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Shunroku Hata | |
|---|---|
畑俊六 | |
.jpg) Field Marshal Shunroku Hata serving atSecond General Army | |
| Inspector-General of Military Training | |
| In office November, 23 1944 – April, 7 1945 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Hajime Sugiyama |
| Succeeded by | Kenji Doihara |
| In office August, 26 1937 – February, 14 1938 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Hisaichi Terauchi |
| Succeeded by | Rikichi Andō |
| Minister of the Army | |
| In office August 30, 1939 – July 22, 1940 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Seishirō Itagaki |
| Succeeded by | Hideki Tōjō |
| Member of theSupreme War Council | |
| In office July 22, 1940 – March 1, 1941 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| In office December 15, 1938 – May 25, 1939 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| In office August 2, 1937 – February 14, 1938 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 26, 1879 |
| Died | May 10, 1962(1962-05-10) (aged 82) Tokyo, Japan |
| Awards | Order of the Rising Sun First Class Order of the Golden Kite First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure First 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 | |
Shunroku Hata (畑俊六,Hata Shunroku; July 26, 1879 – May 10, 1962) was a field marshal (gensui) in theImperial Japanese Army duringWorld War II. He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal's rank. Hata was convicted ofwar crimes and sentenced tolife imprisonment in 1948, but was paroled in 1955.
Hata was a native ofFukushima Prefecture, where his father was asamurai of 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 Academy in 1901 as a second lieutenant in the artillery. Hata served in theRusso-Japanese War. He graduated from the 22nd class of theArmy Staff College with top rankings in November 1910.
Sent as amilitary attaché to Germany in March 1912, Hata stayed inEurope throughoutWorld War I as a military observer. He was promoted tomajor in September 1914 and tolieutenant colonel in July 1918, while still in Europe, and he stayed on as a member of the Japanese delegation to theVersailles Peace Treaty negotiations in February 1919.
On his return to Japan, Hata was promoted tocolonel and given command of the 16th Field Artillery Regiment in July 1921, and was promoted tomajor general and 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 general in August 1931 and became Inspector General of Artillery Training. He was then given a field command, that of the14th Division in August 1933. After serving as head of theImperial Japanese Army Air Service from December 1935, he became commander of theTaiwan Army of Japan in 1936.[1]
His rise after the start of theSecond Sino-Japanese War was then very rapid:Military Councilor,Inspector General of Military Training and promotion rank ofgeneral all in late 1937. He was appointed as commanding general of theCentral China Expeditionary Army in February 1938, to replace GeneralMatsui Iwane, who had been recalled to Japan over theNanjing Massacre. Hata became SeniorAide-de-Camp toEmperor Shōwa in May 1939 followed by a stint asMinister of War from August 1939 to July 1940 during the terms ofPrime MinisterNobuyuki Abe andMitsumasa Yonai. In July 1940, Hata had a pivotal role in bringing down the Yonai cabinet by resigning his post as Minister of War.[2]
Hata returned to China as commander-in-chief of theChina Expeditionary Army in March 1941. He was the main Japanese commander at the time ofZhejiang-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 inHiroshima from 1944 to 1945 in preparation for the anticipatedAllied invasion of the Japanese home islands. He was thus in Hiroshima at the time of theatomic bombing and 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.[3]
Hata was arrested by theAmerican occupation authorities after 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 imprisonment under the charges of: “Conspiracy, waging aggressive war, disregarding his duty to prevent atrocities”.[4] Hata was paroled in 1955,[5] and headeda charitable foundation for the welfare of former soldiers from 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.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Army Minister Aug 1939 – Jul 1940 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Commander, 14th Division August 1933 – Dec 1935 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander, IJA Taiwan Army Aug 1936 – Aug 1937 | Succeeded by Mikio Tsutsumi |
| Preceded by | Inspector-General of Military Training Aug 1937 – Feb 1938 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | Commander, Central China Expeditionary Army Feb 1938 – Dec 1938 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, China Expeditionary Army March 1941 - November 1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | Commander-in-Chief, IJA 2nd General Army Apr 1945 – Oct 1945 | Succeeded by none |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
