Fifty-Third Army (Japan) Explained

Unit Name:	Japanese Fifty-Third Army
Dates:	April 8, 1945 – August 15, 1945
Country:	Japan
Branch:	Imperial Japanese Army
Type:	Infantry
Role:	Corps
Battles:	World War II Operation Downfall
Disbanded:	August 15, 1945

The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.^[1]

History

The Japanese 53rd Army was formed on April 8, 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.^[2] The Japanese 53rd Army was based in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture and was thus intended to guard the western approaches and beachheads to Tokyo along Sagami Bay.^[3] 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

	Name	From	To
Commanding officer	Lieutenant General Yaezo Akashiba^[4]	7 April 1945	15 August 1945
Chief of Staff	Major General Hiroshi Onoda	6 April 1945	10 September 1945

Bibliography

• Book: Drea , Edward J. . 1998 . Japanese Preparations for the Defense of the Homeland & Intelligence Forecasting for the Invasion of Japan . In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army . University of Nebraska Press . 0-8032-1708-0.
• Book: Frank , Richard B . 1999 . Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire . Random House . New York . 0-679-41424-X .
• Book: Jowett , Bernard . 1999 . The Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 2, 1942-45) . Osprey Publishing . 1-84176-354-3.
• Book: Madej , Victor . 1981 . Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 . Game Publishing Company . ASIN: B000L4CYWW.
• Book: Marston , Daniel . 2005 . The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima . Osprey Publishing . 1-84176-882-0.
• Book: Skates , John Ray . 1994 . The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall . University of South Carolina Press . New York . 0-87249-972-3 .
• Book: Zaloga , Steven L . 2010 . Defense of Japan . Osprey Publishing . Oxford, U.K. . 1-58545-044-8 .

External links

• Web site: Wendel. Marcus. Axis History Factbook. Japanese Fifty-Third Army.

Notes and References

1. Book: Madej, Victor . Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 . Game Publishing Company . 1981 . 6 .
2. Book: Drea, Edward . Japanese Preparations for Defense of the Homeland . University of Nebraska Press . 1998 . 0-8032-1708-0.
3. Book: Zaloga, Steven . Defense of Japan . Osprey Publishing . 2010 . 30 . limited . 1-58545-044-8.
4. • Web site: Wendel . Marcus . Axis History Factbook . Japanese Fifty-Third Army .