Route Army

A Route Army (路軍/路军), was a type of military organization during the Chinese Republic, and usually exercised command over two or more Corps or a large number of Divisions or Independent Brigades. It was a common formation in China prior to the Second Sino-Japanese War but was discarded as a formation type by the National Revolutionary Army after 1938 (other than the 8th Route Army), in favor of the Group Army.

Some of the more famous of the Route Armies were:

• 8th Route Army Communist guerrilla force in North China.
• 19th Route Army Defending Shanghai in 1932 during the January 28 Incident.
• 29th Route Army Defending Hubei and Chahar in July 1937 in the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and Battle of Beiping-Tianjin.

Source

• Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) 2nd Ed. ,1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China.