Twenty-Fifth Army (Japan)

Japanese Twenty-Fifth Army
Japanese troops in Singapore.
Active	July 5, 1941 – August 15, 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Corps
Nickname(s)	Tomi shudan (富集団, Prosperous?)
Engagements	Battle of Malaya Battle of Singapore

The Japanese 25th Army (第25軍, Dai-nijyūgo gun^?) was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, noted for its role in the Malayan Campaign and the Battle of Singapore.

The Japanese 25th Army was formed on 5 July 1941 under the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to the control of the Japanese Seventh Area Army under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group on 6 November 1941.

The Battle of Malaya began when the 25th Army launched an amphibious assault on the northern coast of British Malaya on 8 December 1941. Japanese troops landed at Kota Bharu and advanced down the eastern coastline of the Malay Peninsula. This was made in conjunction with landings at Pattani and Songkhla in Thailand, where units then proceeded south overland across the Thailand-Malayan border to attack the western portion of Malaya.

The Japanese were initially resisted by III Corps of the British Indian Army and several British Army battalions. The Japanese quickly isolated individual Indian units defending the coastline, before concentrating their forces to surround the defenders and force their surrender.