Masaharu Homma
Masaharu Homma | |
---|---|
本間 雅晴 | |
Governor-General of the Philippines | |
In office January 3, 1942 – June 8, 1942 | |
Preceded by | Newly established |
Succeeded by | Shizuichi Tanaka |
| |
In office January 3, 1942 – January 23, 1942 | |
Preceded by | Newly established |
Succeeded by | Jorge B. Vargas |
Personal details | |
Born | Lieutenant General | November 27, 1887
Commands |
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Masaharu Homma (本間 雅晴, Honma Masaharu, November 27, 1887 – April 3, 1946) was a lieutenant general in the
Biography
Homma was born on Sado Island, in the Sea of Japan off Niigata Prefecture. He graduated in the 14th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1907, and in the 27th class of the Army Staff College in 1915.[citation needed]
Homma had a deep respect for, and some understanding of, the West, having spent eight years as a military attaché in the United Kingdom. In 1917, he was attached to the East Lancashire Regiment, and in 1918, served with the British Expeditionary Force in France, being awarded the Military Cross.[2]
From 1930 to 1932, Homma was again sent as a military attaché to the United Kingdom, where his proficiency in the English language was useful. He was also assigned to be part of the Japanese delegation to the
In 1937, Homma was appointed aide-de-camp to
He was promoted to lieutenant general in July 1938.[citation needed]
With the start of the
The Philippines
With the start of the
His approach towards Filipino civilians earned him the enmity of his superior, General Count
Homma failed to give credence to the possibility that a retreat into the
Worried about the stalled offensive in Luzon, Hirohito pressed Army Chief of Staff Hajime Sugiyama twice in January 1942 to increase troop strength and launch a quick knockout on Bataan.[8] Following these orders, Sugiyama put pressure on Homma to renew his attacks. The resulting Battle of Bataan, commencing in January 1942, was one of the most intense in the campaign. Following Japanese victory in April, at least 60,000 Allied prisoners of war were marched 60 miles (100 km) to a prisoner-of-war camp. Due to ill treatment and abuse from Japanese soldiers, at least 5,500 Allied soldiers died during the march. Homma became known as the Beast of Bataan among Allied soldiers.[9]: 34
Despite Japanese victory in the Battle of Bataan, the deteriorating relationship between Homma and Sugiyama led to the removal of Homma from command shortly after the fall of Corregidor, and he was thereafter commander of the 14th Army in name only. The New York Times erroneously reported prior to the fall of Bataan that Homma was replaced by General Yamashita, and that Homma had committed suicide.[10]
The Imperial General Headquarters regarded Homma as not aggressive enough in war (resulting in the high cost and long delay in securing the American and Filipino forces' surrender), and too lenient with the Filipino people in peace, and he was subsequently forced into retirement in August 1943.[11] Homma retired from the military and lived in semiseclusion in Japan until the end of the war.[citation needed]
War crimes trial and execution
After the
Homma was arraigned on December 19, 1945, and the trial was held at the High Commissioner's Residence, Manila, between January 3 and February 11, 1946.[13] A team of six lawyers, none of whom had experience in criminal law,[9]: 31 was appointed to defend Homma.
The prosecution called witnesses and filed depositions attesting to the abuse and poor conditions encountered by the Allied soldiers during the march. In particular, James Baldassarre, a survivor of the march, testified to the killings of two Allied officers by the Japanese, and Homma's indifference to the illness and suffering of the Allied prisoners of war.[9]
During his defense, Homma claimed that he was so preoccupied with the plans for the Corregidor assault that he had forgotten about the prisoners' treatment, believing that his officers were properly handling the matter. He claimed that he did not learn of the atrocity until after the war, though his headquarters were only 500 feet (150 m) from the route of the march,[12] stating in court, "I came to know for the first time in the court of [the] atrocities, and I am ashamed of myself should these atrocities have happened."[9] Robert Pelz, a member of Homma's defense team, noted in his diary, "I truly believe [Homma] had no idea of the things that occurred."[9]
While it is unclear, according to historian Kevin C. Murphy, whether Homma ordered the atrocities that occurred during the march, his lack of administrative expertise, and his inability to adequately delegate authority and control his men, helped to enable the atrocities.
On February 11, 1946, Homma was convicted of all counts and sentenced "to be shot to death with musketry",
Trial controversy
Various claims and charges have been lodged that Homma's trial was unfair or biased and that his trial and execution served primarily to avenge Homma's defeat of General MacArthur's forces. Associate Justice
Either we conduct such a trial as this in the noble spirit and atmosphere of our Constitution or we abandon all pretense to justice, let the ages slip away, and descend to the level of revengeful blood purges.[18]
Homma's chief defense counsel, John H. Skeen Jr., stated that it was a "highly irregular trial, conducted in an atmosphere that left no doubt as to what the ultimate outcome would be".[19]
General Arthur Trudeau, a member of the five-member tribunal that condemned Homma, said in a 1971 interview,
There's no question but that some men who were either weak or wounded were shot or bayoneted on this Death March. The question is how many echelons of command up is a person responsible to the point where you should condemn him for murder or crime, and that is what General Homma was accused of ... We need to cogitate about our wisdom in condemning General Homma to death. I must admit I was not much in favor of it. In fact, I opposed it but I could only oppose it to a point that allowed him to be shot as a soldier and not hanged ... I thought he was an outstanding soldier.[20]
General Douglas MacArthur had a differing conclusion and wrote in his review of the case:
If this defendant does not deserve his judicial fate, none in jurisdictional history ever did. There can be no greater, more heinous, or more dangerous crime than the mass destruction, under guise of military authority or military necessity, of helpless men incapable of further contribution to war effort. A failure of law process to punish such acts of criminal enormity would threaten the very fabric of world society.[21]
References
Citations
- ^ Sides, Hampton (February–March 2007). "The Trial of General Homma". American Heritage. Rockville, MD: American Heritage Society. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- ISBN 1854091514
- ^ Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II
- ^ Budge, The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
- ^ Toland, p. 250
- ^ Toland, p. 258
- ^ Toland, p. 317–18
- ^ Herbert Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, 2000, p. 447
- ^ a b c d e f g Cook, Peter B (March 1996). "Beast of Bataan" (PDF). American History. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ New York Times, April 3, 1942, p. 1
- ISBN 1841767891.
- ^ a b c Hampton, Sides (February–March 2007). "Trial of General Homma". American Heritage. 58 (1). Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Military Courts (S-1804-0184 – S-1804-0310)". Legal Tools Database. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ "Inside the Bataan Death March: Defeat, Travail and Memory": Kevin C. Murphy p.24
- ^ (Toland, p. 294)
- ^ US Army Film (June 20, 2009). "Homma Verdict 1945" (Video). Youtube. Robert H. Jackson Center. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ "Los Baños During the Japanese Period". Municipality of Los Baños. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ Application of Homma, 327 U.S. 759 (1946)
- ^ (Toland, p. 320)
- ISBN 9781428915701. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 12, 2013.
- ^ Occupation of Japan, 1945–1950, MacArthur, Reminiscences, Bluejacket Books, Naval Institute Press, 1964
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-06-093130-2.
- ISBN 1-85043-569-3.
- Fuller, Richard (1992). Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai. London: Arms and Armor. ISBN 1-85409-151-4.
- Piccigallo, Philip R (1980). The Japanese on Trial: Allied War Crimes Operations in the East, 1945–1951. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-78033-8.
- ISBN 0-8129-6858-1.
- Totani, Yuma (2015). Justice in Asia and the Pacific Region, 1945–1952: Allied War Crimes Prosecutions. Cambridge University Press.
External links
- People & Events: Masaharu Homma Archived October 12, 2003, at the PBS
- The Trial of General Homma American Heritage
- Homma Verdict 1945 on YouTube