Thirtieth Army (Japan)
Encyclopedia
The was an army
of the Imperial Japanese Army
during the final days of World War II
.
capital of Hsinking. As the war situation on the Pacific front
grew increasingly desperate for Japan, the Imperial Japanese Army
transferred more and more experienced divisions 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 Japanese 30th Army was assigned to the Japanese Third Area Army
, and based in southern Manchukuo, but it was raised only days before the beginning of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, and its force of under-armed and untrained raw recruits, reservists and civilian militia
were no match for the experienced battle-hardened Soviet armored divisions. After a brief struggle at Hsinking (during which time the remnants of the Manchukuo Imperial Guard also defected to the Soviet side, the Japanese 30th Army surrendered. Most of its survivors became Japanese POWs in the Soviet Union, many of whom died under harsh conditions in Siberia
and other parts of the Soviet Union.
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
during the final days of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
History
The Japanese 30th Army was initially raised on July 30, 1945 in the ManchukuoManchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
capital of Hsinking. As the war situation on the Pacific front
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
grew increasingly desperate for Japan, the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
transferred more and more experienced divisions out of Manchukuo to other fronts. By early 1945, the vaunted Kwantung Army was largely hollowed out, and indications of a buildup of Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
forces on the borders on Mengjiang
Mengjiang
Mengjiang , also known in English as Mongol Border Land, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, operating under nominal Chinese sovereignty and Japanese control. It consisted of the then-Chinese provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, corresponding to the central part of modern Inner Mongolia...
and Manchukuo were alarming. The Japanese 30th Army was assigned to the Japanese Third Area Army
Japanese Third Area Army
The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in southern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the very final stages of the war.-History:...
, and based in southern Manchukuo, but it was raised only days before the beginning of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, and its force of under-armed and untrained raw recruits, reservists and civilian militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
were no match for the experienced battle-hardened Soviet armored divisions. After a brief struggle at Hsinking (during which time the remnants of the Manchukuo Imperial Guard also defected to the Soviet side, the Japanese 30th Army surrendered. Most of its survivors became Japanese POWs in the Soviet Union, many of whom died under harsh conditions in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and other parts of the Soviet Union.
List of commanders
| Name | From | To | |
| Commanding Officer | Lieutenant General Shōjirō Iida Shojiro Iida - Notes :... |
30 July 1945 | 15 August 1945 |
| Chief of Staff | Major General Michio Kato | 29 July 1945 | 15 August 1945 |