Second Army (Japan)

{{About|the corps sized formation|the similarly named Imperial Japanese field army|Second Area Army}} {{Infobox military unit |unit_name= Japanese Second Army | image= Japanese Troops in the Battle of Shaho.jpg | image_size = 300 |caption= Japanese Troops in the Battle of Shaho |dates= Sept 1894-Aug 1945 |country= {{Flag|Empire of Japan}} |allegiance= |branch= {{army|Empire of Japan}} |size= Corps |type= Infantry |role = Amphibious warfare Anti-tank warfare Armoured reconnaissance Artillery observer Banzai charge Bomb disposal Close-quarters battle Cold-weather warfare Combined arms Counter-battery fire Direct fire Fire support HUMINT Indirect fire Intelligence assessment Jungle warfare Maneuver warfare Military communications Military engineering Military intelligence Military logistics Patrolling Raiding Reconnaissance Trench warfare Urban warfare |garrison= |command_structure=Second Area Army (1942-1945) |nickname= {{nihongo|Ikioi|勢|Vigorous}} |battles=First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War Second Sino-Japanese War World War II }} {{command structure | name = Japanese 2nd Army | date = 24 May 1904 | parent = Southern Expeditionary Army Group | subordinate = * 1st Infantry Division * 3rd Infantry Division * 4th Infantry Division }} {{command structure |name= Japanese 2nd Army |date= 15 August 1945 |parent=Southern Expeditionary Army Group |subordinate= * 5th Infantry Division * 32nd Infantry Division * 35th Infantry Division * 36th Infantry Division * IJA 57th Independent Mixed Brigade * IJA 128th Independent Mixed Brigade * IJN 2nd Marine Landing Brigade }}

The {{nihongo|'''Japanese 2nd Army'''|第2軍|Dai-ni gun}} was a corps of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on four occasions.

==History== The Japanese 2nd Army was initially raised during the First Sino-Japanese War from September 27, 1894, to May 14, 1895, under the command of General Ōyama Iwao.

It was revived for the Russo-Japanese War from March 6, 1904, to January 2, 1906, under the command of General Oku Yasukata. It fought in most of the major campaigns of the war, including the Battle of Nanshan, Battle of Te-li-Ssu, Battle of Tashihchiao, Battle of Shaho, Battle of Liaoyang, Battle of Sandepu, and Battle of Mukden.

The Japanese 2nd Army was raised again on August 23, 1937, and placed under the command of the Japanese Northern China Area Army as reinforcement to Japanese forces in China following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The 2nd Army participated in the North China Incident, Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation, Battle of Xuzhou and Battle of Taierzhuang before being demobilized on December 15, 1938.

The fourth and final incarnation of the Japanese 2nd Army was on July 4, 1942, when it was revived under the command of the Japanese First Area Army in Manchukuo. It was transferred to the Japanese Second Area Army on October 30, 1943. Towards the closing stages of the war, on June 30, 1945, it was transferred to the Southern Expeditionary Army Group and was based in the Celebes at the end of World War II.

==List of commanders== ===Commanding officer=== {| class=wikitable ! || Name || From || To |- |1 || Marshal Ōyama Iwao||25 September 1894 ||26 May 1895 |- |X || demobilized ||26 May 1895 || 6 March 1904 |- |2|| General Oku Yasukata||6 March 1904 || 12 January 1906 |- |X || demobilized ||12 January 1906 || 23 August 1937 |- |3|| General Toshizō Nishio||23 August 1937 || 30 April 1938 |- |4|| General Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko||30 April 1938|| 9 December 1939 |- |x|| demobilized ||9 December 1938 || 4 July 1942 |- |5|| Lieutenant General Yoshio Kozuki||4 July 1942 || 28 May 1943 |- |6|| Lieutenant General {{Interlanguage link|Ichirō Shichida|ja|七田一郎}}||28 May 1943 || 29 October 1943 |- |7|| Lieutenant General {{Interlanguage link|Fusatarō Teshima|ja|豊嶋房太郎}}||29 October 1943 || 15 August 1945 |- |}

===Chief of Staff=== {| class=wikitable ! || Name || From || To |- |2 || Colonel Inoue Hikaru|| 1 October 1894||14 May 1895 |- |X || demobilized ||26 May 1895 || 6 March 1904 |- |2 || Major General {{Interlanguage link|Ochiai Toyosaburo|ja|落合豊三郎}}|| 6 March 1904||12 September 1904 |- |3 || Major General Ōsako Naomichi|| 12 September 1904||18 January 1906 |- |X || demobilized ||18 January 1906 || 31 August 1937 |- |4 || Major General {{Interlanguage link|Yorimichi Suzuki|ja|鈴木率道}}|| 31 August 1937||11 June 1938 |- |5 || Lieutenant General Kazumoto Machijiri|| 11 June 1938||21 November 1938 |- |6 || Major General Shigenari Aoki|| 21 November 1938||9 December 1938 |- |X || demobilized ||9 December 1938 || 1 July 1942 |- |7 ||Major General Goro Isoya|| 1 July 1942||8 April 1943 |- |8 || Major General Ichimaro Horike|| 8 April 1943||23 October 1943 |- |9 ||Major General Shikao Fujitsuka|| 23 October 1943||26 December 1944 |- |10|| Major General Yuki Fukabori|| 1 February 1945||7 April 1945 |- |11||Major General Shintarō Imada|| 7 April 1945||24 May 1945 |- |12 ||Major General Minetarō Yoshida|| 5 June 1945||15 August 1945 |- |}

==References== *{{cite book | last = Jowett | first = Bernard | year = 1999 | title = The Japanese Army 1931–45 (Volume 2, 1942–45) | publisher = Osprey Publishing | location = | isbn = 1-84176-354-3 }} *{{cite book | last = Madej | first = Victor | 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 | year = 2005 | title = The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima | publisher = Osprey Publishing | location = | isbn = 1-84176-882-0 }} *{{cite book | last = | first = | year = 1908 | title = The Russo-Japanese War: Reports from British Officers Attached to the Field | publisher = Her Majesty's Stationery Office | location = }}

==External links== *{{cite web | last = Wendel | first = Marcus | url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6887 | title = Axis History Fac | work = Japanese 2nd Army }}

Category:Military units and formations established in 1894 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 02