The 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 , 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 Name From To1 General Tomoyuki Yamashita17 July 1941 6 November 19412Lieutenant General Tatsumi Kusaba6 November 1941 21 December 19423Lieutenant General Satoshi Kinoshita21 December 1942 7 December 19434Lieutenant 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.php7 December 1943 1 March 19455Lieutenant 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 Name From To1 Lieutenant General Yasunori Yoshioka17 July 1941 1 July 19422Major General Senichi Tasaka1 July 1942 16 May 19443Major General Hiroshi Tamura16 May 1944 2 October 19444Major General Nobuyoshi Obata2 October 1944 September 1945

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