji Fujii, were killed during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Together with the 2nd General Army, Fifth Division, and other combat divisions in the city who were also hit, an estimated 20,000 Japanese combatants were killed. Remnants of the 59th Army attempted to perform relief work and maintain public order in the devastated city with little success. The IJA 59th Army was officially demobilized after the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945.

List of Commanders

Commanding officer

	Name	From	To
1	Lieutenant General Yoji Fujii	15 June 1945	6 August 1945
2	Lieutenant General Teiki Nakanishi	6 August 1945	12 August 1945
3	Lieutenant General Jitsuo Tani	12 August 1945	15 August 1945

Chief of Staff

	Name	From	To
1	Major General Takeo Kaji	15 June 1945	5 July 1945
2	Major General Shuitsu Matsumara	5 July 1945	18 September 1945
3	Lieutenant General Saburo Kawamura	18 August 1945	30 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 Fifty-Ninth Army.

Notes