The was an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

based in

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

from the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

until the end of World War II. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it was under the overall command of the

Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945. The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...

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

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 A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

force to guard the eastern borders against possible incursions by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. 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

, 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 Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

theatre of operations as the war situation gradually deteriorated for Japan. By the time of the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...

, its poorly equipped and poorly trained forces were no longer a match for the experienced battle-hardened Soviet

armored division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically mak ...

s, and it was driven back into defensive positions in Andong Province along the Korean border by the time of the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

. It was formally disbanded at

Jixi Jixi () is a city in southeastern Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, 1,502,060 people resided within its administrative area of and 560,118 in its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of 3 out of 6 urban di ...

List of Commanders

Commanding officer

Chief of Staff

Notes

References

* * * * * * *

External links

*{{cite web , last = Wendel , first = Marcus , url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6890 , title = Axis History Factbook , work = Japanese 5th Army 05 Military units and formations established in 1905 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1905 establishments in Japan