The Imperial Japanese Army, often shortened to the Imperial Army or Japanese Army, was the army of Japan and the Japanese Empire during its period of expansion in the 1930s and during the Pacific War of World War II. Its aviation force was the Imperial Army Air Fleet. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang) Its generals also ran the Japanese government. (PROSE: Endgame)

History[]

Pre-war expansion[]

Between 1931 and 1932, the Japanese invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria. They established the puppet state of Manchukuo occupied and managed by the Kwantung Army, who forced the local peasants into slave labour and committed many atrocities in the region to deter escape attempts. (PROSE: Log 384) Kwantung Army Intelligence set up their headquarters in Hsinking. Major Ryuji Matsu's men set up operations in the requisitioned Dazheng Hall in the Imperial Palace in Mukden, hanging the flag of the blood-red sun emblem from every flagpole. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)

In 1932, Japanese troops were deployed onto the streets of Shanghai and clashed with the Chinese. Ishiguro Takashi was an officer during the confrontation, while Major Matsu recruited Sung-Chi Li as a double agent. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)

In 1933, the young military scientist Ishii Shiro headed research initiatives in Manchukuo intended to develop weapons for biological warfare. On a mission to rescue Mai Ling from the Zhong Ma Fortress, the Seventh Doctor and Edward Grainger encountered and were briefly captured and experimented on by Kwantung Army guards. (PROSE: Log 384)

After the invasion of Manchuria, the Army split into two factions: the militant Kodo Ha, which favoured action against the Soviet Union, and the more cautious but still expansionist Tosei Ha, which favoured action against China. In February 1936, the Sakura Kai influenced the First Infantry Division into launching a military revolt in Tokyo in support of the Kodo Ha. Despite the murder of many politicians, the revolt was suppressed, leaving the Tosei Ha, at least nominally, in charge of the Army. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang) Later that year, Japanese soldiers continued to fight against the Chinese. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the War Games)

War with China[]

Main article: Second Sino-Japanese War

In July 1937, the Army engineered a fight against the Chinese at Marco Polo Bridge in order to justify further expansion into China. This marked the beginning of the Pacific War. By August, the Japanese Twelfth Army had moved into Shangdong province and controlled everything north of Tai'an and the mountain of T'ai Shan. However, the priority of the Japanese at this stage of was to consolidate Manchuria rather than push hard into China. When the Chinese Nationalist diverted their forces to offset the Communists near Mongolia, Japanese activities in the region became uneventful and they encountered little resistance

Ishiguro Takashi, who lost his brothers in the Tokyo revolt, deserted the Army and eventually fled to Shanghai. There he worked as a nightclub owner named Woo and a vigilante named Yan Cheh, seeking to create a united front to resist the Kwantung Army once they moved towards Shanghai.

Hsien-Ko and Mr Sin had a number of fatal encounters with the Japanese troops in the occupied territories of China.

The Japanese eventually moved into Shanghai. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)

Global war[]

Main article: Pacific War

On Sunday, 7 December 1941, the Japanese Air Fleet attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States of America into the war. (PROSE: Only Connect) Shortly after, they engaged the Americans in the Philippines. (PROSE: Happily Ever After Is a High-Risk Strategy)

The Pacific islands between Japan and the US were occupied by thousands of Japanese troops who were prepared to die rather than surrender. American advisers told the President that only a direct order from the Japanese Emperor could convince these soldiers to surrender. (PROSE: Endgame)

In February 1942, the Army attacked the British Empire's Asian colonies and advanced into Singapore. British troops awaiting evacuation from the island of Kenga were terrorised by Japanese raiding parties. (AUDIO: The Forsaken)

The Army surrendered to the Americans in 1945 after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Army's ferocity and fanaticism convinced the Allies that the bombings were necessary in order to shorten the war. (PROSE: Endgame)