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 the final days of

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 opposin ...

History

The Japanese 27th Army was formed on March 16, 1944, as part of the last desperate defense effort by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

to deter possible landings of Allied forces in the northern

Chishima Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

territories from northeastern

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

to Kamchatka during

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, th ...

. It was headquartered on Etorofu. The Japanese 27th Army consisted mostly of poorly trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia. It was disbanded on February 1, 1945, and its units were incorporated directly into the Japanese 5th Area Army

List of Commanders

References

* * * * * *

External links

*{{cite web , last = Wendel , first = Marcus , url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7311 , title = Axis History Factbook , work = Japanese Twenty Seventh Army 27 Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

History

List of Commanders

See also

References

External links