| Unit Name: | China Expeditionary Army |
| Native Name: | Japanese: 支那派遣軍, Shina hakengun |
| Dates: | 12 September 1939 – 15 August 1945 |
| Allegiance: | Emperor of Japan |
| Type: | Army Group |
| Size: | 1,050,000 personnel |
| Garrison: | Nanjing |
| Battles: | Second Sino-Japanese War |
The was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1939 to 1945.
The China Expeditionary Army was established in September 1939 from the merger of the Central China Expeditionary Army and Japanese Northern China Area Army, and was headquartered in the pro-Japanese Reorganized National Government's capital city of Nanjing. The China Expeditionary Army was responsible for all Japanese military operations in China and was the main fighting force during the Second Sino-Japanese War, with over 1 million soldiers under its command at its peak. The China Expeditionary Army was dissolved upon the Surrender of Japan in August 1945.
In military literature, the China Expeditionary Army is often referred to by the initials "CEA".[1]
After the Lugou Bridge Incident, the Japanese China Garrison Army was reinforced with the Shanghai Expeditionary Army. This force was further supplemented by the Japanese Tenth Army, and marched inland from Shanghai to occupy Hangzhou. In October 1937, this force was renamed the Japanese Central China Area Army. After the fall of Nanjing, the Central China Expeditionary Army was formed. On September 12, 1939 by Army Order 362, the China Expeditionary Army was formed with the merger of the Central China Expeditionary Army with the Northern China Area Army. It was headquartered in Nanjing throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The North China Area Army was maintained as a subordinate unit headquartered in Beijing and was responsible for operations in the north China plains from the Yellow River to the Great Wall, including Inner Mongolia.
The Japanese Sixth Area Army covered central and southern China, and several independent armies reporting directly to the central command in Nanjing were used for garrison, strategic reserve and for specific operations.
By the war's end it consisted of 1,050,000 men in one armored and 25 infantry divisions. It also contained over 22 Independent brigades; 11 infantry, 1 cavalry, and 10 mixed (combined infantry, artillery, armor and support units). Towards the end of the war much of its ammunition reserve and many of its units had been transferred into the Pacific Theater leaving the China Expeditionary Army weak and undermanned.
The China Expeditionary Army surrendered on August 15, 1945 but its troops remained armed to provide security until Allied troops arrived.
| Name | From | To | |
| 1 | 12 September 1939 | 1 March 1941 | |
| 2 | Field Marshal Shunroku Hata | 1 March 1941 | 23 November 1944 |
| 3 | 23 November 1944 | 15 August 1945 | |
| Name | From | To | |
| 1 | 4 September 1939 | 7 July 1941 | |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Jun Ushiroku | 7 July 1941 | 17 August 1942 |
| 3 | 17 August 1942 | 18 March 1943 | |
| 4 | Lieutenant General Takuro Matsui | 18 March 1943 | 1 February 1945 |
| 5 | 1 February 1945 | 15 August 1945 | |