{{Infobox military unit |unit_name= Eleventh Area Army |image= |caption= |dates= February 6, 1945 - August 15, 1945 |country= Empire of Japan |allegiance= |branch= Imperial Japanese Army |type= Infantry |role= Field Army |garrison=Sendai, Miyagi |nickname= 進 (''Shin'' = “advancing”) |battles= }} {{command structure |name= Japanese Eleventh Area Army |date=1945 |parent=First General Army (Japan) |subordinate=<br/> * Japanese 50th Army (Aomori) * 72nd Infantry Division (Fukushima) * 142nd Infantry Division (Sendai) * 158th Infantry Division (Changchun) * 222nd Infantry Division (Mizusawa) * 322nd Infantry Division (Sendai) * 113th Independent Mixed Brigade (Iwaki) }} The {{nihongo|'''Eleventh Area Army'''|第11方面軍|Dai jyūichi hōmen gun}} was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.<ref>Madej, Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 </ref>
The Japanese 11th Area Army was formed on February 6, 1945 under the Imperial General Headquarters and transferred to the control of the Japanese First General Army on April 8, 1945. It was part of the last desperate defense effort by the Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces in central Honshū during Operation Downfall (or {{nihongo|Operation Ketsugō|決号作戦|Ketsugō sakusen}} in Japanese terminology). The Japanese 11th Area Army was responsible for the Tōhoku region of Japan and was headquartered in Sendai, Miyagi.
It consisted mostly of poorly trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia. In addition, the Japanese had organized the Volunteer Fighting Corps — which included all healthy men aged 15 to 60 and women 17 to 40 — to perform combat support, and ultimately combat jobs. Weapons, training, and uniforms were generally lacking: some men were armed with nothing better than muzzle-loading muskets, longbows, or bamboo spears; nevertheless, they were expected to make do with what they had.<ref>Frank, ''Downfall'', p. 188–9. Bauer and Coox, ''OLYMPIC VS KETSU-GO''.</ref>
The 11th Area Army was demobilized at the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945 without having seen combat.
==List of commanders==
===Commanding officer=== {| class=wikitable ! || Name || From || To |- |1|| General Teiichi Yoshimoto ||February 6, 1945 ||August 7, 1945 |- |2|| General Keisuke Fujie|| August 7, 1945 ||August 15, 1945 |- |}
===Chief of staff=== {| class=wikitable ! || Name || From || To |- |1|| Major General Masayoshi Ishii ||February 6, 1945 ||August 7, 1945 |- |2|| Major General Kazufumi Imai||August 7, 1945 ||August 25, 1945 |- |}
== Notes == {{reflist}}
==References==
*{{cite book | last = Drea | first = Edward J. | author-link = | year = 1998 | chapter = Japanese Preparations for the Defense of the Homeland & Intelligence Forecasting for the Invasion of Japan | title = In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army | publisher = University of Nebraska Press | location = | isbn = 0-8032-1708-0 }} *{{cite book | last = Frank | first = Richard B | year = 1999 | title = Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire | publisher = Random House | location = New York | isbn = 0-679-41424-X }} *{{cite book | last = Jowett | first = Bernard | year = 1999 | title = The Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 2, 1942-45) | publisher = Osprey Publishing | location = | isbn = 1-84176-354-3 }} *{{cite book | last = Madej | first = Victor | year = 1981 | title = Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 | publisher = Game Publishing Company | location = | id = ASIN: B000L4CYWW }} *{{cite book | last = Marston | first = Daniel | year = 2005 | title = The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima | publisher = Osprey Publishing | location = | isbn = 1-84176-882-0 }} *{{cite book | last = Skates | first = John Ray | year = 1994 | title = The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb Downfall | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | location = New York | isbn = 0-87249-972-3 }}
==External links== *{{cite web | last = Wendel | first = Marcus | url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6745 | title = Axis History Factbook | work = Japanese Eleventh Area Army }}
11 Category:Military units and formations established in 1945 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945