China Expeditionary Army

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China Expeditionary Army

active September 12, 1939 to August 15, 1945
Country Japanese EmpireJapanese Empire Japan
Armed forces JapanJapan (war flag) Japanese armed forces
Armed forces JapanJapan (war flag) Japanese army
Branch of service infantry
Type Main army ( army group )
Strength 600,000-800,000
Location Nanjing
Butcher Second Sino-Japanese War

The China Expeditionary Army ( Japanese 支那 派遣 軍 , Shina hakengun , here with the derogatory term for China adopted from the West) was a main army ( army group ) of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II . It was active from September 12, 1939 to August 15, 1945 and conquered large areas of the Republic of China . Her Tsūshōgō (military code name) was CGA .

The China Expeditionary Army is not to be confused with the Central China Expeditionary Army .

history

The China Expeditionary Army (CEA) was created in September 1939 by merging the Central China Expeditionary Army with the Northern China Regional Army and had its headquarters in Nanjing throughout the war . The Northern China Regional Army remained as an association and was only subordinate to the CEA, its headquarters were in Beijing . The CEA was responsible for all military operations in China. At the height of the war it numbered over 800,000 men, at the end of the war it was still 620,000 men. In 1943 the situation of the Japanese in the Pacific War worsened and CEA troops were withdrawn and sent to fight the Allies. As a result, the Japanese lost more and more ground in China. In addition, they had to fight partisans. In 1944, through reinforcements from the Kwantung Army , the CEA mobilized nearly 400,000 men for their largest operation, Operation Ichi-gō , which was the last Japanese success in China. After the capitulation of Japan in August 1945, the main army's troops kept their weapons until they were disarmed by the National Revolutionary Army , in order to prevent a communist takeover of the occupied territories.

Commanders

Surname From To
1. General Nishio Toshizō September 22, 1939 March 1, 1941
2. Gensui (Field Marshal) Hata Shunroku March 1, 1941 November 23, 1944
3. General Okamura Yasuji March 1, 1941 September 9, 1945

Subordinate units

The following units were subordinate to the China Expeditionary Army:

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rottman, p. 9