The 11th Army of the Japanese Army invading China at the Battle of Nanchang was an important part of the Japanese Army's Chinese dispatch army, the main force in the frontal battlefield of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and was once the only mobile force of the Japanese army invading China in Guannei during the stalemate stage of the War of Resistance Against Japan. As the only pure field army in the configuration, the army undertook the combat task of destroying the main Chinese forces.
At the beginning of its establishment in 1938, the 11th Army mainly included the 6th Division, the 101st Division, the 106th Division and the Hata Detachment. After the Battle of Wuhan, the army expanded to 7 divisions, and the 3rd, 9th, 13th, and 16th divisions joined one after another, which was the most powerful moment for the 11th Army. Later, with the expansion of the war and the lengthening of the Japanese front, several divisions and regiments with strong combat effectiveness of the 11th Army were transferred out one after another, and replaced by the 39th, 40th and other second-class A divisions. During the entire war, he participated in large-scale frontal wars such as the Battle of Wuhan, the Battle of Nanchang, the Battle of Suizao, the Battle of Shanggao, the Battle of Changsha, and the Battle of Changde. Next, we will bring you the first five commanders of the Japanese 11th Army.
First Commander: Ninji Okamura
Okamura Ninji (1884–1966) was commander of the Japanese 11th Army in 1938. At the beginning of his term of office, he commanded the 11th Army to participate in the Battle of Wuhan. During this period, he was defeated by Wanjialing, but finally won the Battle of Wuhan and occupied Wuhan. In April 1939, he launched the Battle of Nanchang with the goal of capturing Nanchang before the April Offensive of the Chinese army, which resulted in the occupation of Nanchang in seven days. Then in May and September he launched the Battle of Suizao in the Fifth Theater of China and the Battle of Xianggan (the First Battle of Changsha) against the Ninth Theater, both of which failed to complete the mission due to insufficient combat strength and geographical limitations.
Second Commander: Kazuichiro Enbu
Kazuichiro Enbu (1883–1963) was a Japanese lieutenant general. In March 1940, he succeeded Okamura Ninji as commander of the 11th Army, and during his tenure completed the Battle of Zaoyi and occupied Yichang. Later, due to the blind command of the Battle of Shanggao, he was defeated and transferred to the military councillor. The famous general Zhang Zizhong died in the pumpkin shop in battle with his troops.
Third Commander: Anan Weiji
Anan (1887–1945) was a Japanese Army general. In 1941, he succeeded Kazuichiro Enbu as commander of the 11th Army, during which time he commanded two battles of Changsha, winning one victory and one defeat. In the Second Battle of Changsha, xue Yue, commander of the Chinese Ninth Theater, was defeated by the commander of the Ninth Theater of Operations, but in the Third Battle of Changsha in December of the same year, due to the light enemy's advance, 2 divisions were surrounded under the city of Changsha, and after a bitter battle, they were able to escape, and in July 1942, they were transferred to the Northeast Kwantung Army. In 1945, after Japan's defeat in the war, he committed suicide by caesarean section.
Fourth Commander: Tsukada Attack
Tsukada (1886–1942) was a Japanese lieutenant general. In July 1942, Tsukada, who had made a contribution to the Pacific Theater, succeeded Anan as commander of the 11th Army. Its first task was to prepare for the implementation of the "Operation No. 5" plan to attack Chongqing and Xi'an, in an attempt to extend the clutches of aggression to China's strategic rear. On December 18, 1942, he was killed by a direct hit by the anti-aircraft artillery company of the Kuomintang 48th Army on the way from Nanjing to Hankou, and "gloriously" became the highest-ranking Japanese army general killed by the Chinese army during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and was posthumously awarded the rank of general by Japan.
Fifth Commander: Isamu Yokoyama
Isamu Yokoyama (1889–1952) was a Japanese lieutenant general. After Tsukada was killed by the Chinese army, he was urgently transferred to the 11th Army as commander. As soon as he arrived at his post, he closed his doors and concentrated on studying the detailed battle situation of the three attacks on Changsha by the previous two commanders. Finally, he concluded that Changde was strategically more important than Changsha and prepared to shift the center of gravity of the war westward. In Changde, he successively experienced the two major opponents Yu Chengwan and Fang Xianjue, and the two sides fought quite fiercely. He made deep calculations and organized the Battle of Western Hubei, the Battle of Changde, and the Battle of Changheng, and successfully opened up the mainland communication line. However, because he offended Okamura Ningji, the commander of the Chinese dispatch army at the time, he was transferred back to China as the commander of the Western Route Army. At the same time, the three division commanders of the 11th Army, who would disobey Okamura's orders together with Yokoyama, were also replaced. After this, the "brilliance" of the 11th Army was gone. Eventually, Yokoyama died of illness in 1952 at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.