Imperial Japanese Army

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The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan's rapid modernization during the Meiji period. It also fought in numerous conflicts including the First Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, World War I, Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II, and became a dominant force in Japanese politics. Initially formed from samurai domain armies that overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate, it evolved after the Meiji Restoration into a powerful modern military influenced by French and German models, supported by its own air arm, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. The IJA was responsible for several successful overseas military campaigns that resulted in the imperialist expansion of the Japanese Empire, including the First Sino-Japanese War, the invasion of Taiwan, the Russo-Japanese War, the seizure of German territories in Asia in World War I and the invasion of Manchuria. By the 1930s, the Army and Navy had...

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