Shōzō Sakurai | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō | |
| Native name | 桜井省三 |
| Born | (1889-06-27)June 27, 1889 Hagi, Yamaguchi, Japan |
| Died | July 7, 1985(1985-07-07) (aged 96) Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Service years | 1911–1945 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Commands | IJA 33rd Division, IJA 28th Army |
| Conflicts | Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
Shōzō Sakurai (桜井省三,Sakurai Shōzō; June 27, 1889 – July 7, 1985) was alieutenant general in theImperial Japanese Army during theSecond Sino-Japanese War andWorld War II.
Sakurai was born inNagoya, although his official records listHagi city,Yamaguchi prefecture as his hometown. After Sakurai attended military preparatory schools in Nagoya and Tokyo, he graduated from the 23rd class of theImperial Japanese Army Academy in 1911 and served as a junior officer with the IJA 53rd Infantry Regiment. He graduated with top scores from the 31st class of theArmy Staff College in 1919. He was initially aninfantry officer, but became a specialist in military transport and logistics. He spent a short time inFrance as amilitary attaché. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in August 1930, he served as an instructor at the Staff College from September 1930 to August 1934, when he was promoted to colonel. He then assumed command of the IJA 77th Infantry Regiment to August 1936.[1]
From August 1936, Sakurai served as an investigator for the Cabinet Research Bureau and from May 1937 for the Cabinet Planning Board. He was in charge of harbor facilities and attached to Naval Transport Headquarters. In March 1938 he became Inspector of Central China Harbor Facilities.
With theSecond Sino-Japanese War ongoing, Sakurai was assigned command of the Infantry group ofIJA 22nd Division in July 1937. This was a new division created out of minimally-trained reservists, and was assigned to theJapanese Central China Area Army. It participated at theBattle of Wuhan, although its primary duty was initially to serve as a garrison force for theHangzhou area. Sakurai was promoted tomajor general in May 1938. From May 1939, he was attached to the staff of the Central China Expeditionary Army, and becameChief of Staff of theThirteenth Army in September 1938. This army was based inShanghai and its surrounding provinces primarily as a garrison force to maintain public order, as well as to engage incounter-insurgency operations in conjunction with the collaborationist forces of theReformed Government of the Republic of China. He was promoted tolieutenant general in December 1940.
In 1941 Sakurai was assigned to command theIJA 33rd Division in China under theIJA 11th Army, and participated in the invasion ofSiam andBurma in theBurma Campaign, and was garrisoned inArakan.[2] In 1943, Sakurai was reassigned back to Japan as head of the Armored Warfare Department under theArmy Ministry. However, in 1944, Sakurai returned to Burma as Commander ofTwenty-Eighth Army. His army invaded the Arakan (Operation Ha-Go) to draw theBritish Army away fromImphal in support of Japanese armies in theU-Go Offensive. By February 22, 1944, the IJA 28th Army had been repulsed with heavy losses and was in retreat. By July 20, 1945, Sakurai had withdrawn toMoulmein, which he held until theend of the war.[2]
After the end of the war, he spent two years in a prisoner camp in Burma with his soldiers, refusing repatriation until the last of his men could depart. He was finally repatriated back to Japan in June 1947. He died in Tokyo at the age of 96, and is buried in theTama Cemetery inFuchū, Tokyo.
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