23-644: The Second General Army ( 第2総軍 (日本軍) , Dai-ni Sōgun ) was a general army ( army group equivalent) of the Imperial Japanese Army responsible for the defense of western Honshū , Kyūshū and Shikoku during the final stage of the Pacific War . The Second General Army was established on April 8, 1945 with the dissolution of the General Defense Command into the First and Second General Army. It
46-689: A field marshal or a full general . The initial General Army was the Japanese Manchurian Army , formed from 1904 to 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War as a temporary command structure to coordinate the efforts of several Japanese armies in the campaign against Imperial Russia . In terms of a permanent standing organization, the Japanese Army created the Kantōgun , usually known in English as
69-586: A general or lieutenant general . There is much confusion between the similarly numbered Area Armies and Armies in historical records, as many writers often did not make a clear distinction when describing the units involved. The Japanese Army ( 軍 , gun ) corresponded to an army corps in American or British military terminology. It was usually commanded by a lieutenant general . Imperial Japanese Army General Staff The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office ( 参謀本部 , Sanbō Honbu ) , also called
92-510: A result, Japanese forces were re-organized into three separate overseas operational commands: ( Manchuria , China and Southeast Asia ), with the Japanese home islands forming a fourth. Towards the end of World War II, the home island command (i.e. the General Defense Command ) was restructured geographically into the First General Army in the east, Second General Army in the west, and
115-502: A variety of large military formations that corresponded to the army group , field army , and corps in the militaries of Western nations . The General Army ( 総軍 , Sō-gun ) was the highest level in the organizational structure of the Imperial Japanese Army. It corresponded to the army group in western military terminology. Intended to be self-sufficient for indefinite periods, the general armies were commanded by either
138-676: The Air General Army in charge of military aviation . With the official Japanese surrender in September 1945, all of the general armies were dissolved, except for the First General Army, which continued to exist until November 30, 1945, as the 1st Demobilization Headquarters . Area Armies ( 方面軍 , Hōmen-gun ) in Japanese military terminology were equivalent to field armies in western militaries. Area Armies were normally commanded by
161-636: The Meiji oligarchs of the superiority of the Prussian military model and in February 1872, Yamagata Aritomo and Oyama Iwao proposed that the Japanese military be remodeled along Prussian lines. In December 1878, at the urging of Katsura Taro , who had formerly served as a military attaché to Prussia, the Meiji government fully adopted the Prussian/German general staff system ( Großer Generalstab ) which included
184-540: The Army General Staff Office underwent a number of changes during its history. Immediately before the start of the Pacific War , it was divided into four operational bureaus and a number of supporting organs: Chief of the Army General Staff (general or Field Marshal) Vice Chief of the Army General Staff (lieutenant general) Note: The given rank for each person is the rank the person held at last, not
207-617: The Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army . The Army Ministry ( 陸軍省 , Rikugunshō ) was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry , to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ( Hyōbushō ) of the early Meiji government . Initially, the Army Ministry was in charge of both administration and operational command of
230-644: The Army and Navy were directly under the personal command of the emperor, and not under the civilian leadership or Cabinet . Yamagata became the first chief of the Army General Staff in 1878. Thanks to Yamagata's influence, the Chief of the Army General Staff became far more powerful than the War Minister. Furthermore, a 1900 imperial ordinance ( Military Ministers to be Active-Duty Officers Law [ zh ] ( 軍部大臣現役武官制 , Gumbu daijin gen'eki bukan sei ) ) decreed that
253-507: The Imperial Japanese Army however, from December 1878, the Imperial Army General Staff Office took over all operational control of the Army, leaving the Army Ministry only with administrative functions. The Imperial Army General Staff was thus responsible for the preparation of war plans ; the military training and employment of combined arms military intelligence ; the direction of troop maneuvers; troop deployments; and
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#1732844566424276-719: The Kwantung Army, to manage its overseas deployment in the Kwantung Territory and Manchukuo from 1906. Subsequent general armies were created in response to the needs of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II , in which increased overseas deployment called for an organizational structure that could respond quickly and autonomously from the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff in Tokyo . As
299-592: The Second General Army as an effective military organization for Imperial Japanese Army units in western Japan. Elements remained in place under the American occupation authorities until November 1945 to assist with the demobilization of Japanese troops. Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army Army ( 軍 , gun ) was a term in the Imperial Japanese Army used in different ways to designate
322-528: The Second General Army were killed. Together with the Fifth Division , Fifty-Ninth Army , and other combat divisions in the city who were also hit, an estimated 20,000 Japanese combatants were killed. Survivors regrouped at Ujina Air Base at the outskirts of Hiroshima, where they organized relief efforts and maintained public order in Hiroshima once martial law was proclaimed. However, the atomic bombing ended
345-429: The administrative, supply, and mobilization agency of the army, and an independent Army General Staff had responsibility for strategic planning and command functions. The Chief of the Army General Staff, with direct access to the emperor could operate independently of the civilian government. This complete independence of the military from civilian oversight was codified in the 1889 Meiji Constitution which designated that
368-525: The army section of the Imperial General Headquarters , an ad hoc body under the supervision of the emperor created to assist in coordinating overall command. Following the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867 and the "restoration" of direct imperial rule, the leaders of the new Meiji government sought to reduce Japan's vulnerability to Western imperialism by systematically emulating
391-737: The compilation of field service military regulations, military histories, and cartography . The Chief of the Army General Staff was the senior ranking uniformed officer in the Imperial Japanese Army and enjoyed, along with the War Minister , the Navy Minister , and the Chief of the Navy General Staff , direct access to the Emperor . In wartime, the Imperial Army General Staff formed part of
414-411: The independence of the military from civilian organs of government, thus ensuring that the military would stay above political party maneuvering, and would be loyal directly to the emperor rather than to a Prime Minister who might attempt to usurp the emperor's authority. The administrative and operational functions of the army were divided between two agencies. A reorganized Ministry of War served as
437-574: The seventeen officers who served as Chief of the Army General Staff between 1879 and 1945, three were members of the Imperial Family ( Prince Arisugawa Taruhito , Prince Komatsu Akihito , and Prince Kan'in Kotohito ) and thus enjoyed great prestige by virtue of their ties to the Emperor. The American Occupation authorities abolished the Imperial Army General Staff in September 1945. The Organization of
460-596: The technological, governing, social, and military practices of the Western European great powers. Initially, under Ōmura Masujirō and his newly created Ministry of the Military Affairs ( Hyōbu-shō ), the Japanese military was patterned after that of France . However, the stunning victory of Prussia and the other members of the North German Confederation in the 1870/71 Franco-Prussian War convinced
483-455: The two service ministers had to be chosen from among the generals or lieutenant generals ( admirals or vice admirals ) on the active duty roster. By ordering the incumbent War Minister to resign or by ordering generals to refuse an appointment as War Minister, the Chief of the General Staff could effectively force the resignation of the cabinet or forestall the formation of a new one. Of
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#1732844566424506-472: Was essentially a home guard and garrison , responsible for civil defense , anti-aircraft defenses, and for organizing guerrilla warfare cells in anticipation of the projected Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands in Operation Downfall (or Operation Ketsugō ( 決号作戦 , Ketsugō sakusen ) in Japanese terminology). Although its territory encompassed all of western Japan, its primary mission
529-431: Was to ensure the security of southern Kyūshū, which was regarded as the most probable target for invasion. Its forces consisted mostly of poorly trained reservists , conscripted students and home guard militia . After the fall of Okinawa , the command of the Second General Army was relocated to Hiroshima . When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, most of the military units, logistical arms, and command staff of
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