The Japanese 36th Army was formed on July 21, 1944 under the
Japanese 12th Area Army as part of the last desperate defense effort by the
Empire of Japan to counter the projected invasion of the Japanese capital region by
Allied forces during
Operation Downfall. It was based in
Urawa city,
Saitama prefecture to the north of the
Tokyo metropolitan area, from which it could be used to reinforce units to either the north or south of Tokyo as necessary. The Japanese 36th Army consisted mostly of poorly trained
reservists,
conscripted students and
Volunteer Fighting Corps home guard militia. It was
demobilized after the
surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945 without having seen combat. ==List of commanders==