:Fifty-Second Army (Japan)
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= Japanese Fifty-Second Army
|image= Student militia at Kujukurihama.jpg
|image_size= 250px
|caption=Student militia at Kujukurihama, Chiba
|dates= April 7, 1945 – August 15, 1945
|country= Empire of Japan
|allegiance=
|branch= Imperial Japanese Army
|type= Infantry
|role= Corps
|garrison= Sakura, Chiba
|nickname= {{nihongo|Shō|捷 |Victory}}
|battles=Operation Downfall
}}
{{command structure
|name= Japanese 52nd Army
|date=1945
|parent=Japanese Twelfth Area Army
|subordinate=
- 3rd Imperial Guards Division (Naruto)
- 147th Infantry Division (Mobara)
- 152nd Infantry Division (Choshi)
- 234th Infantry Division (Sōsa)
- 3rd Independent Armored Brigade
- 8th Artillery Headquarters
}}
The {{nihongo|Japanese 52nd Army|第52軍 |Dai-gojyūni gun}} was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.
History
The Japanese 52nd Army was formed on April 7, 1945, under the Japanese 12th Area Army as part of the last desperate defense effort by the Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces in central Honshū during Operation Downfall. The Japanese 52nd Army was based in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture and was thus intended to guard the closest beachhead to Tokyo and the Kantō region along the Bōsō Peninsula. It consisted mostly of poorly trained reservists, conscripted students and Volunteer Fighting Corps home guard militia. It was demobilized at the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945, without having seen combat.
List of Commanders
| class=wikitable
! | Name | From | To |
| Commanding officer | Lieutenant General Shigeta Tokumatsu | 7 April 1945 | 15 August 1945 |
| Chief of Staff | Major General Tamaki Onwa | 6 April 1945 | 10 October 1945 |
References
- {{cite book
| last = Drea
| first = Edward J.
| author-link =
| year = 1998
| chapter = Japanese Preparations for the Defense of the Homeland & Intelligence Forecasting for the Invasion of Japan
| title = In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army
| publisher = University of Nebraska Press
| location =
| isbn = 0-8032-1708-0
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Frank
| first = Richard B
| year = 1999
| title = Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire
| publisher = Random House
| location = New York
| isbn = 0-679-41424-X
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Jowett
| first = Bernard
| year = 1999
| title = The Japanese Army 1931–45 (Volume 2, 1942–45)
| publisher = Osprey Publishing
| location =
| isbn = 1-84176-354-3
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Madej
| first = Victor
| year = 1981
| title = Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945
| publisher = Game Publishing Company
| location =
| id = ASIN: B000L4CYWW
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Marston
| first = Daniel
| year = 2005
| title = The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima
| publisher = Osprey Publishing
| location =
| isbn = 1-84176-882-0
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Skates
| first = John Ray
| year = 1994
| title = The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall
| publisher = University of South Carolina Press
| location = New York
| isbn = 0-87249-972-3
}}
External links
- {{cite web
| last = Wendel
| first = Marcus
| url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7697
| title = Axis History Factbook
| work = Japanese Fifty-Second Army
}}
Category:Military units and formations established in 1945
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945