Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Japanese First Area Army was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in northern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the closing stages of the war. The Japanese 1st Area Army was formed on July 4, 1942 under the control of the Kwangtung Army as a military reserve and garrison force to maintain security and public order in northern Manchukuo as many veteran divisions of the Kwangtung Army were transferred to the various southern fronts in the Pacific War. It consisted mostly of minimally-trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia, without adequate weapons or supplies. The 1st Area Army was headquartered in Dunhua, in what is now the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jilin Province, China.