:Forty-Fourth Army (Japan)
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= Japanese Fortieth-Fourth Army
|image= Manchuria 1945.PNG
|caption=Position of the 44th Army in 1945
|dates= January 12, 1945 – August 15, 1945
|country= Empire of Japan
|allegiance=
|branch= Imperial Japanese Army
|type= Infantry
|role= Corps
|nickname= {{nihongo|Ensei|遠征|expeditionary}}
|battles=Soviet invasion of Manchuria
}}
{{command structure
|name= Japanese 44th Army
|date=1945
|parent=Japanese Third Area Army
|subordinate=
- 63rd Infantry Division
- 107th Infantry Division
- 117th Infantry Division
- 9th Independent Armored Brigade
}}
The {{nihongo|Japanese 44th Army|第44軍 |Dai-yonjyū yon gun}} was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of World War II.
History
The Japanese 44th Army was initially raised in July 1941 as the {{nihongo|Kwangtung Defense Army|関東防衛軍|Kanto boei gun}}, an auxiliary force of the Kwantung Army based in the Manchukuo capital of Xinjing for public security and training. As the war situation on the Pacific front grew increasingly desperate for Japan, the Imperial Japanese Army transferred more and more experienced divisions and their equipment out of Manchukuo to other fronts. By early 1945, the vaunted Kwantung Army was largely hollowed out, and indications of a buildup of Soviet Red Army forces on the borders on Mengjiang and Manchukuo were alarming. The Kwantung Defense Army was renamed the Japanese 44th Army on May 30, 1945 and assigned to the Japanese Third Area Army, based in southern Manchukuo. It saw combat against the Soviet Army in Soviet invasion of Manchuria, with combat operations continuing into September, even after the official surrender of Japan. It was officially disbanded at Mukden, with many of its surviving troops becoming Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union.
List of Commanders
=Commanding Officer=
| class=wikitable
! | Name | From | To |
| 1 | General Tomoyuki Yamashita | 17 July 1941 | 6 November 1941 |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Tatsumi Kusaba | 6 November 1941 | 21 December 1942 |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Satoshi Kinoshita | 21 December 1942 | 7 December 1943 |
| 4 | Lieutenant General Shin YoshidaYoshio Hongo (see below) was married to Shin Yoshida's wife's aunt. Source: Reiko Sugita, living descendant.Lieutenant General Shin Yoshida commanded the "Mechanized Army" with headquarters at Ssupingchieh, starting on July 4, 1942 or possibly as early as April 1941. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/jap/ww2_IJN_Tanks.php.Yoshida became President of Manchuria Telecommunication and Telephone after retiring from the army after this posting. Source: http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/jap/ww2_IJN_Tanks.php | 7 December 1943 | 1 March 1945 |
| 5 | Lieutenant General Yoshio HongoYoshio Hongo (see above) was married to Shin Yoshida's wife's aunt. Source: Reiko Sugita, living descendant. | 1 March 1945 | September 1945 |
=Chief of Staff=
| class=wikitable
! | Name | From | To |
| 1 | Lieutenant General Yasunori Yoshioka | 17 July 1941 | 1 July 1942 |
| 2 | Major General Senichi Tasaka | 1 July 1942 | 16 May 1944 |
| 3 | Major General Hiroshi Tamura | 16 May 1944 | 2 October 1944 |
| 4 | Major General Nobuyoshi Obata | 2 October 1944 | September 1945 |
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{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 = Glantz
| first = David
| author-link =
| year = 2003
| chapter =
| title = The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945 (Cass Series on Soviet (Russian) Military Experience, 7)
| publisher = Routledge
| location =
| isbn = 0-7146-5279-2
}}
External links
- {{cite web
| last = Wendel
| first = Marcus
| url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7705
| title = Axis History Factbook
| work = Kwantung Defence Army
}}
- {{cite web
| last = Wendel
| first = Marcus
| url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7694
| title = Axis History Factbook
| work = Japanese 44th Army
}}
Category:Military units and formations established in 1941
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945