The was a field army 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 closing stages 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 opposing ...

History

The Japanese 16th Area Army was formed on February 1, 1945 under the

General Defense Command The was a headquarters organization and general army of the Imperial Japanese Army, established to control all land and air units stationed within Japan proper, Korea and Taiwan during World War II. History The General Defense Command was esta ...

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 Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

to deter possible landings of Allied forces in Kyūshū during Operation Downfall (or in Japanese terminology). It was transferred to the newly formed Japanese Second General Army on April 8, 1945. The Japanese 16th Area Army was headquartered in what is now part of

Chikushino city is a Cities of Japan, city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Bordering Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Dazaifu, Onojo, Nakagawa, Fukuoka, Nakagawa, Saga Prefecture, Ogori, Yasu, Fukuoka, Yasu, and Chikuho, Fukuoka, Chikushino is essentially a southern suburb of F ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

. The 16th Area Army leadership also held equivalent posts in the Western District Army, and had the honor of receiving their appointments personally from

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

rather than the Imperial General Headquarters. By the time of the Japanese surrender, the 16th Area Army had 916,828 personnel on Kyushu either in position or in various stages of deployment. Although the Japanese were able to raise large numbers of new soldiers, equipping them was more difficult. By August, the Japanese Army had the equivalent of 65 divisions in the homeland but only enough equipment for 40 and only enough ammunition for 30. The Japanese did not formally decide to stake everything on the outcome of the Battle of Kyūshū, but they concentrated their assets to such a degree that there would be little left in reserve. By one estimate, the forces in Kyūshū had 40% of all the ammunition in the Home Islands. In addition, the Japanese had organized the Patriotic Citizens Fighting Corps — which included all healthy men aged 15–60 and women 17–40 — to perform combat support, and ultimately combat jobs. Weapons, training, and uniforms were generally lacking: some men were armed with nothing better than muzzle-loading muskets,

longbow A longbow (known as warbow in its time, in contrast to a hunting bow) is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. A longbow is not significantly recurved. Its limbs are relatively narrow and are circular or D-shaped in cross ...

s, or bamboo spears; nevertheless, they were expected to make do with what they had. : ''One mobilized high school girl, Yukiko Kasai, found herself issued an awl and told, "Even killing one American soldier will do. … You must aim for the abdomen."''Frank, ''Downfall'', p. 189. The 16th Area 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 the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945 without having seen combat.

List of Commanders

Commanding officer

Chief of Staff

References

Citations

Sources

; Books * * * * * * *

External links

*{{cite web , last = Wendel , first = Marcus , url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6750 , title = Axis History Factbook , work = Japanese Sixteenth Area Army 16 Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945