Kwantung Army

Kwantung Army
Japanese: 関東軍 Kantō-gun
Kwantung Army headquarters in Xinjing, Manchukuo
Active	April 1919 – August 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Allegiance	Emperor of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Type	General Army
Size	300,000 (1940) 763,000 (1941) 713,000 (1945)
Garrison/HQ	Ryojun, Kwantung Leased Territory (1906–1932) Xinjing, Manchukuo (1932–1945)
Nickname(s)	Toku (德兵團, Toku heidan), "Virtue"
Engagements	Huanggutun Incident Invasion of Manchuria First Battle of Hopei Pacification of Manchukuo Soviet–Japanese border conflicts Battle of Lake Khasan Battle of Khalkhin Gol Second Sino-Japanese War Battle of Beiping-Tianjin Operation Chahar Second World War Soviet invasion of Manchuria

The Kwantung Army (Japanese: 関東軍, Kantō-gun) was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945.

The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for the Kwantung Leased Territory and South Manchurian Railway Zone after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 and expanded into an army group during the Interwar period to support Japanese interests in China, Manchuria, and Mongolia. The Kwantung Army became the most prestigious command in the Imperial Japanese Army, and many of its personnel won promotions to high positions in the Japanese military and civil government, including Hideki Tōjō and Seishirō Itagaki. The Kwantung Army was largely responsible for the establishment of the Japanese puppet-state of Manchukuo in Manchuria and functioned as one of the main Japanese fighting forces during the 1937–1945 Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937.

In August 1945 Soviet troops engaged the Kwantung Army during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. The Kwantung Army surrendered to the Soviets on 16 August 1945 – the day after the Surrender of Japan – and was subsequently dissolved.

The Kwantung Army perpetrated several war crimes during World War II, sponsoring Unit 731, which both carried out acts of biological warfare and performed unethical human experimentation on civilians and Allied prisoners of war.