was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

Early career

Uchiyama was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

as the eldest son of General Uchiyama Kojirō, but was adopted and raised by his uncle. He attended military preparatory schools in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

and graduated from the 21st class of the

Imperial Japanese Army Academy The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course f ...

in 1909 with a speciality in artillery. He graduated from the 32nd class of the

Army Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For exa ...

in 1920. During his early career, he served in a number of artillery units and became an artillery instructor in 1927. From May 1930, he was sent for further studies in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In August 1933, after his return to Japan, he was promoted to colonel and given command of the IJA 1st Field Artillery Regiment, and was later commandant of the Field Artillery School. Uchiyama was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in August 1937. He subsequently served as commander of the IJA 5th Field Artillery Brigade and the commander of artillery of the

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...

World War II

In October 1939, Uchiyama was promoted to

. From September 1940, he was assigned command of the 13th Division which was assigned to the

Japanese Eleventh Army The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. History The Japanese 11th Army was formed on July 4, 1938 under the Japanese Central China Area Army for the task of conquering and occupying the central provin ...

in China during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, notably the

Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang The Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang, also known as the Battle of Zaoyi (), was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Background The Japanese were seek ...

Battle of West Hubei The Battle of West Hubei (), was one of 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was also one of four major battles that took place in Hubei. It resulted i ...

and

Battle of Changde The Battle of Changde (Battle of Changteh; ) was a major engagement in the Second Sino-Japanese War in and around the Republic of China (1912–49), Chinese city of Changde (Changteh) in the province of Hunan. During the battle, the Imperial Ja ...

. A particularly heavy Chinese attacks in

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

were repulsed in October 1941 with the extensive use of chemical weapons by ''13th division''. On August 17 1942, Uchiyama became commander of the IJA 3rd Army, which was based in

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

as a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

force to guard the eastern borders against possible incursions by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. It afterwards came under the command of the

Japanese First Area Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in northern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the closing stages of the war. History The Japanese 1st Area Army was formed on July 4, 1942 und ...

in July 1942. From February 7 1944 he was assigned command of the IJA12th Army, which was primarily a garrison force in Japanese-occupied northern China. This force was sent south into combat during

Operation Ichi-Go Operation Ichi-Go ( ja, 一号作戦, Ichi-gō Sakusen, lit=Operation Number One) was a campaign of a series of major battles between the Imperial Japanese Army forces and the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, fought from Apri ...

and Uchiyama was distinguished in operations at the

Battle of Central Henan Operation Ichi-Go ( ja, 一号作戦, Ichi-gō Sakusen, lit=Operation Number One) was a campaign of a series of major battles between the Imperial Japanese Army forces and the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, fought from Ap ...

. In April 1945, Uchiyama was recalled to Japan, to take command of the

Japanese Fifteenth Area Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the closing stages of World War II. History The Japanese 15th Area Army was formed on February 1, 1945 under the General Defense Command as part of the last desperate defense effort by t ...

. This organization was part of the last desperate defense effort by Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces during

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, th ...

and was responsible for the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

and Chugoku regions of Honshū and the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

. It was headquartered in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. He entered the reserves in December 1945. After the end of the war, Uchiyama was assigned to the central demobilization office. In June 1946, he was arrested by order of the U.S. military authorities and charged war crimes. In 1947, he was found guilty of

command responsibility Command responsibility (superior responsibility, the Yamashita standard, and the Medina standard) is the legal doctrine of hierarchical accountability for war crimes.

for allowing the execution of American airmen shot down between April and August 1945 in the region of Japan under control of the 15th Area Army. Uchiyama was sentenced to 30 years of hard labor at

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was originally built in 1 ...

. He was paroled in April 1958, and died in 1973.

References

* * *

External links

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia

Allied Aircraft and Airmen lost over the Japanese Mainland by Toru FUKUBAYASHI

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uchiyama, Eitaro 1887 births 1973 deaths Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese military attachés Members of the Kwantung Army People of the Second Sino-Japanese War People convicted in the Yokohama trials