Although the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which took place in modern China, is undoubtedly the most dangerous and humiliating historical moment for our Chinese people, although the War of Resistance Against Japan has passed for several decades, this shame cannot be erased forever.
We know that in Japan in World War II, in fact, the emperor's power is still quite large, that is the god in the minds of the Japanese people, but what is very strange is that at the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Emperor Hirohito of Japan ordered the Japanese soldiers to surrender unconditionally, but there was such a Japanese army team that refused Emperor Hirohito's orders. Could it be that this Japanese army could not be controlled by the emperor?
This unit was initially known as the "Flower of the Imperial Army", and from this reputation, we can see how powerful this Japanese army is, and indeed this unit is the most powerful in terms of equipment and soldier combat effectiveness.
In fact, the "Flower of the Imperial Army" was the later famous Kwantung Army. The Kwantung Army was originally an important military force that existed in the old Japanese Empire, so why is it called the Kwantung Army? That's because in 1904 Russia and Japan fought for the northeast region of China, which is famous in modern history, the Russo-Japanese War.
As a result, the Japanese divided Changchun, Lushun and other places in the past, and later the Japanese army changed the Liaodong region to Kwantung Prefecture, and established the Japanese's own Kanto Governor's Palace in Liaoyang. This was not enough, and in 1906, Japan established 6 independent garrisons in northeast China. It is reported that at that time, they claimed to have 1 million troops (31 infantry divisions, 11 infantry and tank brigades, 1 death squad brigade and 2 aviation troops), and this 1 million Kwantung Army was directly under the command of the Japanese Emperor, and others had no direct authority to order them.
Officially called the Kwantung Army or in 1917, the Kwantung Army was indeed too powerful to even be swayed by the Emperor of Japan, and generally only the orders of the Chief of Staff could bring them to their knees.
In the following decades, the Kwantung Army continued to develop its strength, and it is reported that by the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the total number of the Kwantung Army had reached 700,000, including 8 divisions, 7 mixed brigades, 1 tank regiment and 5 artillery companies.
So was the number of the Kwantung Army really 700,000 in the late World War II, and the combat effectiveness was still as strong as ever? Perhaps this is not the case, according to reliable sources, at that time, the Kwantung Army was actually mixed with many people, such as children and the elderly.
In addition, we can analyze the battle between the Red Army and the Kwantung Army, on August 8, 1945, 1.5 million Soviet Red Army targeted the Kwantung Army, the most powerful army of the Japanese army, and the result was that the Kwantung Army was beaten to the point of escape.
Two days later, the Japanese military department issued an order for the Kwantung Army to withdraw from northeast China, but the people did not listen to it at all, so they continued to fight with the Soviet Red Army, and 5 days later, that is, on August 15, the Japanese Emperor announced his unconditional surrender, but even so, the Kwantung Army still refused to surrender and continued to fight with the Soviet Red Army.
Of course, in the end, due to the heavy casualties of the Kwantung Army, commander-in-chief Yamada Otozo had to make an armistice request to the Soviet Union, and then more than 500,000 Kwantung Army became prisoners of the Soviet Union, while another 83,000 Kwantung Army was killed, and the Soviet Red Army sacrificed about 32,000 people.
All in all, the reason for the arrogance of the Kwantung Army is nothing more than that it is very powerful, so it is unwilling to obey the orders of the Japanese Emperor, and the Kwantung Army's generational status is very high, is it comparable to the average Japanese army?