Twenty-Third Army (Japan)

The Japanese 23rd Army was established on June 26, 1941, under the command of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to the control of the China Expeditionary Army on August 12 of the same year. It was based in Guangdong province and on Hainan Island to replace the Southern China Area Army which was disbanded June 26, 1941.

The Japanese 23rd Army was primarily a garrison force to deter the possible landings of Allied forces in southern China. It was involved in the Battle of Guilin-Liuzhou (part of Operation Ichi-Go) from August–November 1944. The Japanese 23rd Army surrendered to the Chinese Kuomintang forces on August 15, 1945, with the surrender of Japan and was disbanded in Guangzhou.

After the war, Imamura, Sakai, and Tanaka were all tried and convicted of war crimes. Sakai and Tanaka were tried in China and executed, while Imamura received a life sentence from an Australian military court. He was released in 1954. Viewing his own sentence as too lenient, Imamura built his own prison in which he imprisoned himself until his death in 1967.

• Hong Kong Defence Force (Imperial Japanese Army)

• Dorn, Frank (1974). The Sino-Japanese War, 1937-41: From Marco Polo Bridge to Pearl Harbor. MacMillan. ISBN 0-02-532200-1.
• Madej, Victor (1981). Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945. Game Publishing Company. ASIN: B000L4CYWW.

• Wendel, Marcus. "Axis History Factbook". Japanese Twenty Third Army.