The Japanese 59th Army was formed on June 15, 1945, under the
Japanese 15th Area Army as part of the last desperate defense effort by the
Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of
Allied forces in the
San'yo region of western
Honshū during
Operation Downfall. The Japanese 59th Army consisted mostly of poorly trained
reservists,
conscripted students and
home guard militia. Headquartered in
Hiroshima, most of its command staff, including its commander Lieutenant General Yoji Fujii, were killed during the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Together with the
2nd General Army,
Fifth Division, and other combat divisions in the city who were also hit, an estimated 20,000 Japanese combatants were killed. Remnants of the 59th Army attempted to perform relief work and maintain public order in the devastated city with little success. The IJA 59th Army was officially
demobilized after the
surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945.
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.
ISBN0-8032-1708-0.
Frank, Richard B (1999). Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. New York: Random House.
ISBN0-679-41424-X.
Jowett, Bernard (1999). The Japanese Army 1931–45 (Volume 2, 1942–45). Osprey Publishing.
ISBN1-84176-354-3.
Madej, Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945. Game Publishing Company. ASIN: B000L4CYWW.
Marston, Daniel (2005). The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Osprey Publishing.
ISBN1-84176-882-0.
Skates, John Ray (1994). The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall. New York: University of South Carolina Press.
ISBN0-87249-972-3.
The Japanese 59th Army was formed on June 15, 1945, under the
Japanese 15th Area Army as part of the last desperate defense effort by the
Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of
Allied forces in the
San'yo region of western
Honshū during
Operation Downfall. The Japanese 59th Army consisted mostly of poorly trained
reservists,
conscripted students and
home guard militia. Headquartered in
Hiroshima, most of its command staff, including its commander Lieutenant General Yoji Fujii, were killed during the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Together with the
2nd General Army,
Fifth Division, and other combat divisions in the city who were also hit, an estimated 20,000 Japanese combatants were killed. Remnants of the 59th Army attempted to perform relief work and maintain public order in the devastated city with little success. The IJA 59th Army was officially
demobilized after the
surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945.
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.
ISBN0-8032-1708-0.
Frank, Richard B (1999). Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. New York: Random House.
ISBN0-679-41424-X.
Jowett, Bernard (1999). The Japanese Army 1931–45 (Volume 2, 1942–45). Osprey Publishing.
ISBN1-84176-354-3.
Madej, Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945. Game Publishing Company. ASIN: B000L4CYWW.
Marston, Daniel (2005). The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Osprey Publishing.
ISBN1-84176-882-0.
Skates, John Ray (1994). The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall. New York: University of South Carolina Press.
ISBN0-87249-972-3.