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Hajime Sugiyama | |
|---|---|
杉山 元 | |
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| Minister of the Army Empire of Japan | |
| In office 22 July 1944 – 7 April 1945 | |
| Prime Minister | Kuniaki Koiso |
| Preceded by | Hideki Tojo |
| Succeeded by | Korechika Anami |
| In office 9 February 1937 – 3 June 1938 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Kōtarō Nakamura |
| Succeeded by | Seishirō Itagaki |
| Inspector-General of Military Training | |
| In office 18 July 1944 – 22 November 1944 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Otozō Yamada |
| Succeeded by | Shunroku Hata |
| In office 1 August 1936 – 9 February 1937 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Yoshikazu Nishi |
| Succeeded by | Hisaichi Terauchi |
| Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff | |
| In office 3 October 1940 – 21 February 1944 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Prince Kan'in Kotohito |
| Succeeded by | Hideki Tojo |
| Member of theSupreme War Council | |
| In office 12 September 1939 – 3 October 1940 | |
| In office 3 June 1938 – 9 December 1938 | |
| In office 1 August 1936 – 9 February 1937 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 1, 1880 |
| Died | September 12, 1945(1945-09-12) (aged 65) Tokyo, Japan |
| Awards | Order of the Golden Kite,Order of the Rising Sun |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch/service |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1901–1945 |
| Rank |  Gensui |
| Commands | 12th Division Northern China Area Army First General Army |
| Battles/wars | |
Hajime Sugiyama (杉山 元,Sugiyama Hajime / Sugiyama Gen; January 1, 1880 – September 12, 1945) was a Japanesefield marshal and one of Japan's military leaders for most ofthe Second World War.
As Army Minister, Sugiyama was a driving force behindJapan's 1937 invasion of China in retaliation for theMarco Polo Bridge Incident. After being named the Japanese Army's Chief of Staff in 1940, he became a leading advocate for expansion into Southeast Asia andpreventive war against the United States.
Upon theoutbreak of hostilities in the Pacific theater of World War II, Sugiyama served as the army'sde factocommander-in-chief until his removal by Prime MinisterHideki Tojo in February 1944. Following Tojo's ouster in July 1944, he once again held the post of Army Minister inKuniaki Koiso's cabinet until its dissolution in April 1945. Ten days after Japan's surrender on 2 September 1945, he committed suicide.
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Born to a formersamurai family fromKokura (now part ofKitakyushu City),Fukuoka Prefecture, Sugiyama graduated from the 12th class of theImperial Japanese Army Academy in 1901. He served as a junior officer with 3rd Battalion of the 14th Regiment of theIJA 12th Division in theRusso-Japanese War,[1] and was wounded in the face during theBattle of Shaho. Due to scars from that injury, he was unable to fully open his right eye.
After graduating from the 22nd class of theArmy Staff College in 1910, Sugiyama served in Section 2 (Intelligence) within theImperial Japanese Army General Staff. He was posted asmilitary attaché to thePhilippines andSingapore in 1912, disguised as a civilian trading company employee, and disguised as an Imperial Japanese Navy lieutenant, joined in an inspection tour of theUnited States Navy base atSubic Bay. Promoted tomajor in 1913, he was posted again as military attaché toBritish India in 1915, where he met in secret with Indian independence activistsRash Behari Bose andSubhas Chandra Bose. In 1918, he was sent as a military observer to theMiddle Eastern theatre of World War I. At the end of the war, he served on theLeague of Nations committee on military aviation.
On his return to Japan, Sugiyama was promoted tolieutenant colonel, and commander of the 2nd Air Battalion in December 1918. Three years later in 1921, he was promoted tocolonel. A strong proponent ofmilitary aviation, he ultimately rose to become the first head of theImperial Japanese Army Air Service in 1922.
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In 1924, Sugiyama became a protege of Army MinisterUgaki Kazushige.[citation needed] Subsequently, he was promoted tomajor general in May 1925 and appointed Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs in 1928. Within the same timeframe, he also became a leading figure in the Army'sControl Faction, theTōseiha.[2]
In 1931, he participated in theMarch incident, a failedcoup-d'etat which attempted to make Ugaki Prime Minister. Later that year, as Under Secretary of the Army, he made an official announcement defending the actions of the military in theMukden Incident.[citation needed]
With the rise of the rivalKōdōha faction underSadao Araki to the post of Army Minister, Sugiyama was sidelined to theImperial Japanese Army Air Service in March 1933. However, the failed coup d'état of theFebruary 26 incident in 1936 led to a purge of theKōdōha from positions of authority and Sugiyama was promoted to full general in November 1936.[3][failed verification]
In February 1937, Sugiyama became Army Minister in the cabinet of Prime MinisterSenjūrō Hayashi and remained in that position under the succeeding Prime Minister,Fumimaro Konoe.[4]
During his tenure, tensions between Japanese forces and the Chinese grew more severe. Whenhostilities broke out near the Marco Polo Bridge, Sugiyama was among those pushing Konoe for retaliation against China, thereby giving rise to theSecond Sino-Japanese War.[5]
On 3 June 1938, Sugiyama left his position as Army Minister to become a member ofJapan's Supreme War Council.[6] In December 1938, he briefly left the council to assume command over theNorth China Area Army and theMongolia Garrison Army respectively before returning in September 1939.[7][4]
By September 3, 1940, Hajime Sugiyama succeeded the elderlyPrince Kan'in Kotohito as Chief of theImperial Japanese Army General Staff.[8]
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On the eve of theSecond World War's expansion into Asia and the Pacific, General Sugiyama was one of the leading Japanese Army officers lobbying for war with the West.[citation needed] On September 5, 1941, emperorHirohito challenged his confidence in a quick victory over the Western powers by berating him for erroneously predicting in 1937 thatJapan's invasion of China would be completed within three months.[8][9][page needed] Nonetheless, by 1 December 1941, the Emperor ultimately gave his imperial sanction for war.[10]
Following Japan's entry into World War II, Sugiyama was responsible for overseeing the Army's military operations on all fronts.[11][12] In a matter of months, the Empire of Japan conquered a broad swathe of territory in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific including Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, Burma, and the Philippines.[13][14]
By the beginning of 1943, the tide of the conflict had turned against the Japanese after their forces were decisively defeated at the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal.[15][16] In the same year, Sugiyama was awarded the honorary rank offield marshal.[8]
As the war fronts collapsed on all sides, Sugiyama was relieved of his post as Chief of the Army General Staff on 21 February 1944 by Japan's premier,Hideki Tōjō (who assumed command of the Army in his place while serving concurrently asPrime Minister). Shortly thereafter, he was namedInspector-general of Military Training, which was still one of the most prestigious positions in the Army.[citation needed]
After Tōjō's ouster in 1944, Sugiyama again became Army Minister in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso.[4][2] In July 1945, he was asked to take command of theFirst General Army, which directed defenses of eastern half Japanese mainland against theanticipated Allied invasion.[8][17][page needed]
Ten days after thesurrender of Japan, after finishing preparations for the final dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Army as dictated by the victoriousAllied Powers, Sugiyama committed suicide by shooting himself four times in the chest with his revolver while seated at his desk in his office. At home, his wife also killed herself.[18][circular reference] His grave is at theTama Cemetery, inFuchū, Tokyo.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Army Minister Feb 1937 – June 1938 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Army Minister Jul 1944 – Apr 1945 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by none | Commander IJA 1st General Army Apr 1945 – Sept 1945 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Inspector-General of Military Training Jul 1944 – Nov 1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief ofImperial Japanese Army General Staff Oct 1940 – Feb 1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Shigeru Hasunuma | Commander Mongolia Garrison Army Aug 1939 – Sept 1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander North China Area Army Dec 1938 – Aug 1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Yoshikazu Nishi | Inspector-General of Military Training Aug 1936 – Feb 1937 | Succeeded by |
