The was formed 1 June 1901 as the , as part of Japan's

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

 contribution to the international coalition in China during the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...

. It was renamed the China Garrison Army on 14 April 1912.

History

The IJA 5th Division was dispatched to protect Japanese nationals and property in Tianjin

Tianjin

' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...

 China in June 1900 after the start of the Boxer Rebellion. It formed the core of the Japanese expeditionary forces in northern China

Northern and southern China

Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...

. Under the terms of the Boxer Protocol

Boxer Protocol

The Boxer Protocol was signed on September 7, 1901 between the Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces plus Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands after China's defeat in the intervention to put down the Boxer Rebellion at the hands of the...

, Japan as allowed to maintain a military garrison to guard its embassy, concessions in China, as well as certain strategic fortifications and ports. The IJA 5th Division was thus transformed into the Chinese Empire Garrison Army in June 1901.

After the Xinhai Revolution

Xinhai Revolution

The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...

 overthrew the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 and the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 was proclaimed in 1911, the name was considered an anachronism, and the Chinese Empire Garrison Army was thus renamed in 1912 to the China Garrison Army.

From April 1936, as diplomatic relations between Japan and China continued to worsen, the China Garrison Army was reinforced with ten companies of infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 and one combined regiment.

Its forces were involved in the clash with the Chinese in the Marco Polo Bridge Incident

Marco Polo Bridge Incident

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, often used as the marker for the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War .The eleven-arch granite bridge, Lugouqiao, is an architecturally significant structure,...

 that triggered the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

. The China Garrison Army was reinforced in July 1937 with the IJA 20th Division from Korea

Chosen Army of Japan

The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army, forming a garrison force in Korea under Japanese rule.-History:Japanese forces occupied large portions of the Empire of Korea during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and a substantial was established in Seoul to protect the Japanese embassy and...

 and two Independent combined brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

s from the Kwantung Army in Manchukuo

Manchukuo

Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...

, and subsequently with an additional three infantry divisions (the IJA 5th Division, IJA 6th Division and IJA 10th Division) from the Japanese home islands for the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin

Battle of Beiping-Tianjin

The Battle of Beiping-Tianjin , also known as the “Peiking-Tientsin Operation” or by the Japanese as the was a series of battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War fought in the proximity of Beiping and Tianjin...

 and Operation Chahar

Operation Chahar

Operation Chahar, known by the Japanese as チャハル作戦 and by the Chinese as the 长城抗战 , occurred in August 1937, following the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War....

.

The China Garrison Army was abolished on 26 August 1937 and its forced redistributed between the Japanese First Army

Japanese First Army

The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on three separate occasions.-History:The Japanese 1st Army was initially raised during the First Sino-Japanese War from September 1, 1894 to May 28, 1895 under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo...

, Japanese Second Army

Japanese Second Army

The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on four separate occasions.-History:The Japanese 2nd Army was initially raised during the First Sino-Japanese War from September 27, 1894 to May 14, 1895 under the command of General Ōyama Iwao.It was revived for the...

 and Japanese Northern China Area Army

Japanese Northern China Area Army

The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.-History:The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to the newly formed China Expeditionary Army on September 23,...

. Garrison duties for the Tianjin area were assigned to the IJA 27th Division.

Commanding officer

	Name	From	To
1	Lieutenant General Hisanao Oshima	1 June 1901	4 July 1901
2	Lieutenant General Takesuke Yamane	4 July 1901	25 October 1901
3	General Yoshifuru Akiyama	25 October 1901	2 April 1903
4	Lieutenant General Taro Senba	2 April 1903	25 June 1905
5	General Mitsumoi Kamio	25 June 1905	27 November 1906
6	Lieutenant General Aizo Nakamura	27 November 1906	21 November 1908
7	Lieutenant General Teijiro Abe	21 November 1908	24 April 1912
8	Lieutenant General Kojiro Sato	24 April 1912	8 August 1914
9	General Takeshi Nara	8 August 1914	5 July 1915
10	Lieutenant General Sueharu Saito	5 July 1915	2 May 1916
11	Lieutenant General Masaomi Ishimitsu	2 May 1916	10 June 1918
12	General Hanzo Kanaya	10 June 1918	25 July 1919
13	Lieutenant General Jirō Minami Jiro Minami - Notes :...	25 July 1919	20 January 1921
14	Lieutenant General Ichiba Suzuki	20 January 1921	6 August 1923
15	Lieutenant General Kensaku Yoshioka	6 August 1923	1 May 1925
16	Lieutenant General Rokuichi Koizumi	1 May 1925	2 March 1926
17	Lieutenant General Toyoki Takada	2 March 1926	26 July 1927
18	Lieutenant General Kametaro Arai	26 July 1927	16 March 1929
19	General Kenkichi Ueda Kenkichi Ueda -External links:*- Notes :...	16 March 1929	22 December 1930
20	Lieutenant General Kohei Kashii	22 December 1930	29 February 1932
21	General Kotaro Nakamura	29 February 1932	5 March 1934
22	General Yoshijirō Umezu	5 March 1934	1 August 1935
23	General Hayao Tada Hayao Tada -External links:* - Notes :...	1 August 1935	1 May 1936
24	Lieutenant General Kanichiro Tashiro Kanichiro Tashiro - Notes :...	1 May 1936	12 July 1937
25	Lieutenant General Kiyoshi Katsuki Kiyoshi Katsuki -External links:* at imperialarmy.hp.infoseek.co.jp- Notes :...	12 July 1937	26 August 1937

Chief of Staff

	Name	From	To
1	Major General Kenji Matsumoto	10 August 1928	1 August 1931
2	Major General Toshijiro Takeuchi	1 August 1931	9 January 1932
3	Major General Monya Kikuchi	9 January 1932	1 August 1934
4	General Takashi Sakai Takashi Sakai -Notes:...	1 August 1934	2 December 1935
5	Major General Takenori Nagami	2 December 1935	1 August 1936
6	Major Gumu Hashimoto	1 August 1936	26 August 1937

External links

• Japanese China Garrison Army (In Japanese)