Japanese Fifteenth Army
Japanese troops on border of Burma
Active	9 November 1941 – 15 August 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Anti-tank warfare Armoured reconnaissance Artillery observer Banzai charge Close-quarters battle Combined arms Counter-battery fire Direct fire Indirect fire Jungle warfare Maneuver warfare Military engineering Raiding Reconnaissance Urban warfare
Size	Corps
Garrison/HQ	Rangoon
Nicknames	Hayashi Shūdan (林集団,Grove)
Engagements	World War II Invasion of Thailand Burma Campaign

TheJapanese 15th Army (第15軍,Dai-jyūgo gun) was an infantry corps of theImperial Japanese Army (IJA) duringWorld War II that specialized in banzai charge, combined arms, jungle warfare, and maneuver warfare. It was involved in theJapanese invasion of Burma in December 1941 and served in that country for most of its war service.

The Japanese 15th Army was formed on November 9, 1941, as a component of theSouthern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of invading the British colony of Burma. To do this the army, then based inIndo-China, needed to transit throughThailand. On December 8, 1941, the 33rd and 55th Divisions of the army spearheaded by the Imperial Guardinvaded Thailand overland from what is now Cambodia. The invasion was supported by landings on the coast to the south ofBangkok by the army's 143rd Infantry Regiment. Fighting lasted only a few hours before the Thai government ceded access.

Under Lieutenant GeneralShōjirō Iida, the IJA 15th Army invaded the southern Burmese province ofTenasserim. The Fifteenth Army consisted initially of the highly regarded33rd Infantry Division and the55th Infantry Division. The latter attacked from northern Thailand, which had signed a treaty of friendship with Japan on December 21, 1941. The 15th Army quickly advanced through southern Burma, defeating the British and IndianBurma Army in several engagements, and capturing the capital ofRangoon by March 7, 1942. The Army was reinforced by troops released by theFall of Singapore and drove northwards into central Burma, defeating the BritishBurma Corps and theChinese Expeditionary Force, ultimately driving theAllies from Burma.

During thefollowing year, the Army remained as agarrison force in Burma, defeating an Allied offensive inArakan and inflicting heavy casualties on a long-range penetration raid underOrde Wingate.

In 1944, the Fifteenth Army became part of theBurma Area Army. Lieutenant General Iida was posted back to Japan and Lieutenant GeneralRenya Mutaguchi took command. He forcefully advocated an offensive against British India. The offensive,Operation U-Go, was launched in March. As a result of poor logistics and Mutaguchi's underestimation of the difficulties, the Fifteenth Army was almost destroyed in theBattle of Imphal and theBattle of Kohima.

Mutaguchi, his chief of staff, and several other officers were removed in the aftermath, and Lieutenant General Shihachi Katamura was assigned to command. As themonsoon season ended, the remnants of the Fifteenth Army attempted to forestall an Allied offensive into Burma bywithdrawing behind theIrrawaddy River. They were unable to prevent British and Indian troops from securing bridgeheads across the river, and the army was weakened by losses and detachments to other parts of the front. OnceMandalay was captured, the Fifteenth Army could only retreat southwards, badly disorganised and was further depleted in thefailed Japanese breakout of thePegu Yomas in July and August 1945.

The remnants of the Fifteenth Army were later absorbed as a subsidiary unit of the18th Area Army. The 15th Army wasdemobilized atLampang Province in Thailand, on thesurrender of Japan in 1945.

• Latimer, Jon (2004).Burma: The Forgotten War. London: John Murray.ISBN 978-0-7195-6576-2.
• Madej, Victor (1981).Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937–1945. Game Publishing Company. ASIN: B000L4CYWW.

• Wendel, Marcus."Axis History Factbook".Japanese Fifteenth Army.

• Japanese armies
• Military units and formations established in 1941
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
• Military units and formations in Burma in World War II

• Articles containing Japanese-language text
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