Shunroku Hata

Shunroku Hata
Điền tuấn sáu
Field Marshal Shunroku Hata serving atSecond General Army
Minister of War
In office August 30, 1939 – July 22, 1940
Monarch	Shōwa
Prime Minister	Nobuyuki Abe Mitsumasa Yonai
Preceded by	Seishirō Itagaki
Succeeded by	Hideki Tōjō
Personal details
Born	July 26, 1879 Fukushima Prefecture,Empire of Japan
Died	May 10, 1962(1962-05-10)(aged 82) Tokyo,Japan
Awards	Order of the Rising SunFirst Class Order of the Golden KiteFirst Class Order of the Sacred TreasureFirst 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 I Second Sino-Japanese War Battle of Xuzhou Battle of Wuhan Battle of Taierzhuang Zhe gian g-Jiangxi campaign Operation Ichi-Go World War II Atomic bombing of Hiroshima

Shunroku Hata(ĐiềnTuấn sáu,Hata Shunroku,July 26, 1879 – May 10, 1962)was a field marshal (gensui) in theImperial Japanese ArmyduringWorld War II.He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal's rank. Hata was convicted ofwar crimesand sentenced tolife imprisonmentin 1948, but was paroled in 1955.

Biography

Early years

Hata (on the left) with his brother before theRusso-Japanese War

Hata was a native ofFukushima Prefecture,where his father was asamuraiof theAizu Domain.At the age of 12, the family relocated toHakodate, Hokkaidō,but at the age of 14, he was accepted into the prestigiousFirst Tokyo Middle School.However, his father died the same year. Unable to afford the tuition, Hata enrolled in the Army Cadet School instead, going on to graduate in the 12th class of theImperial Japanese Army Academyin 1901 as a second lieutenant in the artillery. Hata served in theRusso-Japanese War.He graduated from the 22nd class of theArmy Staff Collegewith top rankings in November 1910.

Sent as amilitary attachéto Germany in March 1912, Hata stayed inEuropethroughoutWorld War Ias a military observer. He was promoted tomajorin September 1914 and tolieutenant colonelin July 1918, while still in Europe, and he stayed on as a member of the Japanese delegation to theVersailles Peace Treatynegotiations in February 1919.

On his return to Japan, Hata was promoted tocoloneland given command of the 16th Field Artillery Regiment in July 1921, and was promoted tomajor generaland commander of the 4th Heavy Field Artillery Brigade in March 1926.

Hata was subsequently assigned to the strategic planning division of theImperial Japanese Army General Staff,serving as chief of the Fourth Bureau in July 1927 and Chief of the First Bureau in August 1928.

Hata was promoted tolieutenant generalin August 1931 and became Inspector General of Artillery Training. He was then given a field command, that of the14th Divisionin August 1933. After serving as head of theImperial Japanese Army Air Servicefrom December 1935, he became commander of theTaiwan Army of Japanin 1936.

Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II

Hata (left) with Field MarshalTerauchi HisaichiinXuzhou

His rise after the start of theSecond Sino-Japanese Warwas then very rapid:Military Councilor,Inspector General of Military Trainingand promotion rank ofgeneralall in late 1937. He was appointed as commanding general of theCentral China Expeditionary Armyin February 1938, to replace GeneralMatsui Iwane,who had been recalled to Japan over theNanjing Massacre.Hata became SeniorAide-de-CamptoEmperor Shōwain May 1939 followed by a stint asMinister of Warfrom August 1939 to July 1940 during the terms ofPrime MinisterNobuyuki AbeandMitsumasa Yonai.In July 1940, Hata had a pivotal role in bringing down the Yonai cabinet by resigning his post as Minister of War.

Hata returned to China as commander-in-chief of theChina Expeditionary Armyin March 1941. He was the main Japanese commander at the time ofZhe gian g-Jiangxi Campaign,during which Chinese sources claim that over 250,000 civilians were killed. Hata was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal (Gensui) on June 2, 1944 following Japanese victory atOperation Ichi-Go.

Hata was requested to take command of theSecond General Army,based inHiroshimafrom 1944 to 1945 in preparation for the anticipatedAllied invasion of the Japanese home islands.He was thus in Hiroshima at the time of theatomic bombingand 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 thedecision to surrender,but asked that he be stripped of his title of Field Marshal in atonement for the Army's failures in the war.

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 during his trial

Hata was arrested by theAmerican occupation authoritiesafter the end of the war, and charged withwar crimes.He was the only surviving Japanese Field Marshal who faced criminal charges along with other defendants. In 1948, as a result of theInternational Military Tribunal for the Far East,he was sentenced tolife imprisonmentunder the charges of: “Conspiracy, waging aggressive war, disregarding his duty to prevent atrocities”.Hata was paroled in 1955,and headeda charitable foundation for the welfare of former soldiersfrom 1958. He died in 1962, while attending a ceremony honouring the war dead.

Hata's older brother, Eitaro Hata (1872–1930), was also a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and commander-in-chief of theKwantung Army,from July 1929 until his death, in May 1930, from acutenephritis.

References

Books

• Dupuy, Trevor N. (1992).Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography.New York: HarperCollins Publishers.ISBN0-7858-0437-4.
• Fuller, Richard (1992).Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai.London: Arms and Armor.ISBN1-85409-151-4.
• 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.ISBN0-8131-2177-9.

External links

• Ammenthorp, Steen."Hata, Shunroku".The Generals of World War II.
• Budge, Kent."Hata Shunroku".Pacific War Online Encyclopedia.