Editing Hitoshi Imamura (section)

==Wars in China==
With the [[January 28 incident]] of 1932, he was sent to take command of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] (IJA) 57th Infantry Regiment. On his return to Japan, he became commandant of the Narashino Army School from 1932 to 1935.<ref>Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II</ref>

In March 1935, Imamura was promoted from regimental commander to brigade commander of the IJA 40th Infantry Brigade with the rank of major general. He was assigned as deputy [[Chief of staff (military)|chief of staff]] of the Kwantung Army in [[Manchukuo]] in March 1936. He was recalled to Japan to assume the post of commandant of the Toyama Army Infantry School from 1937 to 1938.

Promoted to the rank of [[lieutenant general]] in March 1938, Imamura was given command of the [[5th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|IJA 5th Division]] based in China, which he continued to command in the early stages of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] to 1940. From 1940 to 1941, he was [[Inspectorate General of Military Training|Deputy Inspector-General of Military Training]], deputy to one of the most powerful officials in the Japanese Army. He was subsequently appointed commander in chief of the [[Twenty-Third Army (Japan)|Twenty Third Army]].