The was an
army of the
Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of
World War II.
History
The Japanese 44th Army was initially raised in July 1941 as the , an auxiliary force of the
Kwantung Army based in the
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
capital of
Hsinking for
public security and training. As the war situation on the
Pacific front
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...
grew increasingly desperate for Japan, the
Imperial Japanese Army transferred more and more experienced
divisions and their equipment out of Manchukuo to other fronts. By early 1945, the vaunted Kwantung Army was largely hollowed out, and indications of a buildup of
Soviet Red Army forces on the borders on
Mengjiang and Manchukuo were alarming. The Kwantung Defense Army was renamed the Japanese 44th Army on May 30, 1945 and assigned to the
Japanese Third Area Army, based in southern Manchukuo. It saw combat against the Soviet Army in
Soviet invasion of Manchuria, with combat operations continuing into September, even after the official
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
. It was officially disbanded at
Mukden, with many of its surviving troops becoming
Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union.
List of Commanders
Commanding Officer
Chief of Staff
References
Sources
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External links
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*{{cite web
, last = Wendel
, first = Marcus
, url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7694
, title = Axis History Factbook
, work = Japanese 44th Army
44
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945