Third Army (Japan)

The Japanese 3rd Army was initially raised during the Russo-Japanese War under the command of General Nogi Maresuke.In the initial stages of the war, its primary mission was the Siege of Port Arthur.After the fall of that Russian stronghold, it was transferred north, where it played a crucial role in the subsequent Japanese drive towards Mukden in the closing stages of the war.The Japanese 3rd Army was raised again on January 13, 1938, in Manchukuo as a garrison force to guard the eastern borders against possible incursions by the Soviet Red Army.During the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, its poorly trained and under-equipped forces were no match for the experienced battle-hardened Soviet Army, and it was forced back from various locations in Kirin province to the Korean border, surrendering at the end of the war in Yanji and Hunchun, in what is now part of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of northeast China.
Empire of JapanImperial Japanese ArmyInfantryManchukuoRusso-Japanese WarSoviet invasion of ManchuriaJapanese First Area Army132nd Independent Mixed Brigade79th Infantry Division112th Infantry Division127th Infantry Division128th Infantry DivisiongarrisonKwantung ArmyNogi MaresukeSiege of Port ArthurRussianMukdenSovietRed ArmySoviet ArmyKirin provinceKorean borderHunchunYanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecturenortheast ChinaOtozō YamadaHayao TadaMasakazu KawabeEitaro UchiyamaHiroshi NemotoIjichi KōsukeIchinohe HyoeAketo NakamuraTeiichi SuzukiDavid GlantzCommand and General Staff College