# First Area Army

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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= First Area Army
|image=
|caption=
|dates= July 2, 1942 - August 15, 1945
|country= [Empire of Japan](/source/Empire_of_Japan)
|allegiance=
|branch= [Imperial Japanese Army](/source/Imperial_Japanese_Army)
|type= [Infantry](/source/Infantry)
|role= [Field Army](/source/Field_Army)
|garrison=[Mukden](/source/Mukden)
|nickname= 鋭 (''Ei'' = “sharp”)
|battles=[Soviet invasion of Manchuria](/source/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria)
}}
{{command structure
|name= Japanese First Area Army
|date=1945
|parent=[Kwantung Army](/source/Kwantung_Army)
|subordinate=<br> 
* [Japanese 3rd Army](/source/Japanese_Third_Army)
* [Japanese 5th Army](/source/Japanese_Fifth_Army)
* [122nd Infantry Division](/source/122nd_Division_(Imperial_Japanese_Army))
* [128th Infantry Division](/source/128th_Division_(Imperial_Japanese_Army)) (from 9 August 1945)
* [134th Infantry Division](/source/134th_Division_(Imperial_Japanese_Army)) (from 9 August 1945)
* [139th Infantry Division](/source/139th_Division_(Imperial_Japanese_Army))
}}
thumb | right | alt=Yamashita Tomoyuki, Lieutenant-General, Commander of the Japanese 25th Army | Yamashita Tomoyuki, Lieutenant-General, Commander of the Japanese 25th Army
The {{nihongo|'''First Area Army'''|第1方面軍|Dai-ichi hōmen gun}} was a [field army](/source/field_army) of the [Imperial Japanese Army](/source/Imperial_Japanese_Army) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II), based in northern [Manchukuo](/source/Manchukuo) and active in combat against the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union) in the closing stages of the war.<ref>Jowett, ''The Japanese Army 1931-45''</ref>

==History==
The Japanese 1st Area Army was formed on July 4, 1942 under the control of the [Kwantung Army](/source/Kwantung_Army) as a [military reserve](/source/military_reserve) and [garrison](/source/garrison) force to maintain security and [public order](/source/Public-order_crime) in northern [Manchukuo](/source/Manchukuo) as many veteran divisions of the Kwantung Army were transferred to the various southern fronts in the [Pacific War](/source/Pacific_War). It consisted mostly of minimally-trained [reservists](/source/military_reserves), [conscripted](/source/military_conscription) students and [home guard militia](/source/militia), without adequate weapons or supplies. The 1st Area Army was headquartered in [Dunhua](/source/Dunhua), in what is now the [Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture](/source/Yanbian_Korean_Autonomous_Prefecture) of [Jilin Province](/source/Jilin), [China](/source/China).

The units of the 1st Area Army proved to be no match for the [Red Army](/source/Red_Army) when the [Soviet Union invaded Manchukuo](/source/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria) at the end of [World War II](/source/World_War_II). Without adequate armor, ammunition or leadership, many units broke and fled, or surrendered en masse.<ref>Glantz, ''The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945''</ref> Many surviving soldiers of the 1st Area Army, including its [commanding officer](/source/commanding_officer) General Seiichi Kita, became [prisoners](/source/Japanese_prisoners_of_war_in_the_Soviet_Union) in [Siberia](/source/Siberia) and other parts of the Soviet Union after the [surrender of Japan](/source/surrender_of_Japan) on August 15, 1945.<ref>Frank, ''Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire''</ref>

==List of Commanders==

===Commanding officer===
{| class=wikitable
!  || Name || From || To
|-
|1|| General [Tomoyuki Yamashita](/source/Tomoyuki_Yamashita) ||1 July 1942 || 26 September 1944
|-
|2|| General [Seiichi Kita](/source/Seiichi_Kita)||26 September 1944 || 15 August 1945
|-
|}

===Chief of Staff===
{| class=wikitable
!  || Name || From || To
|-
|1|| Major General [Kitsuju Ayabe](/source/Kitsuju_Ayabe) ||1 July 1942 || 7 December 1942
|-
|2|| Major General [Tsunamasa Shidei](/source/Tsunamasa_Shidei)||7 December 1942 || 16 October 1944
|-
|3|| Major General [Tadao Teragaki](/source/Tadao_Teragaki)||16 October 1944 || 1 April 1945
|-
|4|| Major General [Ryozo Sakurai](/source/Ryozo_Sakurai)||1 April 1945 || 15 August 1945
|-
|}

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book
 | last = Frank
 | first =  Richard B
 | year = 1999
 | title = Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire
 | publisher = Random House 
 | location = New York
 | isbn =  0-679-41424-X 
}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Glantz
 | first = David
 | author-link = 
 | year = 2003
 | chapter = 
 | title = The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945 (Cass Series on Soviet (Russian) Military Experience, 7)
 | publisher = Routledge
 | location = 
 | isbn = 0-7146-5279-2
}}
*{{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 = Hasegawa
 | first = Tsuyoshi
 | year = 
 | title = Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan
 | publisher = Belknap Press
 | location = 
 | isbn = 0-674-01693-9
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/racingenemystali00hase
 }}

==External links==
*{{cite web
| last = Wendel
| first = Marcus
| url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6737
| title = Axis History Factbook
| work = Japanese First Area Army
}}

1
Category:Military units and formations established in 1942
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [First Area Army](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Area_Army) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Area_Army?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.