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Faction -- The Japanese Army -- World War II
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Spontaneous subtitles from C.B. :)
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During the 1920s, the Imperial Japanese Army expanded greatly in its number of men and military spending.
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The Meiji Constitution put the Emperor in charge of all the Imperial Japanese armed forces.
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Although most of the time, the Ministry of War and the General Staff Office controlled its actions.
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The Kwantung Army -- an army group of the imperial Japanese Army started a new phase of Japanese imperialism by invading Manchuria in 1931.
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The Imperial Japanese Army at this point had 17 divisions.
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Starting in 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War which some historians consider the beginning of World War II so Japan against China.
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During this conflict, the Imperial Japanese Army gained its reputation for brutality.
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The war in China would drain the Army's resources and bring forward a need for increased conscription.
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The Imperial Japanese Army also conflicted with the Red Army during the 1930s.
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Starting with a border clash, it turned into a large war near the city of Nomanhan.
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Ending in 1939 with the decisive Nomanhan Incident or the Battles of Khalkhyn Gol.
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At the end of this conflict, the Red Army defeated the Japanese Army.
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This loss of prestige for the Imperial Japanese Army put the Imperial Japanese Navy as the priority and this inter-service rivalry would continue throughout World War II.
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In 1941, the United States joined the War when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor under the orders of General Hideki Tojo.
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Emperor Hirohito had appointed Tojo who was also the Minister of War from 1940 as Prime Minister.
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By this time in the war the Imperial Japanese Army possessed 51 divisions totaling 1.7 million men.
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Most of these divisions were mobilised in China and large garrisons were held in Manchuria, Korea, Formosa, Indochina and the Home Islands.
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The Imperial Japanese Army was victorious early on in the Pacific Theater.
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The capture of Hong Kong in 1941 and Singapore in 1942 humiliated Britain which underestimated the Japanese forces greatly.
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In 1942, the Japanese Army also captured the Philippines from United States, taking on thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war.
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As well as this, the Imperial Japanese Army assisted by Thai forces and the Burmese Independence Army occupied Burma and pushed the British and Chinese forces out.
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Eventually allied counter-offensive such as the Guadalcanal campaign forced the Japanese army into a more defensive posture.
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From 1943, there was a shortage of military, medicine and food supplies, and starvation would contribute to too many Japanese soldiers deaths.
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As the war progressed and the situation became more desperate for the Army, Japanese soldiers started to use more sacrificial tactics.
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In the Battle of Saipan in 1944, only a handful of troops surrendered to US forces.
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In 1945, the War looked hopeless for the Japanese. U.S. forces had taken back the Philippines and captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
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The Army had almost 2 million troops strong was recalled to defend the mainland against impending invasion.
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However, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki prevented further conflict.
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With the Japanese surrender at the end of the war, the Imperial Japanese Army was dissolved.
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Approximately 6.3 million men served in the Imperial Japanese Army from 1937 to 1945.
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It is estimated that 1.3 million were killed or missing in action.
