Re: 1st Area Army?

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asiaticus
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Re: 1st Area Army?

#1

Post by asiaticus » 23 Jul 2006, 00:57

Posted on another thread I have moved it here:
1st Area Army?
Finnigan

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Joined: 22 Jul 2006

Location: US
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 9:16 am


I have been researching the First Indochina War.

I have some very incomplete information on the Chinese troops sent into Northern Tonkien to disarm the Japanese troops there in September of 1945.

From what I can tell these troops came from Yunnan.
They were designated as the 1st Area Army, and were under the command of Lu Han.

I have the following KMT divisions as, (possibly), being attached to this army:

52nd Infantry Division
60th Infantry Division
62nd Infantry Division
130th Infantry Division

The Independant 93rd Infantry Division was a separate division sent into Northern Laos.

Any verification, additions, or corrections to this list would be very much appreciated.
There is this from http://www.taiwandocuments.org/surrender06.htm :
Memorandum of General Ho Ying-chin
21 August 1945
This memorandum by Gen. Ho Ying-chin, Commander in Chief of the Chinese Army, was transmitted to Gen. Okamura Yasutsugu, Commander of Japanese Forces in Central China, in preparation for the surrender of Japanese Forces in the China Theatre.

1. Areas in Indochina lying north of 16 degrees north latitude are to be taken over by General Lu Han, Commander of the 1st Area Forces.
According to a Winter 1944-45 list of the 4 "Front Armies" that were forces under the command of GHQ Chinese Army that were to receive American equipment on pg. 448-452 of Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) 2nd Ed. ,1971.

GHQ Chinese Army - Ho Ying-chien
- 1st Front Army - Lu Han
-- 60th Corps - An En-pu
--- 182nd Division - Yang Hung-yuan
--- 184th Division - Tseng Tse-sheng
-- 2nd Route Corps - Chang Chung
--- 20th Provincial Division - An Chun-san
--- 21st Provincial Division - Chiu Ping-chang
--- 22nd Provincial Division - Yang Ping-lin
-- 52nd Corps - Chao Kung-wu
--- 2nd Division - Liu Yu-chang
--- 25th Division - Liu Shih-mao
--- 195th Division - Chang Ming-hsin
-- 18th Division - Hsu Yi-chun
-- Pack Howitzer Regiment Generalissimo's HQ Kunming
-- Engineer Regiment Generalissimo's HQ Kunming


On the map 46 of the same book it shows a 62nd Corps in the north of Indochina in Sept. 9 1945.
If the oob for Winter 1944-45 remained the same that unit had been with 2nd Front Army and had:

-62nd Corps - Huang Tao
-- 151st Division - Lin Wei-chao
-- 95th Division - Tuan Yun
-- 157th Division - Li Hung-ta
-- 158th Division - Liu Tung-tsai

I have found these locations for your divisions:

52nd Division was with 49th Corps under 25th Army/3rd War Area in Winter 1944-45 and 49th Corps / 25th Army was around Hangchow to the east and north in Sept. 9 1945.

60th Division was in 9th War Area Sept. 9 1945.

62nd Division not found in 1945 listings, last found in 1942 listing for the Chekiang-Kiangsi Campaign in 3rd War Area, 32nd Army Group, 28th Corps.

130th Division was with 53rd Corps under GHQ China in Winter 1944-45. I cant find a later listing or map location in 1944-45.

93rd Division had been in Burma in 1944 and was directly under GHQ China in Winter 1944-45. Seems a good candidate for the Laotian mission.

Finnigan
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#2

Post by Finnigan » 24 Jul 2006, 21:14

Thank you so very much.

I am sure that 'Area' (in 1st Area Army), is a mis-translation of the word 'Front', so it's almost certainly the 1st Front Army as you listed.

I also know that Lu Han was a semi-autonomous warlord in Yunnan, and that Chiang Kai Shek slyly tricked him by offering him the 'honor' of accepting the Japanese surrender in Indochina.

Lu Han eagerly accepted as it was a, (more-or-less), open invitation to plunder Northern Tonkien, (which he did, indeed, proceed to do).

I have other confirmation that the KMT forces involved totaled 4 divisions. So your 62nd Corps is almost certainly the force involved.

The 52nd, and 60th Divisions in my list must obviously refer to the 52nd, and 60th, Corps listed under the 1st Front Army.

It also provides circumstantial evidence that the 62nd Corps (that had been with the 2nd Front Army) was transferred to Lu Han's command sometime after the winter of 1944/1945. (Most probably the summer of 1945), and that the 62nd Division on my list was really the 62nd Corps from yours.

I have no idea what my listing of the 130th Division might be, but it is obviouly in error.

I have also read that while Lu Han was in Indochina in 1945/1946, Chiang transferred the bulk of Lu Han's remaining loyal troops in Yunnan North to fight the Communists.

(I would guess that only the 2nd Route Corps (of Provincial troops), remained in Yunnan)

Lu Han, in retaliation, rose against Chiang as the Nationalists tried to retreat into Yunnan a year and a half later.

Again many many thanks, you have helped me to fill in a rather difficult gap in my research.


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asiaticus
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re:1st Area Army

#3

Post by asiaticus » 25 Jul 2006, 00:49

Happy to help. Let me know what you find out as you go on.
I am sure that 'Area' (in 1st Area Army), is a mis-translation of the word 'Front', so it's almost certainly the 1st Front Army as you listed.
I dont know if that is so. I have not seen the Chinese characters as I am working with an English translation of the KMT history of the war. Lots of screwy tranlations of unit names here. I would be thinking you might have the right one if that is what the characters translate as.

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Leonard
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#4

Post by Leonard » 19 Aug 2006, 22:01

Front Army was the official translation during the war for Chinese 方面軍. But at the same time, Japanese 方面軍 was translated as Area Army. I guess this is the reason for some confusion.

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