Army groups of the National Revolutionary Army

The army groups (Chinese: 集團軍, also translated as group armies) of the National Revolutionary Army were the largest conventional mobile formations in the organization of the army of the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The first army groups were established immediately after the Japanese attack at Marco Polo Bridge on 7 July 1937, and new army groups continued to be formed throughout the war.

A solid white circle in center surrounded by twelve solid white acute isosceles triangles pointing out from the center. These are all layered in front of a solid blue rectangle, which in turn has a solid red border.
Flag of the National Revolutionary Army

During the war, the only military formations larger than the army group were the military regions, which were defined by geographical boundaries, and the army corps, of which only four were formed and only during the Battle of Wuhan. In effect, the army group was the largest fighting unit of the National Revolutionary Army, and usually exercised command over two or more field armies or several corps, and assorted lesser units. They were roughly equivalent in size to an Army in British or American military terminology. By the end of the war with Japan, 40 army groups of China were in existence. The civil war saw three additional army groups being formed, even as they were gradually being replaced by newly formed army corps, by then a largely analogous formation. The following list provides an overview of the army groups in the National Revolutionary Army, including their organization, commanders, and important battles.

1st to 10th army groups

Commanders killed in action are denoted by  

Unit Organization[1] Commanders[2] Duration[1][2] Major battles[3][4]
1st Army Group
第一集團軍
Established: Aug 1937
Disbanded: Apr 1938
Song Zheyuan
宋哲元
Aug 1937 – Apr 1938 Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation
Battle of Northern and Eastern Henan
Reestablished: Oct 1938
Reorganized into 1st Army Corps: Sep 1947
Long Yun
龍雲
Oct 1938 – Jan 1939 None
Lu Han
盧漢
Jan 1939 – Mar 1945 Battle of Nanchang
First Battle of Changsha
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Second Battle of Changsha
Third Battle of Changsha
Battle of Zhejiang-Jiangxi
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Sun Du
孫渡
Mar 1945 – Sep 1947 None
2nd Army Group
第二集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Reorganized into 4th Pacification Area: Oct 1945
Liu Zhi
劉峙
Sep 1937 – Feb 1938 Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation
Battle of Taiyuan
Sun Lianzhong
孫連仲
Feb 1938 – Aug 1943 Battle of Taierzhuang
Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
Battle of South Henan
Second Battle of Changsha
Battle of West Hubei
Liu Ruming
劉汝明
Aug 1943 – Oct 1945 Battle of Changde
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
3rd Army Group
第三集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded:Mar 1943
Han Fuju
韓復榘
Sep 1937 – Jan 1938 Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation
Yu Xuezhong
于學忠
Jan 1938 – Jun 1938 Battle of Xuzhou
Sun Tongxuan
孫桐萱
Jun 1938 – Feb 1943 Battle of Wuhan
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of South Henan
Zhang Xuezhong
張雪中
Feb 1943 – Mar 1943 None
Reestablished: Sep 1943
Disbanded: Nov 1946
Li Tiejun
李鐵軍
Sep 1943 – Feb 1944 None
Zhao Shoushan
趙壽山
Feb 1944 – Nov 1946 None
4th Army Group
第四集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Mar 1947
Jiang Dingwen
蔣鼎文
Sep 1937 – Feb 1939 Battle of Shanghai
Sun Weiru
孫蔚如
Feb 1939 – Jun 1945 1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of South Shanxi
Battle of Central Henan
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
Li Xingzhong
李興中
Jun 1945 – Mar 1947 None
5th Army Group
第五集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Mar 1942
Gu Zhutong
顧祝同
Sep 1937 – Jun 1938 Battle of Shanghai
Yu Xuezhong
于學忠
Jun 1938 – Feb 1939 None
Zeng Wanzhong
曾萬鐘
Feb 1939 – Mar 1942 1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of South Shanxi
Reestablished: Jan 1943
Disbanded: Apr 1945
Du Yuming
杜聿明
Jan 1943 – Apr 1945 None
6th Army Group
第六集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Reorganized into 10th Army Corps: Nov 1948
Yang Aiyuan
楊愛源
Sep 1937 – Mar 1939 Battle of Taiyuan
Chen Changjie
陳長捷
Mar 1939 – Jan 1941 1939–40 Winter Offensive
Yang Aiyuan
楊愛源
Jan 1941 – Jan 1946 None
Wang Jingguo
王靖國
Jan 1946 – Nov 1948 None
7th Army Group
第七集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Reorganized into Shanxi Guerrilla Corps Command: May 1948
Fu Zuoyi
傅作義
Sep 1937 – Mar 1939 Battle of Taiyuan
Zhao Chengshou
趙承綬
Mar 1939 – May 1948 1939–40 Winter Offensive
8th Army Group
第八集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Jul 1938
Zhang Fakui
張發奎
Sep 1937 – Jul 1938 None
Reestablished: Feb 1939
Reorganized into 15th Army Corps: Nov 1948
Sun Chu
孫楚
Feb 1939 – Nov 1948 Battle of South Shanxi
9th Army Group
第九集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Jan 1938
Zhang Zhizhong
張治中
Sep 1937 – Oct 1937 Battle of Shanghai
Zhu Shaoliang
朱紹良
Oct 1937 – Dec 1937 None
Gu Zhutong
顧祝同
Dec 1937 – Jan 1938 None
Reestablished: Aug 1938
Disbanded: Mar 1945
Wu Qiwei
吳奇偉
Aug 1938 – Jul 1940 Battle of Wuhan
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Miao Peinan
繆培南
Jul 1940 – Jul 1941 None
Guan Linzheng
關麟徵
Jul 1941 – Mar 1945 None
10th Army Group
第十集團軍
Established: Jan 1937
Downsized into 19th Corps: Mar 1946
Liu Jianxu
劉建緒
Jan 1937 – Aug 1941 Battle of Shanghai
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Wang Jingjiu
王敬玖
Aug 1941 – Dec 1945 Second Battle of Changsha
Battle of Zhejiang-Jiangxi
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Battle of West Hunan
Ou Zhen
歐震
Dec 1945 – Mar 1946 None

11th to 20th army groups

Unit Organization[1] Commanders[2] Duration[1][2] Major battles[3][4]
11th Army Group
第十一集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Sep 1940
Li Pinxian
李品仙
Sep 1937 – Oct 1939 Battle of Xuzhou
Battle of Wuhan
Xia Wei
夏威
Oct 1939 – Nov 1939 None
Huang Qixiang
黃琪翔
Nov 1939 – Sep 1940 1939–40 Winter Offensive
Reestablished: Nov 1941
Disbanded: Mar 1945
Song Xilian
宋希濂
Nov 1941 – Sep 1944 Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road
Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
Huang Chieh
黃杰
Sep 1944 – Mar 1945 Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
Second Burma Expedition
12th Army Group
第十二集團軍
Established: Dec 1937
Reorganized into Quzhou Pacification Bureau: Oct 1945
Yu Hanmou
余漢謀
Dec 1937 – Oct 1945 Battle of Canton
1939–40 Winter Offensive
13th Army Group
第十三集團軍
Established: Feb 1939
Disbanded: Jan 1946
Wang Jingguo
王靖國
Feb 1939 – Jan 1946 None
14th Army Group
第十四集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Jul 1944
Wei Lihuang
衛立煌
Sep 1937 – Oct 1939 Battle of Taiyuan
Liu Mao'en
劉茂恩
Oct 1939 – Jul 1944 1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of South Shanxi
Battle of Central Henan
15th Army Group
第十五集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Jul 1940
Chen Cheng
陳誠
Sep 1937 – Nov 1937 Battle of Shanghai
Luo Zhuoying
羅卓英
Nov 1937 – Dec 1937 None
Chen Cheng
陳誠
Dec 1937 – May 1939 Battle of Wuhan
First Battle of Changsha
Xue Yue
薛岳
May 1939 – Oct 1939 None
Guan Linzheng
關麟徵
Oct 1939 – Jul 1940 1939–40 Winter Offensive
Reestablished: May 1941
Disbanded: Oct 1945
He Zhuguo
何柱國
May 1941 – Oct 1945 Second Battle of Changsha
Battle of Central Henan
16th Army Group
第十六集團軍
Established: Jan 1939
Disbanded: Mar 1945
Xia Wei
夏威
Jan 1939 – Nov 1939 None
Cai Tingkai
蔡廷鍇
Nov 1939 – Nov 1939 Battle of South Guangxi
Xia Wei
夏威
Nov 1939 – Mar 1945 Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou
17th Army Group
第十七集團軍
Established: Nov 1937
Disbanded: Oct 1945
Ma Hongkui
馬鴻逵
Nov 1937 – Oct 1945 Battle of West Suiyuan
18th Army Group
第十八集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Mutinied to form People's Liberation Army: from Sep 1946 to early 1947
Zhu De
朱德
Sep 1937 – early 1947 Battle of Pingxingguan
Hundred Regiments Offensive
19th Army Group
第十九集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Oct 1942
Xue Yue
薛岳
Sep 1937 – Jan 1938 Battle of Shanghai
Luo Zhuoying
羅卓英
Jan 1938 – Apr 1942 Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Nanchang
First Battle of Changsha
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of Shanggao
Second Battle of Changsha
Third Battle of Changsha
Liu Yinggu
劉膺古
Apr 1942 – Jul 1942 None
Luo Zhuoying
羅卓英
Jul 1942 – Oct 1942 None
Reestablished: Apr 1943
Downsized into 22nd Corps: Sep 1946
Wang Zhonglian
王仲廉
Apr 1943 – Sep 1943 None
Tang Enbo
湯恩伯
Sep 1943 – Jan 1944 None
Chen Ta-ching
陳大慶
Jan 1944 – Oct 1945 Battle of Central Henan
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
Zhang Xuezhong
張雪中
Oct 1945 – Sep 1946 None
20th Army Group
第二十集團軍
Established: Sep 1937
Disbanded: Jun 1945
Shang Zhen
商震
Sep 1937 – Jul 1940 Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation
Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Nanchang
First Battle of Changsha
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Huo Kuizhang
霍揆章
Jul 1940 – Jun 1945 Second Battle of Changsha
Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road
Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
Second Burma Expedition
Reestablished: Jan 1946
Downsized into 21st Corps: Feb 1947
Xia Chuzhong
夏楚中
Jan 1946 – Feb 1947 None

21st to 30th army groups

Unit Organization[1] Commanders[2] Duration[1][2] Major battles[3][4]
21st Army Group
第二十一集團軍
Established: Oct 1937
Reorganized into 8th Pacification Area: Oct 1945
Liao Lei  
廖磊 (卒)
Oct 1937 – Oct 1939 Battle of Shanghai
Battle of Xuzhou
Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
Li Pinxian
李品仙
Oct 1939 – Oct 1945 1939–40 Winter Offensive
Second Battle of Changsha
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
22nd Army Group
第二十二集團軍
Established: Nov 1937
Reorganized into 5th Pacification Area: Oct 1945
Deng Xihou
鄧錫侯
Nov 1937 – May 1938 Battle of Taiyuan
Battle of Xuzhou
Sun Zhen
孫震
May 1938 – Oct 1945 Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
Battle of South Henan
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
23rd Army Group
第二十三集團軍
Established: Dec 1937
Disbanded: Oct 1945
Liu Xiang  
劉湘 (卒)
Dec 1937 – Jan 1938 Battle of Xuzhou
Tang Shizun
唐式遵
Jan 1938 – Oct 1945 Battle of Shanghai
Battle of Nanking
Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
Battle of South Henan
Battle of Zhejiang-Jiangxi
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
24th Army Group
第二十四集團軍
Established: Dec 1937
Disbanded: Feb 1939
Gu Zhutong
顧祝同
Dec 1937 – Mar 1938 Battle of Xuzhou
Han Deqin
韓德勤
Mar 1938 – Feb 1939 None
Reestablished: Sep 1939
Disbanded: Dec 1943
Pang Bingxun
龐炳勛
Sep 1939 – May 1943 Battle of South Shanxi
Jiang Dingwen
蔣鼎文
May 1943 – Dec 1943 None
Reestablished: Feb 1944
Disbanded: Mar 1945
Wang Yaowu
王耀武
Feb 1944 – Mar 1945 Battle of Changsha-Hengyang
Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou
25th Army Group
第二十五集團軍
Established: Dec 1937
Disbanded: Jan 1938
Luo Zhuoying
羅卓英
Dec 1937 – Jan 1938 Battle of Nanking
Reestablished: Jan 1939
Disbanded: Mar 1942
Chen Yi
陳儀
Jan 1939 – Sep 1941 1939–40 Winter Offensive
Liu Jianxu
劉建緒
Sep 1941 – Mar 1942 None
Reestablished: Jul 1942
Disbanded: Oct 1945
Li Jue
李覺
Jul 1942 – Oct 1945 None
26th Army Group
第二十六集團軍
Established: Jan 1938
Disbanded: Dec 1938
Xu Yuanquan
徐源泉
Jan 1938 – Dec 1938 Battle of Xuzhou
Battle of Wuhan
Reestablished: Oct 1939
Disbanded: Oct 1945
Huang Qixiang
黃琪翔
Oct 1939 – Nov 1939 None
Cai Tingkai
蔡廷鍇
Nov 1939 – Jul 1940 None
Zhou Nie
周喦
Jul 1940 – Apr 1944 Second Battle of Changsha
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Song Kentang
宋肯堂
Apr 1944 – Oct 1945 None
27th Army Group
第二十七集團軍
Established: Jan 1938
Downsized into 24th Corps: May 1946
Yang Sen
楊森
Jan 1938 – Jan 1945 Battle of Xuzhou
Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Nanchang
First Battle of Changsha
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Second Battle of Changsha
Third Battle of Changsha
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changsha-Hengyang
Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou
Li Yutang
李玉堂
Jan 1945 – May 1946 Battle of West Hunan
28th Army Group
第二十八集團軍
Established: Jan 1938
Disbanded: Apr 1942
Pan Wenhua
潘文華
Jan 1938 – Apr 1942 None
Reestablished: Feb 1943
Disbanded: Oct 1945
Li Xianzhou
李仙洲
June 1942 – Oct 1945 Battle of Central Henan
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
29th Army Group
第二十九集團軍
Established: Jan 1938
Disbanded: Oct 1945
Wang Zuanxu
王纘緒
Jan 1938 – Mar 1944 Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
Battle of South Henan
Second Battle of Changsha
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Li Tiejun
李鐵軍
Mar 1944 – Oct 1945 None
30th Army Group
第三十集團軍
Established: Apr 1938
Disbanded: Oct 1945
Wang Lingji
王陵基
Apr 1938 – Oct 1945 Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Nanchang
First Battle of Changsha
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of Shanggao
Second Battle of Changsha
Third Battle of Changsha
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Battle of Changsha-Hengyang

31st to 40th army groups

Unit Organization[1] Commanders[2] Duration[1][2] Major battles[3][4]
31st Army Group
第三十一集團軍
Established: Jun 1938
Downsized into 26th Corps: Dec 1946
Tang Enbo
湯恩伯
Jun 1938 – Sep 1943 Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Nanchang
First Battle of Changsha
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of South Henan
Second Battle of Changsha
Wang Zhonglian
王仲廉
Sep 1943 – Dec 1946 Battle of Central Henan
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
32nd Army Group
第三十二集團軍
Established: Jun 1938
Downsized into 27th Corps: Aug 1946
Shangguan Yunxiang
上官雲相
Jun 1938 – Sep 1942 Battle of Nanchang
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Second Battle of Changsha
Li Mo'an
李默庵
Sep 1942 – Aug 1946 None
Wang Jingjiu
王敬玖
Aug 1946 – Aug 1946 None
33rd Army Group
第三十三集團軍
Established: Oct 1938
Reorganized into 3rd Pacification Area: Oct 1945
Zhang Zizhong  
張自忠 (卒)
Oct 1938 – May 1940 Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
1939–40 Winter Offensive
Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
Feng Chian
馮治安
May 1940 – Oct 1945 Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
Battle of South Henan
Second Battle of Changsha
Battle of West Hubei
Battle of Changde
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
34th Army Group
第三十四集團軍
Established: Jan 1939
Reorganized into 4th Army Corps: Nov 1948
Jiang Dingwen
蔣鼎文
Jan 1939 – Aug 1939 None
Hu Zongnan
胡宗南
Aug 1939 – Feb 1943 None
Li Yannian
李延年
Feb 1943 – Jan 1945 Battle of Central Henan
Li Wen
李文
Jan 1945 – Nov 1948 None
35th Army Group
第三十五集團軍
Established: Oct 1939
Disbanded: Mar 1945
Li Hanhun
李漢魂
Oct 1939 – Jan 1940 None
Deng Longguang
鄧龍光
Jan 1940 – Mar 1945 Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou
36th Army Group
第三十六集團軍
Established: Oct 1939
Disbanded: Jan 1945
Li Jiayu  
李家鈺 (卒)
Oct 1939 – Jun 1944 Battle of Central Henan
Liu Kan
劉戡
Jun 1944 – Dec 1944 None
Li Yutang
李玉堂
Dec 1944 – Jan 1945 None
Reestablished: Mar 1945
Disbanded: Jun 1945
Yu Jishi
俞濟時
Mar 1945 – Jun 1945 None
37th Army Group
第三十七集團軍
Established: Nov 1939
Disbanded: Apr 1940
Ye Zhao
葉肇
Nov 1939 – Apr 1940 Battle of South Guangxi
Established: Jun 1942
Downsized into 29th Corps: Aug 1946
Tao Shiyue
陶峙岳
Jun 1942 – Apr 1944 None
Ding Delong
丁德隆
Apr 1944 – Dec 1945 None
Liu Kan
劉戡
Dec 1945 – Aug 1946 None
38th Army Group
第三十八集團軍
Established: Dec 1939
Disbanded: Apr 1940
Xu Tingyao
徐庭瑤
Dec 1939 – Apr 1940 Battle of South Guangxi
Reestablished: Jun 1942
Downsized into 1st Corp: Nov 1946
Fan Hanjie
范漢杰
June 1942 – Jan 1945 None
Dong Zhao
董釗
Jan 1945 – Nov 1946 None
39th Army Group
第三十九集團軍
Established: Apr 1940
Disbanded: Sep 1944
Shi Yousan
石友三
Jan 1939 – Feb 1941 None
Wei Lihuang
衛立煌
Feb 1941 – Jan 1942 None
Jiang Dingwen
蔣鼎文
Jan 1942 – Jan 1942 None
Gao Shuxun
高樹勛
Jan 1942 – Sep 1944 None
40th Army Group
第四十集團軍
Established: Sep 1943
Disbanded: Oct 1945
Ma Bufang
馬步芳
Sep 1943 – Oct 1945 None

41st to 43rd army groups

Three army groups were established and disbanded during the Chinese Civil War with the communists. No additional information is available.[2]

References

  1. Bureau of Modern History. Daily Historical Records of the Republic of China (1931–1945). Republic of China: Academia Sinica, 1949.
  2. Commanders of the Nationalist Group Armies. Published in Memories of Thirty-Eight Years of the Republic, 2006.
  3. Hsu Long-hsuen, and Chang Ming-kai. History of the Sino Japanese War (1937–1945). 2nd ed. Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China: Chung Wu Publishing Co., 1972.
  4. Hu Pu-yu. A Brief History of Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). 1st ed. Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China: Chung Wu Publishing Co., 1974.

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