was a general 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 ...
, commanding Japanese ground forces in the Southwest Pacific during the closing months of the war.
Biography
Nakano was born in
Saga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasa ...
, where his father was a former
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
retainer to
Saga Domain. He graduated from the 24th 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 May 1912 and initially served with the IJA 23rd Infantry Regiment. In November 1920, Nakano 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 ...
and was assigned to the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office
The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army.
Role
The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ...
. In May 1926, he was transferred to the staff of the
Kwangtung Army
''Kantō-gun''
, image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo
, dates = April ...
, and was posted to the Harbin Special Agency, a
military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
section based in
Harbin in
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
. He subsequently served as a battalion commander in the IJA 63rd Infantry Regiment. Nakano rose to the position of bureau head of the Jirin Special Agency in 1931, and
military advisor
Military advisors, or combat advisors, advise on military matters. Some are soldiers sent to foreign countries
to aid such countries with their military training, organization, and other various military tasks. The Foreign powers or organizations ...
to the
Manchukuo Imperial Army
The Manchukuo Imperial Army ( zh, s=滿洲國軍, p=Mǎnzhōuguó jūn) was the ground force of the military of the Empire of Manchukuo, a puppet state established by Imperial Japan in Manchuria, a region of northeastern China. The force was pri ...
in 1935. In August 1936, he was promoted to colonel and in August 1937 was assigned to the staff of the
North China Area Army
The was an area army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
History
The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to th ...
, where he was based in
Jinan and was again in charge of military intelligence.
In March 1938, Nakano was appointed commander of the IJA 13th Infantry Regiment, which was active in combat operations in central China (including the
Battle of Wuhan in 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 ...
. In February 1939, he was transferred to the staff of the
IJA 21st Army and was appointed bureau head of military intelligence in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. In March 1939, Nakano 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 ...
. In February 1940, his position came under the administrative control of the newly formed
Japanese Southern China Area Army
Field armies of Japan, S
Military units and formations established in 1940
Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 ...
. Nakano briefly served as commander of the IJA 29th Infantry Brigade, and in December 1940 returned to the Kwangtung Army as Chief Military Advisor to the Imperial Manchukuo Army. In October 1941, he was promoted to
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 November 1941, Nakano was given command of the
IJA 51st Division
The was an infantry Division (military unit), division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . It was formed on 10 July 1940 at Utsunomiya, Tochigi, simultaneously with 52nd Division (Imperial Japanese Army), 52nd, 54th Division (I ...
, which was a garrison force based at Guangzhou at the time. He would remain in command of the division until after the end of the war.
The following year, in November 1942, the 51st Division was moved to
Rabaul and in February 1943 to
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
where they were allocated to the
Eighteenth Army in the
Lae–
Salamaua
Salamaua () was a small town situated on the northeastern coastline of Papua New Guinea, in Salamaua Rural LLG, Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland. The c ...
area. However, the division suffered from severe casualties in the
Battle of the Bismarck Sea
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troop ...
, losing many men and much of its equipment.
The division subsequently took part in the
Salamaua–Lae campaign
The Salamaua–Lae campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian and United States forces sought to capture two major Japanese bases, one in the town of Lae, and another one at Salamaua. The campai ...
and other combat operations throughout 1943–45, fighting against Australian and United States forces. Nakano vowed to make a last stand at Salamaua, burning the division's colors and stating that no one would be taken prisoner. However,
Imperial General Headquarters issued a direct order to Nakano not to make a
suicidal stand, but to withdraw if he could not hold the town. Nakano made a fighting retreat from Salamaua, but lost half his men retreating through the
Finisterre Mountains
The Finisterre Range is a mountain range in north-eastern Papua New Guinea. The highest point is ranked 41st in the world by prominence with an elevation of 4,150 m. Although the range's high point is not named on official maps, the name "Mount ...
towards
Madang
Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century.
Histo ...
.
[ Nakano survived the war, and died in Japan in 1982.
]
References
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External links
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Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakano, Hidemitsu
1890 births
1982 deaths
People from Saga Prefecture
Japanese military personnel of World War II
Japanese generals