| Japanese First Army | |
|---|---|
 Japanese General Kuroki and his Chief of Staff Shigeta Fujii | |
| Active | September 1894 – September 1945 |
| Country | Empire of Japan |
| Branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Corps |
| Nicknames | Otsu (乙,Second) |
| Engagements | First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
TheJapanese 1st Army (第1軍,Dai-ichi gun) was anarmy of theImperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on three occasions.
The Japanese 1st Army was initially raised during theFirst Sino-Japanese War from 1 September 1894 – 28 May 1895 under the command of GeneralYamagata Aritomo. It participated in all of the major battles of that conflict, and was demobilized at the successful end of that war.
It was revived for theRusso-Japanese War from 2 February 1904 – 9 December 1905 under the command of GeneralKuroki Tamemoto. Its forces were the first to land inKorea andManchuria and it fought in most of the major campaigns of the war, including theBattle of Yalu River,Battle of Motien Pass,Battle of Liaoyang,Battle of Shaho,Battle of Sandepu, andBattle of Mukden. It was again demobilized at the end of that conflict.
The Japanese 1st Army was raised again on 26 August 1937 inTianjin, China under theJapanese China Garrison Army. In addition to protecting the Japanese settlement at Tianjin, it served as a reinforcement to the newly formedJapanese Northern China Area Army following theMarco Polo Bridge Incident during theSecond Sino-Japanese War. The 1st Army subsequently participated in various campaigns inNorth China under the operational command of theJapanese Northern China Area Army, including theNorth China Incident,Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation, and theBattle of Taiyuan before being demobilized atTaiyuan,Shanxi province after theend of World War II on 30 September 1945.
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MarshalYamagata Aritomo | 1 September 1894 | 19 December 1894 |
| 2 | MarshalNozu Michitsura | 19 December 1894 | 28 May 1895 |
| X | demobilized | 28 May 1895 | 2 February 1904 |
| 3 | MarshalKuroki Tamemoto | 2 February 1904 | 9 December 1905 |
| X | demobilized | 9 December 1905 | 31 August 1937 |
| 4 | Lieutenant GeneralKiyoshi Katsuki | 26 August 1937 | 30 May 1938 |
| 5 | GeneralYoshijirō Umezu | 30 May 1938 | 7 September 1939 |
| 6 | Lieutenant GeneralYoshio Shinozuka | 7 September 1939 | 20 June 1941 |
| 7 | Lieutenant GeneralYoshio Iwamatsu [ja] | 20 June 1941 | 1 August 1942 |
| 8 | GeneralTeiichi Yoshimoto | 1 August 1942 | 22 November 1944 |
| 9 | Lieutenant GeneralRaishiro Sumida [ja] | 22 November 1944 | 30 September 1945 |
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Major GeneralOgawa Mataji | 1 September 1894 | 28 May 1895 |
| X | demobilized | 28 May 1895 | 2 February 1904 |
| 2 | Major GeneralFujii Shigeta [ja] | 2 February 1904 | 9 December 1905 |
| X | demobilized | 9 December 1905 | 26 August 1937 |
| 3 | Major GeneralGun Hashimoto [ja] | 26 August 1937 | 27 January 1938 |
| 4 | Major GeneralShōjirō Iida | 27 January 1938 | 9 November 1938 |
| 5 | Lieutenant GeneralSenichi Kushibuchi | 9 November 1938 | 9 March 1940 |
| 6 | Major GeneralRyukichi Tanaka | 9 March 1940 | 2 December 1940 |
| 7 | Major GeneralHideyoshi Kusuyama | 2 December 1940 | 1 December 1941 |
| 8 | Lieutenant GeneralTadashi Hanaya | 1 December 1941 | 23 October 1943 |
| 9 | Major GeneralIchimaro Horike | 23 October 1943 | 16 December 1944 |
| 10 | Major GeneralMichitake Yamaoka | 16 December 1944 | September 1945 |