The was an
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
of the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. It was involved in the
invasion of Burma in December 1941 and served in that country for most of its war service.
History
The Japanese 15th Army was formed on November 9, 1941, as a component of the
Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of
invading the British colony of Burma. To do this the army, then based in
Indo-China
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
, needed to transit through
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. On December 8, 1941, the 33rd and 55th Divisions of the army spearheaded by the Imperial Guard
invaded Thailand overland from what is now Cambodia. The invasion was supported by landings on the coast to the south of
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
by the army's 143rd Infantry Regiment. Fighting lasted only a few hours before the Thai government ceded access.
Under Lieutenant General
Shōjirō Iida
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II.
Biography
Iida was a native of Yamaguchi prefecture and a graduate of the 20th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1908 and the 27th class of the Army Staff College in Decem ...
, the IJA 15th Army invaded the southern Burmese province of
Tenasserim. The Fifteenth Army consisted initially of the highly regarded
33rd Infantry Division and the
55th Infantry Division. The latter attacked from northern Thailand, which had signed a treaty of friendship with Japan on December 21, 1941. The 15th Army quickly advanced through southern Burma, defeating the British and Indian
Burma Army in several engagements, and capturing the capital of
Rangoon by March 7, 1942. The Army was reinforced by troops released by the
Fall of Singapore and drove northwards into central Burma, defeating the British
Burma Corps and the
Chinese forces, ultimately driving the
Allies from Burma.
During the
following year, the Army remained as a
garrison force in Burma, defeating an Allied offensive in
Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
and inflicting heavy casualties on a long-range penetration raid under
Orde Wingate.
In 1944, the Fifteenth Army became part of the
Burma Area Army. Lieutenant General Iida was posted back to Japan and Lieutenant General
Renya Mutaguchi
was a Japanese military officer, lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and field commander of the IJA forces during the Battle of Imphal.
Biography
Mutaguchi was a native of Saga Prefecture. He graduated from the ...
took command. He forcefully advocated an offensive against British India. The offensive,
Operation U-Go
The U Go offensive, or Operation C (ウ号作戦 ''U Gō sakusen''), was the Japanese offensive launched in March 1944 against forces of the British Empire in the northeast Indian regions of Manipur and the Naga Hills (then administered as part ...
, was launched in March. As a result of poor logistics and Mutaguchi's underestimation of the difficulties, the Fifteenth Army was almost destroyed in the
Battle of Imphal
)
, partof = the Operation U-Go during the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II
, image = Imphalgurkhas.jpg
, image_size = 300
, caption = Gurkhas advancing with Grant tanks ...
and the
Battle of Kohima
The Battle of Kohima proved the turning point of the Japanese U-Go offensive into India in 1944 during the Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima, now the capital city of N ...
.
Mutaguchi, his chief of staff, and several other officers were removed in the aftermath, and Lieutenant General
Shihachi Katamura was assigned to command. As the
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
season ended, the remnants of the Fifteenth Army attempted to forestall an Allied offensive into Burma by
withdrawing behind the
Irrawaddy River. They were unable to prevent British and Indian troops from securing bridgeheads across the river, and the army was weakened by losses and detachments to other parts of the front. Once
Mandalay was captured, the Fifteenth Army could only retreat southwards, badly disorganised and was further depleted in the
failed Japanese breakout of the
Pegu Yomas in July and August 1945.
The remnants of the Fifteenth Army were later absorbed as a subsidiary unit of the
18th Area Army. The 15th Army was
demobilized
Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...
at
Lampang Province
Lampang ( th, ลำปาง, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. The old name of Lampang was ''Khelang Nakhon''.
Geography
Lampang is in the broad river valley of the ...
in Thailand, on the
surrender of Japan in 1945.
List of Commanders
Commanding officers
Chief of staff
References
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External links
*
Notes
{{Reflist
15
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
J