Watanabe Jotaro

General Watanabe Jōtaro

Watanabe Jōtarō ( Japanese 渡 辺 錠 太郎 ; born April 16, 1874 in Komaki , Aichi Prefecture ; † February 26, 1936 ) was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army .

Life

Training as officer and staff officer

Watanabe Jōtarō began an officer training at the Army Officer School (Rikugun Shikan Gakkō) in July 1895 , which he completed in June 1897. He then joined the 19th Infantry Regiment and was promoted to lieutenant in November 1899 . In December 1900 he began his further training at the Army College (Rikugun Daigakkō) and was promoted to captain after graduation in December 1903 and appointed company commander in the 36th Infantry Regiment. With this he took in July 1904 in the Manchuria at the Russo-Japanese War in part and was wounded there in September 1904th In October 1904 he was transferred to a staff department of the Imperial Great Headquarters ( Daihon'ei ) and then in September 1905 Adjutant to General Yamagata Aritomo , who was initially chief of the general staff and in December 1905 chairman of the Secret Privy Council ( Sūmitsu-in ) . He then worked in the military attaché staff at the embassy in China in 1906 and in 1907 in the military attaché staff at the embassy in the German Empire , where he was promoted to major in October 1908 .

After his return in June 1909 Watanabe Jōtarō was an officer in the general staff and received there on January 15, 1913 his promotion to lieutenant colonel . As such, he was an officer in the 3rd Infantry Regiment between February 15, 1915 and May 2, 1916 and then from May 2, 1915 to October 12, 1917 chief of Section 10 (Foreign Military History) of Department 4 of the General Staff, where he became promoted to colonel on July 14, 1916 . He then served as a military attaché at the embassy in the Netherlands between October 12, 1917 and September 1919, and after his return was again an officer in the general staff between September 1919 and August 10, 1920.

Promotion to general

Body of General Watanabe Jōtarō , who was killed in the attempted coup in Japan on February 26, 1936

After his promotion to major general on August 10, 1920 Watanabe Jōtarō was from September 10, 1922 to June 26, 1922 commander of the 29th Infantry Brigade and then between June 26, 1922 and May 1, 1925 head of Department 4 of the General Staff . After his promotion to Lieutenant General on May 1, 1925 , he took over from Lieutenant General Kameda Wada the post of Commander of the Army University , which he held until he was replaced by Lieutenant General Kanzo Nanzo on March 2, 1926. He then took over from Lieutenant General Kunischi Gonana on March 2, 1926 . March 1926 the post as commander of the 7th Division (Dai-nana Shidan) , which he held until his replacement by Lieutenant General Arai Kametaro on March 14, 1929. He was then commander of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Forces (Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūtai) between March 14, 1929 and June 2, 1930 and from June 3, 1930 to August 1, 1931, commander-in-chief of the Taiwan military district and thus commander-in-chief of the Japanese occupation forces there.

After his promotion to general on August 1, 1931, Watanabe Jōtarō was again commander of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Forces and kept them until his replacement by General Sugiyama Hajime on March 18, 1933. At the same time, he belonged between August 1, 1931 and June 26 1936 member of the Supreme War Council (Gunji Sangiin) . Most recently, on July 16, 1935, he took over the post of Inspector General for Military Training, which he also held until February 26, 1936. In the attempted coup in Japan on February 26, 1936 , he was the leader of the so-called Tōsei-ha , a group within the Japanese army and navy in the 1920s and 1930s, which saw itself as a moderate opposition to the extreme Kōdō-ha , together with the former Prime Minister Saitō Makoto and Finance Minister Takahashi Korekiyo killed.

Web link

• Entry in Generals.dk

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