The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo from the Russo-Japanese War until the end of World War II. During World War II it was under the overall command of the Kwantung Army.
History
Russo-Japanese War The Japanese 5th Army, then known as the Yalu River Army, was initially raised on January 15, 1905, in the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War under the command of General Kawamura Kageaki out of only the 11th Infantry Division and three reserve brigades. It took successfully part in the battle of Mukden, when the 5th Army flanked the Russian left wing. It was disbanded at Mukden in January, 1906 after the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth at the end of the war.
Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II The Japanese 5th Army was raised again on December 7, 1937, in Manchukuo as a garrison force to guard the eastern borders against possible incursions by the Soviet Red Army. As it was based on the eastern frontier, it was not a participant in the Nomonhan Incident, but was temporarily disbanded on February 26, 1938. It was re-established on May 19, 1939, under the direct control of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. It afterwards came under the command of the Japanese First Area Army, under the overall command of the Kwantung Army, and was used primarily as a training and garrison force. Its equipment and experienced troops were siphoned off to other commands in the southeast Asia theatre of operations as the war situation gradually deteriorated for Japan. By the time of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, its poorly equipped and poorly trained forces were no longer a match for the experienced battle-hardened Soviet armored divisions, and it was driven back into defensive positions in Andong Province along the Korean border by the time of the surrender of Japan. It was formally disbanded at Jixi.
List of Commanders
Commanding officer Name From To1 General Kawamura Kageaki15 January 1905 January 1906X Disbanded 2 Lieutenant General Motoo Furusho8 December 1937 26 February 1938X Disbanded 3 Lieutenant General Kenji Doihara19 May 1939 28 September 19404 Lieutenant General 28 September 1940 15 October 19415 Lieutenant General Jo Iimura15 October 1941 29 October 19436 Lieutenant General 29 October 1943 27 June 19447 Lieutenant General Shimizu Tsunenori27 June 1944 September 1945
Chief of Staff Name From To1 Major General Uchiyama Kojirō15 January 1905 January 1906X Disbanded 2 Lieutenant General Masatake Shina8 December 1937 26 February 1938X Disbanded 3 Lieutenant General Shizuo Kurashige19 May 1939 9 March 19404 Lieutenant General Shiro Makino9 March 1940 24 April 19415 Lieutenant General Senichi Tasaka24 April 1941 1 July 19426 Major General Masazumi Inada1 July 1942 22 February 19437 Lieutenant General Tadasu Kataoka22 February 1943 3 August 19448 Major General Shigesada Kawagoe3 August 1944 September 1945
Notes
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