The army groups (, also translated as group armies) of the National Revolutionary Army were the largest conventional mobile formations in the organization of the army of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. The first

army group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organization handled by ...

s were established immediately after the Japanese attack at

Marco Polo Bridge The Marco Polo Bridge or Lugou Bridge () is a stone bridge located 15 km southwest of Beijing's city center in the Fengtai District. It bridges the Yongding River, a major tributary of Hai River. Situated at the eastern end of the bridge ...

on 7 July 1937, and new army groups continued to be formed throughout the war. During the war, the only military formations larger than the army group were the

military regions Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

, which were defined by geographical boundaries, and the army

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

, of which only four were formed and only during the

Battle of Wuhan The Battle of Wuhan (武漢之戰), popularly known to the Chinese as the Defense of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Engagements took place across vast areas of Anhui ...

. In effect, the army group was the largest fighting unit of the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

, and usually exercised command over two or more

field armies A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and withi ...

or several corps, and assorted lesser units. They were roughly equivalent in size to an Army in British or American military terminology. By the end of the war with Japan, 40 army groups of China were in existence. The civil war saw three additional army groups being formed, even as they were gradually being replaced by newly formed army corps, by then a largely analogous formation. The following list provides an overview of the army groups in the National Revolutionary Army, including their organization, commanders, and important battles.

1st to 10th army groups

''Commanders killed in action are denoted by''

11th to 20th army groups

21st to 30th army groups

31st to 40th army groups

41st to 43rd army groups

''Three army groups were established and disbanded during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

with the communists. No additional information is available.''

References

External links

40 Army Groups in China's War of Resistance Against Japan
{{Featured list Units and formations of the National Revolutionary Army Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese Civil War National Revolutionary Army, Army Groups of