was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the early part of the Second Sino-Japanese War. His elder brother, Suzuki Minoru was a major general in the Imperial Japanese Army Medical Corps.

Biography

The second son of a former samurai in the service of

Kaga Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.

, Suzuki was born in

Ishikawa prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...

and attended military preparatory schools in Nagoya. He graduated from the 17th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1905 and was assigned to the IJA 35th Infantry Regiment. After leaving 24th class of the Army Staff College in 1912, he has served as a

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

to the Empire of Russia from 1916 to 1918, and was thus witness to many of the events of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

and the overthrow of the Romanov dynasty. After his return to Japan, he became

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the

IJA 12th Division The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the , and its military symbol was 12D. The 12th Division was one of six new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army after the First Sino- ...

. Suzuki was promoted to lieutenant colonel in March 1924 and was attached to the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff from December of that year. In 1927 he was attached to 34th Regiment of the

IJA 3rd Division The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . History The 3rd Division was formed in Nagoya in January 1871 as the , one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. The Nagoya ...

. He was subsequently posted to Poland as

in February 1928 and concurrently to

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

in September 1929. He was promoted to colonel in March 1928. Returning to the Army General Staff in June 1930, he was made the Chief of 2nd Section (Maneuvers), in the 1st Bureau. He then commanded of the Guards 1st Regiment from August 1931 to August 1932. In March 1933, he was promoted to major general, and served as an instructor at the Army Staff College from August 1932 to March 1934.Dupuy, Encyclopedia of Military Biography From 1934 to 1935 he was head of the 4th Bureau in the General Staff, and head of the 1st Bureau from 1935 to 1936. In December 1936, shortly before the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Suzuki was promoted to lieutenant general. He was given command of the

IJA 11th Independent Mixed Brigade There were two 11th Independent Mixed Brigades in the Imperial Japanese Army. The original 11th IMB The order of battle of the first 11th Independent Mixed Brigade in July 1937: 11th Independent Mixed Brigade * 11th Independent Infantry Regimen ...

under the aegis of the Kwantung Army, and saw combat in the

Battle of Beiping-Tianjin A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, Operation Chahar, and in the Battle of Taiyuan. Recalled to Japan in October 1937, Suzuki became commandant of the Narashino Chemical Warfare School until he retired at the end of December 1938. After his retirement from military service, Suzuki was chairman of the rationing board of the

Japanese automobile industry The automotive industry in Japan is one of the most prominent and largest industries in the world. Japan has been in the top three of the countries with most cars manufactured since the 1960s, surpassing Germany. The automotive industry in Japa ...

until the end of he war. He died in 1957.

References

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External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Shigeyasu 1886 births 1957 deaths Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese military attachés Japanese generals People of the Second Sino-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of World War II Military personnel from Ishikawa Prefecture