Kwantung Army

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Kwantung Army

The , also known as the Guandong Army (; ), was an army group

Army group

An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area....
of the Imperial Japanese Army

Imperial Japanese Army

The Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945....
in the early twentieth century. It became the largest and most prestigious command in the IJA. Many of its personnel, such as Chief of Staff Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from 18 October 1941 to 22 July 1944....
, were promoted to high positions in both the military and civil government in the Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
and it was largely responsible for the creation of the Japanese-dominated Empire of Manchukuo

Manchukuo

Manchuria

Manchuria is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria either falls entirely within People's Republic of China, or is divided between China and Russia....
.

owing the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War or the Manchurian Campaign in some English sources, was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperialism ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea....
, Japan obtained the Kwantung Leased Territory

Kwantung Leased Territory

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Encyclopedia

The , also known as the Guandong Army (; ), was an army group

Army group

Imperial Japanese Army

Hideki Tojo

Empire of Japan

Manchukuo

Manchuria

History

Beginnings

Following the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

Kwantung Leased Territory

The Kwantung Leased Territory was a territory in the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula in northeastern China that existed from 1898 to 1945....
and the areas adjacent to the South Manchurian Railway. The Kwantung Garrison was established in 1906 to defend this territory, and originally was composed of an infantry division and a heavy siege artillery

Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven company and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel....
, supplemented with six independent garrison

Garrison

Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, of more than 50 men, but now often simply using it as a home base....
battalions as railway guards deployed along the South Manchurian Railway Zone, giving a total troop strength of 10,000 men. It was headquartered in Port Arthur

Lüshunkou

L?shun city or L?shunkou or L?shun Port , formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun, is a town located at the extreme southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, in the district of Dalian of the People's Republic of China....
, known as "Ryojun" in Japanese. After a reorganization in 1919, the Kwantung Garrison was renamed the Kwantung Army.

In the highly politicized Imperial Japanese Army of the 1920s and 1930s, the Kwangtung Army was a stronghold of the radical Kodoha
Imperial Way Faction

The was a political faction in the Imperial Japanese Army, active in the 1920s and 1930s, largely supported by junior officers aiming to establish a military government, and promoted totalitarianism, militarism and expansionism ideals....
, and many of its senior leaders overtly advocated political change in Japan through the violent overthrow of the civilian government to bring about a Showa Restoration

Showa Restoration

The Showa Restoration was promoted by Japanese author Kita Ikki, with the goal of Restoration to the newly enthroned Emperor of Japan Showa and abolishing the liberal Taisho period democracy....
, with a reorganization of society and the economy along totalitarian

Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is a concept used to describe political systems whereby a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life. Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of an official all-embracing ideology and propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, single-party st...
state socialist

Militarism-Socialism in Showa Japan

Japanese Militarism-Socialism, sometimes also referred to as Right socialism, "Showa Nationalism" or Japanese fascism, refers to a Syncretic politics of Japanese right-wing political ideology, developed over a period of time from the Meiji Restoration, and dominating Japanese politics during the first part of the Showa period ....
lines. They also advocated a more aggressive, expansionistic foreign policy with regards to the Asian mainland. Members, or former members, of the Kwantung Army were active in numerous coup d'état

Coup d'état

A coup d??tat , often simply called a coup, is the sudden unconstitutional overthrow of a government by a part of the state establishment – usually the military – to replace the branch of the stricken government, either with another civil government or with a military government....
attempts against the civilian government, cumulating with the February 26 Incident of 1936.

Independent actions

Although the Kwangtung Army was nominally subordinate to the Imperial General Headquarters

Imperial General Headquarters

The as part of the Supreme War Council was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime....
and the senior staff at the Army General Staff, its leadership demonstrated significant capability of autonomous action. Conspirators within the junior officer

Junior officer

The term junior officer is sometimes used to make clear that an Officer in a military or paramilitary unit is not in overall command. The term senior officer is reserved for the officer in overall command....
corp of the Kwantung Army plotted and executed the assassination

Assassination

Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure. Assassinations may be prompted by ideology, politics, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by contract killing, revenge, or celebrity or may be mental disorder....
of Manchurian warlord

Warlord

A warlord is a person with power who has military dictatorship over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority....
Chang Tsolin

Zhang Zuolin

Zhang Zu?l?n , nicknamed the "Old Marshal" , "Rain Marshal" ....
in the Huanggutun Incident

Huanggutun Incident

Huanggutun Incident was an assassination plotted by Japanese Kantogun that targeted Fengtian clique warlord Zhang Zuolin. It took place on June 4, 1928 at Huanggutun rail station near Shenyang in which Zhang's train was destroyed by an explosion....
of 1928. Afterwards, the Kwantung Army leadership engineered the Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

On September 18, 1931, near Mukden in southern Manchuria, a section of railroad owned by Empire of Japan's South Manchuria Railway was dynamited. The Imperial Japanese Army, accusing China dissidents of the act, responded with the invasion of Manchuria, leading to the establishment of Manchukuo the following year....
and the subsequent invasion of Manchuria

Invasion of Manchuria

The Japanese invasion of Manchuria by the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan, beginning on September 19, 1931, immediately followed the Mukden Incident....
in 1931 in a massive scale act of gekokujo
Gekokujo

is a Japanese language term variously translated as the lower rules the higher or the low overcomes the high. The phenomenon became prevalent during the Sengoku period period, starting with the Onin War when the power of the Muromachi bakufu ended in factional strife and the burning of Kyoto....
insubordination against the express orders of the political and military leadership based in Tokyo.

Presented with the fait accompli, Imperial General Headquarters had little choice but to follow up on the actions of the Kwantung Army with reinforcements in the subsequent Pacification of Manchukuo

Pacification of Manchukuo

The Pacification of Manchukuo, was a campaign to pacification the resistance to the newly established puppet state of Manchukuo between the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies of Manchuria and later the Chinese Communist Party Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and the Imperial Japanese Army and the forces of Manchukuo during the Second Sino-J...
. The success of the campaign meant that the insubordination of the Kwantung Army was rewarded rather than punished.

With the foundation of Manchukuo

Manchukuo

Manchukuo was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. The region was the Qing Dynasty's historical homeland, created by former Qing Dynasty officials with help from Imperial Japan in 1932....
in 1932, Kwantung Army played a controlling role in the political administration of the new state as well as in its defense. The commander in chief of the Kwantung Army simultaneously held the post of Japanese ambassador to Manchukuo. With the Kwantung Army administering all aspects of the politics and economic development of the new state, this made the Kwantung Army commander equivalent to a resident

Resident Commissioner

Resident Commissioner is the title of several, quite different types of Commissioner in overseas possession or protectorate of the British Crown or of the U.S.A....
general, with the authority to approve or countermand any command from the nominal emperor of Manchukuo, Puyi

Puyi

Puyi , of the Manchu Aisin-Gioro ruling family, was the last Emperor of China. He ruled in two periods between 1908 and 1924, firstly as the Xuantong Emperor between 1908 and 1912, and nominally as a non-ruling puppet emperor for twelve days in 1917....
.

The Kwantung Army was heavily augmented over the next few years up to a strength of 700,000 troops by 1941 and its headquarters was transferred to the new Manchukuo capital of Hsinking. The Kwantung Army also oversaw the creation, training and equipping of an auxiliary force, the Manchukuo Imperial Army

Manchukuo Imperial Army

The Manchukuo Imperial Army was the armed force of the Japanese dominated puppet state of Manchukuo....
. During this time, Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda worked as liaison officer between the Imperial house and the Kwantung Army.

Second World War

After the campaign to secure Manchukuo, the Kwangtung Army continued to fight in numerous border skirmishes with China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
as part of its efforts to create a Japanese-dominated buffer zone in northern China

Northern China

Northern China or North China may mean:* North China* North China Plain* Northern and southern China - rough geographic regions in China...
. The Kwantung Army also fought in the opening phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the twentieth century. From 1937 to 1941, it was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan....
in Operation Nekka, and various actions in Inner Mongolia to extend Japanese domination over portions of northern China and Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia is the Mongols autonomous region of China of the People's Republic of China, located in the country's north.Inner Mongolia borders, from east to west, the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu, while to the north it borders Mongolia and Russia....
. When War broke out in the Marco Polo Bridge Incident

Marco Polo Bridge Incident

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, marking the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War....
in July 1937 its forces participated in Battle of Beiping-Tianjin

Battle of Beiping-Tianjin

The Battle of Beiping-Tianjin , also known as the ?Peiking-Tientsin Operation? or by the Japanese as the was a series of battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War fought in the proximity of Beiping and Tianjin....
and Operation Chahar

Operation Chahar

Operation Chahar, known by the Japanese as ??????, Operation Quhar and by the Chinese as the ???? , this campaign occurred in August 1937 following the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War....
. Later forces were taken from Kwangtung Army to support the war in China from time to time.

However, the much vaunted reputation of the Kwantung Army was severely challenged in battle against the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
's Red Army

Red Army

The Red Army was the armed force first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and, in 1922, became the army of the Soviet Union....
at the Battle of Lake Khasan

Battle of Lake Khasan

The Battle of Lake Khasan and also known as the Changkufeng Incident in China and Japan, was an attempted military incursion of Manchukuo into the territory claimed by the Soviet Union....
in 1938 and subsequent Battle of Nomonhan

Battle of Khalkhin Gol

The Battle of Khalkhyn Gol was the decisive engagement of the undeclared Soviet-Japanese Border Wars, or Japanese-Soviet War, fought between the Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan in 1939....
in 1939, during which time it sustained heavy casualties. After the Nomonhan incident, the Kwantung Army was purged of its more insubordinate elements, as well as proponents of the Hokushin-ron doctrine who urged that Japan concentrate its expansionist efforts on Siberia

Siberia

Siberia , is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of North Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the Soviet Union from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the 16th century....
rather southward towards China and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
.

Although a source of constant unrest during the 1930s, the Kwantung Army remained remarkably obedient during the 1940s. As combat spread south into central China and southern China in the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the twentieth century. From 1937 to 1941, it was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan....
, and with the outbreak of the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War was the part of World War II?and preceding conflicts?that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, between July 7, 1937 and August 14, 1945....
, Manchukuo was largely a backwater to the conflict.

However, as the war situation began to deteriorate for the Imperial Japanese Army on all fronts, the huge, well-trained and well-equipped Kwangtung Army could no longer be held in strategic reserve

Strategic reserve

For the military term see: Military reserveA strategic reserve is a term used to describe a reserve of a commodity or items, held back from normal use by governments, organisations or business in pursuance of a particular strategy or to cope with unexpected events....
. Many of its front line units were systematically stripped of their best units and equipment, which were sent south against the forces of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
in the Pacific Islands

Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
or the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
. Other units were sent south into China for Operation Ichi-Go.

At the time of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation, when the Soviet Red Army invaded Manchukuo, Inner Mongolia, Korea and Japanese held islands in August 1945, the Kwantung Army's strength was still at around 600,000 men, with one armored division, 25 infantry divisions, six independent brigades, and up to 25 security battalions. However, the men remaining were largely semi-trained conscripts or raw recruits, equipped primarily as a counterinsurgency and border security force and unable to withstand the massive Soviet armored and mechanized infantry

Mechanized infantry

Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat .Mechanized infantry are distinguished from motorized infantry, who are transported to battle by trucks or motor vehicles, in that their vehicles provide a degree of protection from hostile fire, as opposed...
invasion.

Surrender of the Kwantung Army

The final commander in chief of the Kwantung Army, General Otozo Yamada, ordered a surrender on August 16 1945, one day after Emperor Hirohito announced the defeat of the Japanese empire

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. On August 10, 1945, after the Soviet Union Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the United States atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan's leaders at the Supreme War Council decided, in principle, to accept the terms the Allies of World War II had set down...
in a radio announcement. Some Japanese divisions refused to surrender, and combat continued for the next few days. Marshal Hata

Shunroku Hata

Field Marshal , was a Field Marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal's rank....
received "Ultimatum to surrender" from Soviet General Georgii Shelakhov in Harbin

Harbin

is a sub-provincial city and the Capital of the Heilongjiang in Northeast China. It lies on the southern bank of the Songhua River. Harbin is ranked as the tenth largest city in China, serving as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications center of Northeastern China....
on August 18, 1945. He was one of the senior generals who agreed with the decision to surrender

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. On August 10, 1945, after the Soviet Union Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the United States atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan's leaders at the Supreme War Council decided, in principle, to accept the terms the Allies of World War II had set down...
, and on August 19th, 1945, Hata had talks with Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky

Aleksandr Vasilevsky

Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky was a Soviet Union military commander, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Soviet Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953....
, but asked that he be stripped of his title of Field Marshal in atonement for the Army’s failures in the war.

The remnants of the Kwantung Army either lay dead on the battlefield or were on their way to Soviet Prisoner-of-war camp

Prisoner-of-war camp

A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of enemy combatants captured by the enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations....
s. Over five hundred thousand of Japanese prisoners of war were forced to work as slave labor in Soviet labor camp

Labor camp

A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons....
s in Siberia

Siberia

Russian Far East

Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Siberia and the Pacific Ocean....
and Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and People's Republic of China to the south, east and west....
. The survivors were not freed until after the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union in the mid-1950s.

War crimes

After the surrender of Japan, the Soviet Red Army discovered secret installations for experimenting with and producing chemical weapons

Chemical warfare

Chemical warfare involves using the poison of chemical substances as weapons to kill, injure, or incapacitate an Enemy .This type of warfare is distinct from the use of conventional weapons or nuclear weapons because the destructive effects of chemical weapons are not primarily due to their explosion force....
and biological

Biological warfare

Biological warfare , also known as germ warfare, is the use of pathogens as biological weapons . Using nonliving toxic products, even if produced by living organisms , is considered chemical warfare under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention....
weapons of mass destruction

Weapons of mass destruction

A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill large numbers of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general....
centered around secret Army Unit 731

Unit 731

was a covert biological warfare and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal Japanese human experimentation on the Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II....
and its subsidiaries. At these locations, the Kwantung Army was also responsible for some of the most infamous Japanese war crimes

Japanese war crimes

Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese expansionism. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities....
, including the operation of several human experimentation

Human experimentation

Human subject research , or human subject use involves the use of human beings as research subjects. It is an important part of medical research, and many people volunteer for clinical trials of medical treatments....
programs using live Chinese, American and Russian civilians and POW, directed by Shiro Ishii

Shiro Ishii

was a microbiologist and the lieutenant general of Unit 731, a biological warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War....
.

Trials

Some members of the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
leadership of the Kwantung Army were sentenced as war criminals by the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials

Khabarovsk War Crime Trials

Khabarovsk War Crime Trials were a series of hearings held between December 25 - 31st, 1949 in the Russian industrial city of Khabarovsk, situated on the Russian Far East ....
, where other were taken into custody by the United States, and sentenced at the 1948 International Military Tribunal for the Far East

International Military Tribunal for the Far East

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East , also known as the Tokyo Trial, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal or simply as the Tribunal, was convened to criminal procedure the leaders of the Empire of Japan for three types of crimes: "Class A" , "Class B" , and "Class C" , committed during World War II....
in Tokyo. Among those sentenced to death were former generals Seishiro Itagaki, Iwane Matsui

Iwane Matsui

was a general in the Japanese Imperial Army and the commander of the expeditionary forces sent to China in World War II. He was sentenced to death by hanging by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for being responsible for the Nanking Massacre....
, Kenji Doihara

Kenji Doihara

was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II, and was instrumental in the planning of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Doihara was nicknamed 'Lawrence of Manchuria', a reference to Western countries's Lawrence of Arabia....
, Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from 18 October 1941 to 22 July 1944....
and Akira Muto

Akira Muto

was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II....
.

List of Commanders

Kwantung Army

Commanding officer
Commanding officer

The commanding officer is the Officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law....

	Name	From	To
1	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Ichiro Tachibara	12 April 1919	6 January 1921
2	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Misao Kawai	6 January 1921	10 May 1922
3	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Shinobu Ono	10 May 1922	10 October 1923
4	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Yoshinori Shirakawa Yoshinori Shirakawa was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army....	10 October 1923	28 July 1926
5	Field Marshal Field Marshal Field marshal is a military officer rank. Today it is the highest rank in the armies in which it is used, one step above a general or colonel-general.... Baron Baron Baron is a specific title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English language beorn meaning "nobleman."... Nobuyoshi Muto Nobuyoshi Muto Baron was Commander of the Kwangtung Army in 1933, Japanese ambassador to Manchukuo, and a Field Marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II....	28 July 1926	26 August 1927
6	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Chotaro Muraoka	26 August 1927	1 July 1929
7	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Eitaro Hata	1 July 1929	31 May 1930
8	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Takashi Hishikari Takashi Hishikari was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army....	3 June 1930	1 August 1931
9	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Shigeru Honjo Shigeru Honjo General Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the early period of the Second Sino-Japanese War. He was considered an ardent follower of Sadao Araki's doctrines....	1 August 1931	8 August 1932
10	Field Marshal Field Marshal Field marshal is a military officer rank. Today it is the highest rank in the armies in which it is used, one step above a general or colonel-general.... Baron Baron Baron is a specific title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English language beorn meaning "nobleman."... Nobuyoshi Muto Nobuyoshi Muto Baron was Commander of the Kwangtung Army in 1933, Japanese ambassador to Manchukuo, and a Field Marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II....	8 August 1932	27 July 1933
11	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Takashi Hishikari Takashi Hishikari was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army....	29 July 1933	10 December 1934
12	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Jiro Minami Jiro Minami was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and Governor-General of Korea between 1936 and 1942....	10 December 1934	6 March 1936
13	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Kenkichi Ueda Kenkichi Ueda was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, most notably during the Soviet-Japanese Border Wars of the late 1930s....	6 March 1936	7 September 1939
14	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Yoshijiro Umezu Yoshijiro Umezu was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II....	7 September 1939	18 July 1944
14	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Otozo Yamada	18 July 1944	11 August 1945

Chief of Staff

	Name	From	To
1	Major General Major General Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General.... Matasuke Hamamo	12 April 1919	11 March 1921
2	Major General Major General Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General.... Kaya Fukuhara	11 March 1921	6 August 1923
3	Major General Major General Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General.... Kawada Akiji	6 August 1923	2 December 1925
4	Major General Major General Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General.... Tsune Saito	2 December 1925	10 August 1928
5	Lieutenant General Lieutenant General Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General.... Koji Miyake	10 August 1928	8 August 1932
6	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Kuniaki Koiso Kuniaki Koiso was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Governor-General of Korea and 41st Prime Minister of Japan from 22 July 1944 to 7 April 1945.Koiso was born in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture as the son of an ex-samurai family....	8 August 1932	5 March 1934
7	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Juzo Nishio	5 March 1934	23 March 1936
8	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Seishiro Itagaki	23 March 1936	1 March 1937
9	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Hideki Tojo Hideki Tojo Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from 18 October 1941 to 22 July 1944....	1 March 1937	30 May 1938
10	Lieutenant General Lieutenant General Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General.... Rensuke Isogai Rensuke Isogai was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and Governor of Hong Kong under Japanese occupation from 20 February 1942 to 24 December 1944....	18 June 1938	7 September 1939
11	Lieutenant General Lieutenant General Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General.... Jo Iimura Jo Iimura was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific War....	7 September 1939	22 October 1940
12	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Heitaro Kimura	22 October 1940	10 April 1941
13	General General A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general.... Teiichi Yoshimoto	10 April 1941	1 August 1942
14	Lieutenant General Lieutenant General Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General.... Yukio Kasahara Yukio Kasahara was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War....	1 August 1942	7 April 1945
15	Lieutenant General Lieutenant General Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General.... Hikosaburo Hata	7 April 1945	11 August 1945

Command Structure (1945)

Japanese First Area Army
Japanese First Area Army

The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in northern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the closing stages of the war....

IJA 3rd Army
Japanese Third Army

The was an corps of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo as a garrison force under the overall command of the Kwantung Army....

79th Infantry Division
112th Infantry Division
127th Infantry Division
128th Infantry Division
132nd Independent Combined Brigade
Rajin Fortress Brigade

IJA 5th Army
Japanese Fifth Army

The was an corps of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo as a garrison force under the overall command of the Kwantung Army....

124th Infantry Division
126th Infantry Division
135th Infantry Division
15th Border Patrol Brigade

122nd Infantry Division
134th Infantry Division
139th Infantry Division

Japanese Third Area Army
Japanese Third Area Army

The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in southern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the very final stages of the war....

IJA 30th Army

39th Infantry Division
125th Infantry Division
138th Infantry Division
148th Infantry Division

IJA 44th Army

63rd Infantry Division
107th Infantry Division
117th Infantry Division
9th Independent Armored Brigade

108th Infantry Division
136th Infantry Division
179th Independent Combined Brigade
130th Independent Combined Brigade
134th Independent Combined Brigade
1st Independent Armored Brigade
22nd Indepenent Anti-Aircraft Brigade
139th Infantry Division

Japanese Seventeenth Area Army
Japanese Seventeenth Area Army

The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of World War II....

Japanese 58th Army

96th Infantry Division
111th Infantry Division
121th Infantry Division
IJA 108th Independent Mixed Brigade

120th Infantry Division
150th Infantry Division
160th Infantry Division
320th Infantry Division
IJA 127th Independent Mixed Brigade
Pusan Fortress
Yosu Fortress
Japanese 4th Army
Japanese Fourth Army

The was an corps of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo from the Russo-Japanese War....

119th Infantry Division
123rd Infantry Division
149th Infantry Division
IJA 80th Independent Mixed Brigade
IJA 131st Independent Mixed Brigade
IJA 135th Independent Mixed Brigade
IJA 136th Independent Mixed Brigade

Japanese 34th Army
Japanese Thirty-Fourth Army

Thirtieth Fourth Army organized in what is now North Korea. Headquarters were in Hamhung and commanded:* IJA 59th Division at Hamhung* IJA 137th Division at Chongpyong...

599th Infantry Division
137th Infantry Division
IJA 133rd Independent Mixed Brigade

Kwantung Army

History

Beginnings

Independent actions

Second World War

Surrender of the Kwantung Army

War crimes

Trials

List of Commanders

Kwantung Army

Commanding officer
Commanding officer

The commanding officer is the Officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law....

Chief of Staff

Command Structure (1945)

See also

Books

External links

Kwantung Army

History

Beginnings

Independent actions

Second World War

Surrender of the Kwantung Army

War crimes

Trials

List of Commanders

Kwantung Army

Commanding officerCommanding officerThe commanding officer is the Officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law....

Chief of Staff

Command Structure (1945)

See also

Books

External links

Commanding officer
Commanding officer

The commanding officer is the Officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law....