Nobutake Kondō | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | 近藤 信竹 |
| Born | (1886-09-25)25 September 1886 |
| Died | 19 February 1953(1953-02-19) (aged 66)[1] |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Service years | 1907–1945 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands | Kako,Kongō, Naval Operations Bureau,5th Fleet,Vice-chief of Navy General Staff,2nd Fleet, Naval Councillor,China Area Fleet[2] |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Order of the Rising Sun (2nd class) Order of the Golden Kite (1st class and 3rd class) Order of the Sacred Treasure (3rd class) |
| Other work | Supreme War Council |
Nobutake Kondō (近藤信竹,Kondō Nobutake; 25 September 1886 – 19 February 1953) was an admiral in theImperial Japanese Navy duringWorld War II. As commander of IJN 2nd Fleet, the Navy's principal detached force for independent operations, Kondō was regarded as second in importance only to AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto.
Kondō was a native ofOsaka. He graduated at the head of his class of 172 cadets from the 35th session of theImperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1907. As amidshipman he served on thecruiserItsukushima andbattleshipMikasa. After his commissioning asensign, he was assigned to the cruiserAso,destroyerKisaragi and battleshipKongō. From 1912 to 1913 he was anaval attaché to theUnited Kingdom. After his return to Japan, he served briefly on theFusō, then in a number of staff positions throughoutWorld War I. From 1916 to 1917 he was chief Gunnery Officer onAkitsushima.
After the end of the war, Kondō attended theNaval Staff College, and was promoted tolieutenant commander on 1 December 1919.
From 1920 to 1923, Kondō was stationed inGermany, as part of the Japanese delegation to confirm Germany's adherence to the provision of theTreaty of Versailles. On his return to Japan, he was stationed for six months on the battleshipMutsu, and promoted to commander on 1 December 1923. From 1924 to 1925, he was anaide-de-camp toCrown PrinceHirohito. On completion of this task, he became an instructor at the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy and was promoted to captain. He subsequently served in a number of positions on theImperial Japanese Navy General Staff. He was captain of theKako from 1929 to 1930 and of the battleshipKongō from 1932 to 1933.
Kondō was promoted torear admiral on 15 November 1933,Chief of Staff of theCombined Fleet in 1935, andvice admiral on 15 November 1937.
After the start of theSecond Sino-Japanese War, Kondō commanded theIJN 5th Fleet in theHainan Island Operation andSwatow Operation off of southern China.
At the time of theattack on Pearl Harbor, Kondō commanded theIJN 2nd Fleet, participating in the invasions ofMalaya, thePhilippines and theDutch East Indies.[3] He was overall commander for theIndian Ocean Raid.[3] During theBattle of Midway, he commanded the Midway Occupation Force and Covering Group.[3] Subsequently, his forces played a leading role during theGuadalcanal campaign, seeing combat in theBattle of the Eastern Solomons (23–25 August 1942) and theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands (26–27 October).
In the second night action of theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal on 14/15 November 1942, Kondō personally led the battleshipKirishima along with cruisersAtago,Nagara,Sendai, andTakao, in what was to have been a decisive attack to eliminate the threat fromHenderson Field through a massive nocturnal shelling. Instead, Kondō was confronted by an American task force with battleshipsUSS Washington andUSS South Dakota, and was defeated, losingKirishima. This defeat marked a turning point of the entire Guadalcanal campaign.[3]
Kondō was apparently tainted by the Guadalcanal failures, and was soon removed from seagoing commands, or indeed any positions of real authority. Yamamoto's demotion of Kondō was nonetheless less harsh than that of his predecessor,Hiroaki Abe, due to Imperial Navy culture and politics. Kondō, who also held the position of second in command of the Combined Fleet, was a member of the upper staff and "battleship clique" of the Imperial Navy while Abe was a career destroyer specialist. Kondō was not reprimanded or reassigned but instead was left in command of one of the large ship fleets based at Truk.[4]
Kondō was appointed Deputy Commander of theCombined Fleet in October 1942 and was promoted to fulladmiral on 29 April 1943. He becameCommander in Chief of theChina Area Fleet from December 1943 until May 1945, when he was appointed to theSupreme War Council.
