The was an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

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 ...

occupying Malaya during the final days of

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 29th Army was initially raised on January 6, 1944, at

Taiping, Perak Taiping () is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town, Penang. With a population of 245,18 ...

in Japanese-occupied Malaya 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, and in anticipation of any Allied attempt to invade and retake the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

. The army's headquarters was at what is now the Peking Hotel, 2 Jalan Idris, also the site of the

Kempeitai The , , was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police that specialized in clandestine and covert operation, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, HUMINT, interrogated suspects ...

Headquarters. Initially under command 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 ...

, the IJA 29th Army was transferred to the

Japanese Seventh Area Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army formed during final stages of the Pacific War and based in Japanese-occupied Malaya, Singapore and Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. History The Japanese 7th Area Army was formed on March 19, 1944 ...

on March 27, 1944. The commanding officer was Lieutenant General Teizo Ishiguro. His chief of staff was Major General Masukura Fujimura. When Fujimura was transferred to the 13th Area Army on its formation on 1 February 1945, Major General Naokazu Kawahara became chief of staff. Kawahara had been commander of the 26th Mixed Brigade in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. As the war situation on the Pacific front grew increasingly desperate for Japan, the

was unable to provide reinforcements and resupply to units south of 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 ...

. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

the 29th Army formally surrendered to Lieutenant-General Ouvry Roberts of the 34th Indian Corps at the

Victoria Institution The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden ...

, Kuala Lumpur on 13 September 1945.Feeling of joy, Cairns Post, page 6, 27 September 1945
/ref> Neither the 29th Army nor the 34th Indian Corps had seen combat. The 29th Army was then demobilized.

List of Commanders

Final headquarters configuration at the end of the war

Commander: Ishiguro Teizo lieutenant general * Chief of Staff: Kawahara Naokazu Major General * Chief of Staff Deputy and military Affairs Director: Umezu Hirokichi Rear Admiral * Staff: Oguri Army colonel two * Adjutant: Ushio KuniNaru Colonel * Weapons Director: Kawamura JunAkira Colonel * Accounting Director: Yoshifumi Nomura accountant Colonel * Surgeon General Manager: Ohtsubo YoshiNoboru surgeon Colonel * Veterinary Director: Yano Yasuo veterinary Colonel * Legal Director: Miki Yukio Legal Lieutenant Colonel

Final units

94th Infantry Division raised in 1944 and under Lieutenant General

Tsunamasa Shidei was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Biography Shidei was born to a ''samurai''-class family in Yamashina, Kyoto prefecture. He attended military preparatory schools in Osaka and Tokyo and graduated from the ...

* 35th Independent Mixed Brigade formed in Tokyo on 10 February 1944 stationed on the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

under Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Inoue. Sub-units were: :*251st Independent infantry battalion :*252nd Independent infantry battalion :*253rd Independent infantry battalion :*254th Independent infantry battalion :*255th Independent infantry battalion :*256th Independent infantry battalion :*257th Independent infantry battalion :*Brigade artillery group :*Brigade engineer unit :*Brigade communication unit * 36th Independent Mixed Brigade formed in Tokyo on 10 February 1944 and based on the Nicobar Islands under Major General Toshio Itsuki. Itsuki was executed as a war criminal on 3 May 1946. :*258th Independent infantry battalion :*259th Independent infantry battalion :*260th Independent infantry battalion :*261st Independent infantry battalion :*Brigade artillery group :*Brigade engineer unit :*Brigade communication unit * 37th Independent Mixed Brigade formed in Osaka on 10 February 1944 under Major General Noboru Sato :*262nd Independent infantry battalion :*263rd Independent infantry battalion :*264th Independent infantry battalion :*265th Independent infantry battalion :*Brigade artillery group :*Brigade engineer unit :*Brigade communication unit * 70th Independent Mixed Brigade formed in Saigon in December 1944 under Major General Oda Masato :*428th Independent infantry battalion :*429th Independent infantry battalion :*430th Independent infantry battalion :*431st Independent infantry battalion * 15th Armoured Regiment (Kanikobaru Island): Fukuda Hayashisugi Lieutenant Colonel * Independent tank 29 Battalion: Miyaji Tatsumi Major * Independent field artillery 1st Battalion: Sakagami Shigeo Lieutenant Colonel * 29th Army Military Police Corps (Taiping): in January 1944 3rd Field

under Major-General Kojima Masanori (児島正範) replaced Lieutenant Colonel Oishi Masayuki 2nd Field Kempeitai * Third communication Corps headquarters (Taiping) Logistics troops * 16th Field transport headquarters: Honma Kotaro Colonel * Special car 16th Battalion South eighth Army Hospital (Kuala Lumpur): Imamura SakuTakeshi surgeon Colonel * Chapter 130 logistics hospital (Port Blair): Ito Hideo surgeon Lieutenant Colonel * Chapter 131 logistics hospital (Kanikobaru Island): Junichi Watanabe surgeon Lieutenant Colonel * Chapter 135 logistics hospital (Kamoruta Island): Inada Seiichi surgeon Colonel 29th Army Depot
29th Army Field arsenal
29th Army Field automobile Factory
29th Army Field cargo Factory

Lieutenant General Teizo Ishiguro

Ishiguro (石黒貞蔵) was the former Commander of the 6th Army which had been based in Manchuria. In May 1944 the Army participated in

Operation Ichi-Go Operation Ichi-Go () was a campaign of a series of major battles between the Imperial Japanese Army forces and the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, fought from April to December 1944. It consisted of three separate battles in ...

On 1 July 1944 Ishiguro was appointed Commander of the newly formed 29th Army and based in Malaya in anticipation of an Allied attack.

References

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External links

Notes

{{reflist 29 Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 J