The was a regional command of the Imperial Japanese Army (equivalent to a field army) responsible for the defense of the Kantō region and western Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū during the Pacific War. It was one of the regional commands in the Japanese home islands reporting to the General Defense Command.
History The Western District Army was established on 2 August 1937 as part of the regional realignment of the Imperial Japanese Army as the . It was essentially a home guard and garrison responsible for recruitment and civil defense.
On 1 August 1940, it was renamed again as the , which became the Western District Army on 1 February 1945.
The Western District Army existed concurrently with the Japanese 16th Area Army and the Japanese 15th Area Army, which were tasked with organizing the final defenses of Kyūshū and Shikoku against the expected American invasion of the Japanese home islands. The Western District Army assumed all administrative functions, whereas the individual area armies were operational combat commands.
The Western District Army remained active for several months after the surrender of Japan to help maintain public order until the arrival of the American occupation forces, and to oversee the final demobilization and dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Army.
Commanders
Commanding officer Name From To1 Lieutenant General Tomou Kodama 2 August 193715 July 1938 2 Lieutenant General Takuro Matsui15 July 1938 9 March 1940 3 Lieutenant General Heitaro Kamimura 9 March 1940 10 April 1941 4 General Keisuke Fujie10 April 1941 22 March 1944 5 General Sadamu Shimomura 22 March 194422 November 1944 6 Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama22 November 194413 October 1945 7 Lieutenant General Kanji Nishihara 13 October 194530 November 1945
Chief of Staff Name From To 1 Major General Shuntoku Nagami2 August 193715 July 1938 2 Major General Rion NIshimura15 July 19389 March 1940 3 Lieutenant General Kazuo Isa9 March 19401 March 1941 4 Lieutenant General Shinnosuke Sasa1 March 194122 December 1942 5 Lieutenant General Wataro Yoshinaka22 December 19423 May 1945 6 Lieutenant General Masazumi Ineda3 May 194513 October 1945
See also Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army
Further reading
External links