The was a fleet of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

(IJN) established during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a result of IJN commands being isolated in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

History

The commander in chief of the 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet based in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

was named commander in chief of the newly created Tenth Area Fleet on 1 February 1944. As the

Southwest Area Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II. History The Southwest Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy established on April 10, 1942, to coordinate naval, air, and ground forces ...

command staff was isolated in the

, a new command structure was necessary to direct the 1st and 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet, and the surviving elements of the 5th Fleet. It was supported by the 13th Air Fleet. The 10th Area Fleet had responsibility for the defenses of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

. It lost most of its combat capability at the Battle of the Malacca Strait and when ''Ashigara'' was sunk by HMS ''Trenchant'' and was disbanded at the end of the Pacific War. The 10th Area Fleet was a theatre command and its name was taken sequentially from the numbered fleets rather than from the area in which it was located.

Structure of the 10th Area Fleet

Commanders of the 10th Area Fleet

Commander in chief Wendel, Axis History Database Chief of staff

References

Notes

Books

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External links

* * {{IJN 10 Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945