Yoshijirō Umezu
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| Yoshijirō Umezu | |
|---|---|
| 4 January 1882 - 8 January 1949 | |
 General Umezu Yoshijirō |
|
| Place of birth | Ōita Prefecture, Japan |
| Place of death | Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1903 -1945 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | China Garrison Army, IJA 2nd Division, IJA 1st Army, Kwangtung Army |
| Battles/wars | Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
| Other work | Chief the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff |
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Umezu.
Yoshijiro Umezu (梅津美治郎 Umezu Yoshijirō?) (4 January 1882 - 8 January 1949) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II.
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[edit] Biography
Umezu was born in Oita prefecture. He graduated from the 15th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1903 and served in the infantry. After graduation at the top of the 23rd class of the Army Staff College, he was sent to Europe for further studies in Germany and Denmark. While in Denmark, he was also a military observor from Japan in World War I. From 1919-1921, he was appointed military attaché to Switzerland. [1]
In the 1920s Umezu was a member of the Toseiha led by General Kazushige Ugaki along with Gen Sugiyama, Koiso Kuniaki, Tetsuzan Nagata and Hideki Tojo. They represented a politically moderate line between the armed forces, in opposition to the radical Kodaha movement guided by Sadao Araki. He served as an instructor at the Army Staff College from 1923-1924, and was commander of the IJA 3rd Infantry Regiment from 1924-1926.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Umezu held a number of staff positions within the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. He was promoted to major general in August 1930. Umezu returned to the field as a lieutenant general and commander of the Japanese China Garrison Army from 1934-1935 and as commander of the IJA 2nd Division from 1935-1936. [2]
Recalled to Japan in 1936, he was appointed Vice Minster of War from 1936-1938. He returned to China in 1938 as commander in chief of the IJA 1st Army, and subsequently commander in chief of the Kwangtung Army from 1939-1944. He was promoted to full general in August 1939. [3]
In July 1944, Umezu became the final Chief the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff and a member of the Supreme War Council. Along with War Minister Korechika Anami and Soemu Toyoda, Chief of Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, Umezu opposed surrender in August 1945; he believed that the military should fight on, forcing the Allies to sustain such heavy losses in an invasion of Japan, that Japan negotiate for peace under better terms. He was aware of the planned coup d’etat by junior officers opposed to the surrender, but did nothing to either aid or hinder it. [4] He was personally ordered by Emperor Hirohito sign the instrument of surrender on behalf of the armed forces on 2 September 1945 and was thus the Army's senior representative during the surrender ceremonies on the battleship USS Missouri at the end of World War II. [5]
After the war, he was arrested by the SCAP authorities and tried as a war criminal at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo. He was found guilty of counts 1, 27, 29, 31 and 32 of waging a war of aggression and sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 November 1948. [6] While in prison, he became a convert to Christianity. Umezu died from rectal cancer in prison in 1949.
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Butow, Robert J. C. (1954). Japan's Decision to Surrender. Stanford University Press. ASIN: B000VFCC14.
- Dupuy, Trevor N. (1992). Encyclopedia of Military Biography. I B Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN 1-85043-569-3.
- Frank, Richard B. (1999). Downfall: the End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Penguin, non-classics. ISBN 0141001461.
- 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, VA: 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.
[edit] External links
- USS Missouri
- Ammenthorp, Steen. Umezu, Yoshijiro. The Generals of World War II.
- Budge, Kent. Umezu, Yoshijiro. Pacific War Online Encyclopedia.
- Clancy, Patrick. HyperWar:IMTFE Judgement. HyperWar Foundation.
[edit] Notes
| Preceded by Kenkichi Ueda |
Governor-General of Kwantung 1939-1944 |
Succeeded by Otozo Yamada |
