Fourth Army (Japan)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Japanese Fourth Army


caption=
dates= 1904-06-24 - 1945-08-15　
country= Empire of Japan
allegiance=
branch= Imperial Japanese Army
type= Infantry
role= Corps
garrison=Bei'an, Manchukuo
nickname= nihongo|Hikari|光|Light
battles=
Russo-Japanese War
*Battle of Liaoyang
*Battle of Mukden
World War II
*Operation August Stormcommand structure
name= Japanese 4th Army
date=1945
parent=Japanese First Area Army
subordinate=

* 119th Infantry Division
* 123rd Infantry Division
* 149th Infantry Division
* 80th Independent Combined Brigade
* 131st Independent Combined Brigade
* 135th Independent Combined Brigade
* 136th Independent Combined Brigade

The nihongo|Japanese 4th Army|第4軍 |Dai-yon gun was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo from the Russo-Japanese War.

History

Russo-Japanese War

The Japanese 4th Army was initially raised on 24 June 1904 in the midst of the Russo-Japanese War under the command of General Nozu Michitsura out of various reserve elements, to provide support and additional manpower in the Japanese drive towards Mukden in the closing stages of the war against Imperial Russia. It was disbanded at Mukden on 17 January 1906.

econd Sino-Japanese War

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese Fourth Army was raised again as a garrison force to guard the northern borders of Manchukuo against possible incursions by the Soviet Red Army. It was based at Bei'an, the capital of a northern Manchukuo province of the same name, that was heavily fortified with various ground emplacements. The Fourth Army afterwards came under the command of the Japanese First Area Army under the overall command of the Kwantung Army.

During the invasion of the Soviet Army in Operation August Storm in the final days of World War II, the Japanese Fourth Army was no match for the experienced, battle-hardened Soviet armored and mechanized infantry divisions, who quickly overran or circumvented the Japanese defenses, and its forces were driven back to Harbin by the time of the surrender of Japan.

List of Commanders

Commanding officer

Chief of Staff

References

*cite book
last = Frank
first = Richard B
coauthors =
year = 1999
title = Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire
publisher = Random House
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-679-41424-X
*cite book
last = Jowett
first = Bernard
coauthors =
year = 1999
title = The Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 2, 1942-45)
publisher = Osprey Publishing
location =
id = ISBN 1841763543
*cite book
last = Madej
first = Victor
coauthors =
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
coauthors =
year = 2005
title = The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima
publisher = Osprey Publishing
location =
id = ISBN 1841768820
*cite book
last = Glantz
first = David
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2003
chapter =
title = The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945 (Cass Series on Soviet (Russian) Military Experience, 7)
publisher = Routledge
location =
id = ISBN 0-7146-5279-2

External links

*cite web
last = Wendel
first = Marcus
url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6889
title = Axis History Factbook
work = Japanese 4th Army