Burma Area Army
Japanese troops firing a heavy machine gun
Active	27 March 1943 – 15 August 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Field Army
Garrison/HQ	Rangoon
Nickname(s)	森 Mori (forest)
Engagements	Burma campaign

TheBurma Area Army (緬甸方面軍,Biruma hōmen gun) was afield army of theImperial Japanese Army duringWorld War II.^[1]

The Japanese Burma Area Army was formed on 27 March 1943, under the control of theSouthern Expeditionary Army Group as agarrison force to defend the nominally-independentState of Burma against liberation byBritish forces based in neighboringIndia.

The Japanese Burma Area Army was not equipped as other nominal units of comparable strength due to the dwindling external supply situation mainly because of increasing US and UK attacks on the Japanese naval supply lanes. As a result, many logistical requirements were locally purchased from Myanmar (Burma), Malai (Malaya), and Thailand. In 1943 the main responsibility of the BAA was to quell insurgencies of the Shan, Karen, and other tribal groups in the remote regions, and react to incursions of theChindits fromBritish India orKuomintang forces fromYunnan.

For the campaign season of 1944, Lieutenant GeneralRenya Mutaguchi, the commander of theJapanese 15th Army which at the time was assigned to the Japanese Burma Area Army, pressed for an offensive strategy. The resultingBattle of Kohima andBattle of Imphal were among the worst disasters ever suffered by the Imperial Japanese Army.^[2] In subsequent operations in theBurma campaign, the Japanese Army continued to suffer massive losses, and after theBattle of Meiktila and Mandalay andOperation Dracula, was all but driven from Burma.

The surviving remnants of the Japanese Burma Area Army surrendered to theAllied forces atMoulmein on 15 August 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 Burma Area Army.

• Field armies of the Imperial Japanese Army
• Japan–Myanmar relations
• Military units and formations established in 1943
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
• Military units and formations in Burma in World War II

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• Use dmy dates from August 2019