The was a

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

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 ...

History

The Japanese Burma Area Army was formed on 27 March 1943, under the control of the

Southern Expeditionary Army Group The was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It was responsible for all military operations in South East Asian and South West Pacific campaigns of World War II. Its military symbol was NA. The Southern Expediti ...

as a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

force to defend the nominally-independent State of Burma against liberation by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

forces based in neighboring

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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 the Chindits from

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

forces from

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

. For the campaign season of 1944, Lieutenant General

Renya Mutaguchi Lieutenant-General was an Imperial Japanese Army officer who served in World War II. He was the field commander of Japanese forces during the Battle of Imphal. Biography Mutaguchi was a native of Saga Prefecture. He graduated from the 22nd cla ...

, the commander of the Japanese 15th Army which at the time was assigned to the Japanese Burma Area Army, pressed for an offensive strategy. The resulting Battle of Kohima and

Battle of Imphal The Battle of Imphal () took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in Northeast India from March until July 1944. Empire of Japan, Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and ...

were among the worst disasters ever suffered by the Imperial Japanese Army.Latimer, (2004) p. 49 In subsequent operations in the

Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

, the Japanese Army continued to suffer massive losses, and after the

Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay The concurrent Battle of Meiktila and Battle of Mandalay were decisive engagements near the end of the Burma campaign during World War II. Collectively, they are sometimes referred to as the Battle of Central Burma. Despite logistical difficultie ...

and Operation Dracula, was all but driven from Burma. The surviving remnants of the Japanese Burma Area Army surrendered to the Allied forces at

Moulmein Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; ; , ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' southeast of Yangon and south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. Mawlamyine was an ancien ...

on 15 August 1945.

List of Commanders

Commanding officer

Chief of Staff

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burma Area Army, Japanese Field armies of the Imperial Japanese Army Japan–Myanmar relations Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 J