New 1st Army

New 1st Army
Parade of US equipped Chinese Army in India.
Active	1943—1949
Country	Republic of China
Allegiance	Republic of China
Type	Field Army
Size	New 38th Division New 22nd Division New 30th Division
Part of	National Revolutionary Army
Nickname(s)	1st Army Under the Heaven
Equipment	M1A1Thompson submachine gun M116 howitzer M2 mortar M1 carbine
Engagements	Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) Burma Campaign Chinese Civil War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Sun Li-jen

New 1st Army (simplified Chinese: 新一军; traditional Chinese: 新一軍) was reputed as the most elite Chinese military unit of the Kuomintang. Nicknamed the "1st [Best] Army Under the Heaven" (simplified Chinese: 天下第一军; traditional Chinese: 天下第一軍) during the Chinese Civil War, it caused the most Japanese Army casualties during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).

Formed from the X Force, particularly the New 38th Division, the New 1st Army was among the top five nationalist crack units. The other four included the New 6th Army, the Reorganized 11th Division (army-sized, formerly known as the 18th Army and later reverted to its original designation), the Reorganized 74th Division (army sized, formerly known as the 74th Army), and the 5th Army.

After the New 38th Division under Sun Li-jen and New 22nd Division under Liao Yao-hsiang retreated to India from Burma in the first phase of the Burma Campaign, the two divisions obtained American equipment and training at Ramgarh, India. There the New 1st Army was formed in February 1943 with the three divisions: the New 38th, the New 22nd and the New 30th. Lieutenant-General Qiu Qingquan was appointed its commander, but was soon replaced by Lieutenant-General Cheng Tung-kuo. Sun Li-jen served as the deputy commander but took over tactical command at the beginning of the second phase of the Burma Campaign. In May 1944, Sun was promoted its commander.