Fifty-Eighth Army (Japan)

Japanese Fifty-Eighth Army
Active	April 7, 1945 – August 15, 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Corps
Engagements	Operation Downfall

The Japanese 58th Army (第58軍 Dai-gojyūhachi gun) was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.

History

The Japanese 58th Army was formed on April 7, 1945, under the Japanese 17th Area Army as part of the last desperate defense effort by the Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces in Saishuto island during Operation Downfall. The Japanese 58th Army consisted mostly of poorly trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia. It was demobilized at the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945, without having seen combat.

List of Commanders

Commanding officer

	Name	From	To
1	Lieutenant General Sadashige Nagatsu	7 April 1945	15 August 1945

Chief of Staff

	Name	From	To
1	Major General Yoshihide Kato	6 April 1945	19 August 1945
2	Major General Hisashi Kisaki	19 August 1945	1 September 1945

References

• 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. ISBN 0-8032-1708-0.
• Frank, Richard B (1999). Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-41424-X.
• Jowett, Bernard (1999). The Japanese Army 1931–45 (Volume 2, 1942–45). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-354-3.
• 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. ISBN 1-84176-882-0.
• Skates, John Ray (1994). The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall. New York: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-972-3.

External links

• Wendel, Marcus. "Axis History Factbook". Japanese Fifty-Eighth Army.