The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army initially based in

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 ...

as a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

force under the overall command of the Kwantung Army. At the end of World War II it was active in east China.

History

The Japanese 6th Army was initially raised on August 4, 1939 in Manchukuo as a

force to guard the western borders against possible incursions by the Soviet Red Army. It was a major participant in the Nomonhan Incident, during which time it took severe casualties. Afterwards, it was initially assigned to Hailar, in Inner Mongolia which was also the site of an extensive Japanese static military fortification system. During much of the Second Sino-Japanese War, it remained a reserve and training garrison force. On January 26, 1945, the Japanese Sixth Army was reassigned to the control of the China Expeditionary Army, and was sent south to bolster Japanese forces in the strategic Wuhan- Changsha front, filling the gap left by the departure of Japanese forces in the southward Operation Ichi-Go thrust. At the

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 disbanded at Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.

List of commanders

Commanding officer

Chief of Staff

References

* * *

External links

*{{cite web , last = Wendel , first = Marcus , url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6891 , title = Axis History Factbook , work = Japanese 6th Army 06 Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945