Shunroku Hata
Shunroku Hata | |
|---|---|
畑俊六 | |
Minister of War | |
| In office August 30, 1939 – July 22, 1940 | |
| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Hideki Tōjō |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 26, 1879 Fukushima Prefecture, Empire of Japan |
| Died | May 10, 1962 (aged 82) Tokyo, Japan |
| Awards | Order of the Rising Sun First Class Order of the Golden Kite First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure First Class |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch/service |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1901–1945 |
| Rank | Field Marshal (Gensui)  |
| Unit | Third Army (Japan) |
| Commands | 14th Division Taiwan Army of Japan China Expeditionary Army Second General Army (Japan) |
| Battles/wars | Russo-Japanese War World War II |
Shunroku Hata (畑俊六, Hata Shunroku, July 26, 1879 – May 10, 1962) was a field marshal (gensui) in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal's rank. Hata was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1948, but was paroled in 1955.
Biography
Early years
Hata was a native of
Sent as a
On his return to Japan, Hata was promoted to colonel and given command of the 16th Field Artillery Regiment in July 1921, and was promoted to major general and commander of the 4th Heavy Field Artillery Brigade in March 1926.
Hata was subsequently assigned to the strategic planning division of the
Hata was promoted to lieutenant general in August 1931 and became Inspector General of Artillery Training. He was then given a field command, that of the 14th Division in August 1933. After serving as head of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service from December 1935, he became commander of the Taiwan Army of Japan in 1936.[1]
Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
His rise after the start of the
Hata returned to China as commander-in-chief of the
Hata was requested to take command of the Second General Army, based in Hiroshima from 1944 to 1945 in preparation for the anticipated Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands. He was thus in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing and survived. One of the only senior figures to survive the explosion, Hata took command of the city and relief efforts in the following days. Hata was one of the senior generals who agreed with the decision to surrender, but asked that he be stripped of his title of Field Marshal in atonement for the Army's failures in the war.[3]
Promotions
- Second Lieutenant: June 1901
- Lieutenant: November 1903
- Captain: June 1905
- Major: April 1914
- Lieutenant Colonel: July 1918
- Colonel: July 20, 1921
- Major General: March 2, 1926
- Lieutenant General: August 1, 1931
- General: November 1, 1937
- Marshal: June 2, 1944
Judgement
Hata was arrested by the
Hata's older brother, Eitaro Hata (1872–1930), was also a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, from July 1929 until his death, in May 1930, from acute nephritis.
References
Books
- Dupuy, Trevor N. (1992). ISBN 0-7858-0437-4.
- Fuller, Richard (1992). Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai. London: Arms and Armor. ISBN 1-85409-151-4.
- Hayashi, Saburo; Cox, Alvin D (1959). Kogun: The Japanese Army in the Pacific War. Quantico, Virginia: The Marine Corps Association.
- Maga, Timothy P. (2001). Judgment at Tokyo: The Japanese War Crimes Trials. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2177-9.
External links
- Ammenthorp, Steen. "Hata, Shunroku". The Generals of World War II.
- Budge, Kent. "Hata Shunroku". Pacific War Online Encyclopedia.
Notes
- ^ Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II
- ^ "Japan: Imitation of Naziism?" Time, Jul. 22, 1940
- ^ Budge, Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
- ^ Maga, Judgement at Tokyo
- ^ "The Tokyo War Crimes Trial:Field Marshal Shunroku Hata". Archived from the original on March 20, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
