Thirteenth Army (Japan)

The Japanese 13th Army (第13軍, Dai-jyūsan gun) was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

Japanese Thirteenth Army
Japanese: 第13軍, romanizedDai-jyūsan gun
ActiveSeptember 23, 1939 - August 15, 1945
CountryEmpire of Japan
BranchImperial Japanese Army
TypeInfantry
RoleCorps
Garrison/HQShanghai
Nickname(s)Noboru (, Ascending)
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Sadamu Shimomura

History

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The Japanese 13th Army was formed on September 23, 1939, under the control of the China Expeditionary Army. It was based in Shanghai and surrounding provinces primarily a garrison force to maintain public order and to engage in counter-insurgency operations in conjunction with the collaborationist forces of the Reformed Government of the Republic of China, and later with its successor, the Wang Jingwei Government. It was later tasked with deterring possible landings of the Allies in the lower Yangtze River area of east central China. It surrendered to the Chinese Kuomintang forces on August 15, 1945, at the surrender of Japan and was disbanded in Shanghai.

List of commanders

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Commanding officer

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Name From To
1 General Toshijiro Nishio 12 September 1939 26 October 1939
2 Lt. General Susumu Fujita 26 October 1939 2 December 1940
3 Lt. General Shigeru Sawada 2 December 1940 October 8, 1942
4 Lt. General Sadamu Shimomura 8 October 1942 March 22, 1944
5 Lt. General Sajishige Nagatsu 22 March 1944 February 1, 1945
6 Lt. General Takuro Matsui 1 February 1945 15 August 1945

Chief of Staff

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Name From To
1 Lt. General Shozo Sakurai 4 September 1939 20 January 1941
2 Lt. General Masami Maeda 20 January 1941 19 September 1941
3 Major General Yasuo Karagawa 19 September 1941 1 December 1942
4 Major General Isami Kinoshita 1 December 1942 17 January 1944
5 Lt. General Shinnosuke Sasa 17 January 1944 22 November 1945
6 Major General Toshi Yamamoto 22 November 1944 1 February 1945
7 Major General Akio Doi 1 February 1944 1 September 1945

Subordinate units

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1945: 13th Army of the China Expeditionary Army

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References

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  • Dorn, Frank (1974). The Sino-Japanese War, 1937-41: From Marco Polo Bridge to Pearl Harbor. MacMillan. ISBN 0-02-532200-1.
  • Madej, Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945. Game Publishing Company. ASIN: B000L4CYWW.
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