Thirty-First Army (Japan)
{{No footnotes|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= Japanese Thirty First Army
|image= Japanese Prisoners of War at Guam - 15 August 1945.jpg
|image_size= 250px
|caption=Japanese POWs at Guam at time of the surrender of Japan
|dates= February 18, 1944 - August 15, 1945
|country= Empire of Japan
|allegiance=
|branch= Imperial Japanese Army
|type= Infantry
|role= Corps
|garrison=Truk
|nickname=
|battles=Operation Hailstone
Battle of Saipan
Battle of Guam
}}
{{command structure
|name= Japanese 31st Army
|date=1945
|parent=Imperial General Headquarters
|subordinate=
Southern Marianas Force
- 29th division
- IJA 48th Independent Infantry Brigade
Northern Marianas Force
- 43rd division
- IJA 47th Independent Infantry Brigade
- 9th armored regiment of 1st tank division
Truk Garrison Force
- 52nd division
- IJA 50th Independent Infantry Brigade
- IJA 51st Independent Infantry Brigade
- IJA 52nd Independent Infantry Brigade
}}
The {{nihongo|Japanese 31st Army|第31軍 |Dai-sanjyū-ichi gun}} was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
History
The Japanese 31st Army was formed on February 18, 1944 under the Imperial General Headquarters as a garrison force to contest landings by Allied forces in the Japanese South Seas Mandate island-by-island, and to inflict such losses in a war of attrition that it would deter an American invasion of the Japanese home islands. The South Seas Mandate was divided into three sections (Northern Mariana Islands, southern Mariana Islands, and Truk). The 80,000 man Japanese 31st Army was initially headquartered on Truk.
After Operation Hailstone, the Japanese garrison on Truk was isolated as American forces continued their advance towards Japan by invading other Pacific islands. Cut off, the Japanese forces on Truk and other central Pacific islands ran low on food and faced starvation before Japan surrendered in August 1945. (Stewart, 1986)
The garrisons in the Marianas were largely annihilated at the Battle of Saipan and Battle of Guam.
Structure
;Thirty-First Army
- Southern Marianas Force
- 29th Infantry Division
- 48th Independent Infantry Brigade
- Northern Marianas Force
- 43rd Infantry Division
- 47th Independent Infantry Brigade
- Truk Garrison Force
- 52nd Infantry Division
- 50th Independent Infantry Brigade
- 51st Independent Infantry Brigade
- 52nd Independent Infantry Brigade
List of commanders
=Commanding officer=
| class=wikitable | |||
| || Name || From || To | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Hideyoshi Obata | 25 February 1944 | 11 August 1944 |
| 2 | Major General Yoshitomo Tamura | 11 August 1944 | 22 August 1944 |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Toshisaburo Mugikura | 22 August 1944 | 1 September 1945 |
=Chief of Staff=
| class=wikitable | |||
| || Name || From || To | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Major General Keiji Igeta | 25 February 1944 | 6 July 1944 |
| 2 | Major General Yoshitomo Tamura | 14 July 1944 | 11 August 1944 |
References
- {{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 = Denfeld
| first = D. Colt
| authorlink =
| year = 1997
| chapter =
| title = Hold the Marianas: The Japanese Defense of the Mariana Islands
| publisher = White Mane Pub
| location =
| isbn = 1-57249-014-4
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Goldberg
| first = Harold J.
| authorlink =
| year = 2007
| chapter =
| title = D-day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan
| publisher = Indiana University Press
| location =
| isbn = 978-0-253-34869-2
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Jones
| first = Don
| authorlink =
| year = 1986
| chapter =
| title = Oba, The Last Samurai
| publisher = Presidio Press
| location =
| isbn = 0-89141-245-X
}}
Category:Military units and formations established in 1944
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945