Sixteenth Army (Japan)
The Japanese 16th Army (第16軍, Dai-jyūroku gun) was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
| Japanese Sixteenth Army | |
|---|---|
 Japanese troops enter Java | |
| Active | November 5, 1941 – August 15, 1945 |
| Country | Empire of Japan |
| Branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Batavia |
| Nickname(s) | Osamu (治) |
| Engagements | Battle of Java (1942) |
History
The Japanese 16th Army was formed on November 5, 1941 under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group to coordinate the infantry divisions and other Japanese ground forces in the Invasion of Java in the Netherlands East Indies. It remained based on Java throughout the Pacific War as a garrison force.
On March 27, 1944, with the threat of possible landings of Allied forces to retake the Dutch East Indies increasing, the organizational structure of the Southern Expeditionary Army changed and the IJA 16th Army was reassigned to the Japanese Seventh Area Army. It remained headquartered in Jakarta as a garrison force as before.
The Japanese 16th Army was demobilized at the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945.
List of commanders
Commanding officer
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Hitoshi Imamura | 6 November 1941 | 9 November 1942 |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Kumakichi Harada | 9 November 1942 | 7 April 1945 |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Yuichiro Nagano | 7 April 1945 | September 1945 |
Chief of Staff
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant General Seizaburo Okazaki | 6 November 1941 | 10 June 1943 |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Shinshichiro Kokubu | 10 June 1943 | 14 November 1944 |
| 3 | Major General Shigeichi Yamamoto | 14 November 1944 | September 1945 |
References
Books
- Frank, Richard B (1999). Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-41424-X.
- Post, Peter; William H. Frederick; Iris Heidebrink; Shigeru Sato; William Bradley Horton; Didi Kwartanada (2010). The Encyclopedia of Indonesia in the Pacific War. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-16866-4.
- Madej, Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945. Game Publishing Company. ASIN: B000L4CYWW.
External links
- Wendel, Marcus. "Axis History Factbook". Japanese Sixteenth Army.
- Klemen, L. "The conquest of Java Island, March 1942". The Netherlands East Indies 1941–1942.