Kawakami Sōroku

Kawakami Sōroku

Vice Count Kawakami Sōroku ( Japanese : 川 上操 六 ; * December 6, 1848 in Kagoshima , Satsuma Province ; † May 11, 1899 ) was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , who was among other things Vice-Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1898 was Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army until his death in 1899. He was one of the most important generals of his time , along with Katsura Tarō and Kodama Gentarō .

Life

Kawakami Sōroku came from a Samurai family of the Han Satsuma and took part in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi (January 27 to 31, 1868) during the Boshin War . In the Meiji period he joined in 1871 formally into the Imperial Japanese Army and served as a lieutenant in a guard - battalion as well as a major in the General Staff . In 1877 he took part in the suppression of the Satsuma rebellion at Kumamoto Castle as an officer of the 13th Infantry Regiment and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in December 1878 and commander of the 13th Infantry Regiment. In May 1880 he was transferred to the 8th Infantry Regiment as commander and in February 1882 as Colonel in command of the 1st Infantry Regiment.

In 1884 Kawakami Sōroku accompanied General Ōyama Iwao on his recent trip to Europe to study the military systems of western countries. After his return he was promoted to major general in 1885 and was first Vice-Chief of the Office of the General Staff and then in 1886 commander of the 2nd Brigade. In 1887 he returned to Europe again, where he completed a degree in military science at the Prussian War Academy in the German Empire . After his return he was promoted to succeed Ozawa Takeo Vice-Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army in March 1889 and in 1890 to lieutenant general. In October 1893 he became Vice-Chief of the Office of the Supreme Imperial Headquarters ( Daihon'ei ) and as such was instrumental in the preparation of the First Sino-Japanese War (August 1, 1894 to April 17, 1895). His successor as Vice-Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army was Osako Hisatoshi . In March 1895 he was again Vice-Chief of the General Staff. At the same time he was raised to the nobility ( Kazoku ) as a vice count (Shishaku) in 1895 . On January 20, 1898, he succeeded Komatsu Akihito as Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army and also General . He introduced reforms of the army's military system, as well as the introduction of a modern strategy. He held the post of chief of staff until his death on May 11, 1899 and was then replaced by General Ōyama Iwao.

Web link

• Entry in Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures

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