Itō Takeo

Itō Takeo

Itō Takeo ( Japanese 伊 東 武夫 ; * July 6, 1889 in Fukuoka Prefecture , Japan ; † February 24, 1965 ) was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army .

Life

Itō Takeo was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1889. At the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War , he was the commanding officer of the 228th Infantry Regiment. After promotion to major general on August 25, 1941, he became commander of the 38th Infantry Brigade of the 38th Division , which provided the largest unit in the invasion of Hong Kong shortly after the start of the Pacific War .

In early 1942 he was given an independent command under the name Itō Department, which was composed mainly of troops from the 228th Infantry Regiment, the 38th Infantry Division and the 1st Regiment of the Kure Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai , the special marine infantry of the Imperial Japanese Navy . With this troop he took part in the Battle of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies and the occupation of Timor . Both operations were also known for the recklessness of the Japanese towards prisoners of war and civilians, as well as various massacres of prisoners.

In November 1942, Itō was shipped to Guadalcanal with a regiment of the 38th Division to support the Japanese troops there in the Battle of Guadalcanal . There he supported the staff of the 38th Division among other things in the battle for the Gifu position. Contrary to some claims, however, he did not fall in the process, but was evacuated with the remains of the Japanese troops on the island in early 1943 in Operation Ke .

On July 8, 1944, he became the commander of the 40th  Independent Mixed Brigade , which was stationed in New Ireland and New Guinea . On November 26th of the same year he was promoted to lieutenant general.

At the end of the war , Itō was taken prisoner and placed before a war crimes tribunal, which charged him with the murder of Chinese civilians. On May 24, 1946, he was found guilty on Rabaul and sentenced to death . However, he was pardoned on October 28 of the same year and returned to Japan, where he died on February 24, 1965.

Remarks

1. ↑ Steep Ammentorp: Ito, Takeo . In: The Generals of World War II . Retrieved February 2, 2011.
2. ↑ Some Noteworthy War Criminals ( Memento of the original from March 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Source: History of the United Nations War Crimes Commission and the Development of the Laws of War , United Nations War Crimes Commission (London: HMSO, 1948)  

Web links

• Itō Takeo in the database of generals of World War II . Retrieved February 2, 2011.

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