- Harukichi Hyakutake
Infobox Military Person
name= Harukichi Hyakutake
lived=25 May 1888 -10 March 1947 [Smith, "Bloody Ridge", p. 230.]
placeofbirth=Saga Prefecture ,Japan [Smith, "Bloody Ridge", p. 25.]
placeofdeath=
caption= Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake in front of his headquarters atRabaul , probably in the spring or summer of 1942.
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=
serviceyears= 1909 - 1946 [Smith, "Bloody Ridge", p. 25.]
rank=Lieutenant General
commands= IJA 18th Division
IJA 17th Army [Smith, "Bloody Ridge", p. 25.]
unit=
battles=World War II
o China
o New Guinea
o Guadalcanal
o Solomon Islands [Smith, "Bloody Ridge", p. 25.]
awards=Order of the Rising Sun , 1st class
laterwork=nihongo|Harukichi Hyakutake|百武晴吉|Hyakutake Harykichi|extra=25 May 1888 -10 March 1947 was a general in theJapanese Imperial Army inWorld War II . He is sometimes referred to as Haruyoshi Hyakutake or Seikichi Hyakutake. Two of his elder brothers were admirals in theImperial Japanese Navy .Biography
Early career
Born in
Saga prefecture , Hyakutake graduated as aninfantry officer from the 21st class of theImperial Japanese Army Academy in 1909. Noted generalsKanji Ishihara andJo Iimura were among his classmates, as was future Chinese leaderChiang Kai-shek . He attended the 33rd class of the Army Staff College in 1921, where he studiedcryptanalysis , and was assigned to theImperial Japanese Army General Staff after graduation.From 1925 to 1927, as a
lieutenant colonel , Hyakutake served as the Japanese Resident Officer inPoland . In 1928 he was assigned to the Headquarters of theKwantung Army inChina . As acolonel he worked at the Army's signal school in 1932 then as a section chief in the General Staff until 1935. After commanding the IJA 78th Infantry Regiment for one year, he took over as Superintendent of the Hiroshima Military Preparatory School in April 1936 and was promoted tomajor general in March 1937.In August, 1937 Hyakutake became Superintendent of the Signal School. In March, 1939 he took command of the Independent Mixed Brigade and was promoted to
lieutenant general in August of the same year. [Hayashi, "Kogun", p. 224-225.] From February 1940 until April 1941 he was commander of theIJA 20th Division .World War II
In May 1942 Hyakutake was assigned command of the
IJA 17th Army , headquartered atRabaul in the Southwest Pacific. His command was subsequently involved in the New Guinea, Guadalcanal, andSolomon Islands campaign s. [Smith, "Bloody Ridge", p. 25.] After theEighth Area Army underGeneral Hitoshi Imamura took over operations in the theater, Hyakutake directed Japanese army units solely in the Solomons, primarily on Bougainville. [Hayashi, "Kogun", p. 224-225.] He and his forces were trapped on Bougainville when the Allies established a heavily fortified perimeter at Cape Torokina, and Hyakutake was cut off from reinforcements and re-supply. His attacks on the perimeter failed, and his army was forced to live off the land, hiding in jungle caves for most of the rest of the war.Hyakutake suffered a debilitating
stroke and was relieved of his duties in February 1945 by GeneralMasatane Kanda . [Gailey, "Bougainville".] There was no way to evacuate him to Japan for medical treatment until February 1946, after thesurrender of Japan . He died on10 March 1947 . [Smith, "Bloody Ridge", p. 230 and Hayashi, "Kogun", p. 224-225.]References
Books
*cite book
last = Dupuy
first = Trevor N.
authorlink =
year = 1992
title = The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography
publisher = HarperCollins Publishers
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-7858-0437-4
*cite book
last = Frank
first = Richard
authorlink = Richard B. Frank
year = 1990
title = Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle
publisher = Random House
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-394-58875-4
*cite book
last = Fuller
first = Richard
year = 1992
title = Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai
publisher = Arms and Armour Press
location = London
id = ISBN 1854091514
*cite book
last = Gailey
first = Harry A.
authorlink =
year = 1991
title = Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign
publisher = University Press of Kentucky
location = Lexington, Kentucky, USA
id = ISBN 0-8131-9047-9- neutral review of this book here: [http://www.sonic.net/~bstone/archives/030504.shtml]
*cite book
last = Hayashi
first = Saburo
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1959
title = Kogun: The Japanese Army in the Pacific War
publisher = Marine Corps. Association
location =
id = ASIN B000ID3YRK
*cite book
last = Smith
first = Michael T.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2000
title = Bloody Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal
publisher = Pocket
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-7434-6321-8External links
*cite web
last = Ammentorp
first = Steen
url = http://www.generals.dk/general/Hyakutake/Seikichi/Japan.html
title = Hyakutake Seikichi, Lieutenant-General (1888 – 1947)
work = The Generals of World War IINotes
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