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