Akiyama Monzo

Akiyama Monzo

Akiyama Monzō ( Japanese 秋山 門 造 ; * December 30, 1891 in Nagaoka ; † January 25, 1944 in Kwajalein , Marshall Islands ) was a rear admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy who fought in World War II and died during the Battle of Kwajalein . He was made a vice admiral after his death .

biography

Early military career

Akiyama was in 1891 in Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture born. He visited in 1912, the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, where he navigation studied and as a midshipman (Kaigun shoi Kōhōsei) on the battleship Kashima , the armored cruiser Chikuma and the battleship suo performed his service. From 1918 to 1919 he served on the destroyer Asashio and the new battleship Fusō as a lieutenant (Kaigun Daii). This was followed by training as a weapons officer and 1921-1922 the deployment on the battleship Hiei . In 1923 he was stationed on the cruiser Yakumo and from 1924 he was employed as a navigation teacher at the Imperial Naval Academy.

In 1926 Akiyama was promoted to Corvette Captain (Kaigun Shōsa) and served on the cruisers Naka and Atago . In 1933 he was appointed frigate captain (Kaigun Chūsa) and was delegated to Maizuru as adjutant to the staff of the 4th Fleet . In 1937 he became captain of the sea (Kaigun Taisa) and in 1939 received a post as adjutant again, this time in Kure with the 2nd Fleet . In 1940 he became a senior officer of the 6th Marine Regiment in Amoy (now Xiamen ).

First years of the war

When the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred in late 1941 , Akiyama was promoted to commander of the 17th Marine Regiment in Hiroshima , whose command he led until June 1942. He was then ordered back to Kure, where he became the chief officer of the security forces. In 1943 Akiyama was posted to Kiska Island , an island of the Aleutians . The Japanese garrison there was about 5,800 strong. Akiyama feared an American invasion and was given permission to evacuate the island. He organized his soldiers so that they could be removed as quickly as possible. The evacuation took place on July 29th by twelve transport ships. The soldiers were deposed on the Kuril Islands and Akiyama was promoted to rear admiral. When the Americans landed on Kiska on August 15, they found that all the Japanese had left the island.

Defense of Kwajalein

Akiyama was summoned to Rabaul on October 13th . There he met Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki and General Hyakutake Harukichi . Ugaki explained the strategic location of the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands group . The Americans probably wanted to occupy it soon because of its airfields in order to be able to fly against Truk and Rabaul attacks . Admiral Akiyama's job was to prevent US troops from conquering the islands . Akiyama left for Kwajalein in November. About 8,700 men were under his command and he immediately ordered the construction of heavy defenses on the islands of Wotje , Maloelap , Jaluit and Mili . Kwajalein and Eniwetok , the largest islands, he considered inaccessible because the beaches were protected by natural coral reefs .

death

On January 2, 1944, around 400 published Consolidated B-24 - bomber on Kwajalein that around 10,000 bombs cast off, while American fighter pilot from a low height, some machine-gun nests ausschalteten. The Japanese fighter planes counterattacked and a fierce aerial battle broke out in which 66 Japanese and 8 American planes were shot down. The Japanese air defense scored another two hits. Kwajalein was also heavily bombed in the following days. On January 19, around 700 machines were over the island and Task Force 58 under Admiral Marc A. Mitscher shelled the coastal positions.

On January 25, a hit grenade into the bunker , a Rear Admiral Akiyama. He was believed to have been killed instantly and his body was buried in a mass grave on February 2 by a marines patrol (US forces landed on January 31) .

literature

• Bernard Millot: The Pacific War . BUR, Montreuil 1967
• Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon: Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941-45 . University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992, ISBN 0-8229-5462-1

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Akiyama is the family name, Monzō the first name.