Tomoyuki Yamashita (8 Nov. 1885 - 23 Feb. 1946)
Yamashita strongly supported peace with both China and the western powers of Britain and the U.S., but was ignored by commanders and placed in relatively minor roles in the Kwantung Army. In 1941, he became commander of the Twenty-Fifth Army, invading Malaya and capturing Singapore by February 1942.
He was soon sent back to Manchukuo (Japan’s puppet state in Manchuria) until 1944, when Tojo’s government had fallen and been replaced. He commanded forces in the Philippines to defend against American invasion. Despite Yamashita’s explicit orders, Manila became a battlefield and resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 Filipino citizens.
He and his troops continued months of fighting, with use of delaying tactics in order to keep Japanese forces in Kiagan, surrendering, ironically, to generals who had been PoW in Manchuria. General Arthur Percival refused to shake the Japanese commander’s hand, in light of his apparent harshness to Allied PoWs.
For more information on Tomoyuki Yamashita:
Saint Kenworthy, Aubrey. The Tiger of Malaya: The Story of General Tomoyuki Yamashita and”Death March” General Masaharu Homma (New York: Exposition Press), 1951.
He was soon sent back to Manchukuo (Japan’s puppet state in Manchuria) until 1944, when Tojo’s government had fallen and been replaced. He commanded forces in the Philippines to defend against American invasion. Despite Yamashita’s explicit orders, Manila became a battlefield and resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 Filipino citizens.
He and his troops continued months of fighting, with use of delaying tactics in order to keep Japanese forces in Kiagan, surrendering, ironically, to generals who had been PoW in Manchuria. General Arthur Percival refused to shake the Japanese commander’s hand, in light of his apparent harshness to Allied PoWs.
For more information on Tomoyuki Yamashita:
Saint Kenworthy, Aubrey. The Tiger of Malaya: The Story of General Tomoyuki Yamashita and”Death March” General Masaharu Homma (New York: Exposition Press), 1951.