was a major 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 ...

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 opposing ...

.Toru Okabe
www.generals.dk

Biography

Okabe was a native of Tokyo. He graduated from the 23rd 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 ...

and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry. From March 1937 he was the commander of the 8th Independent Training Battalion, and was promoted to colonel in November of the same year. In March 1939, he was appointed commander of the Utsunomiya Regimental District, a recruiting and training unit responsible for raising troops in

Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the ...

. Okabe was assigned command of then IJA 13th Infantry Regiment in October 1940, and was promoted to major general in August 1941. He led the regiment at the Battle of Changsha from September 18 to October 6, 1941 including after his promotion to commander of the IJA 51st Infantry Group. In July 1942, his forces were transferred to the command of the Japanese 17th Army and reassigned to the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

, and subsequently to the

Japanese 18th Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. History The Japanese 18th Army was formed on November 9, 1942, under the Japanese Eighth Area Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II ...

, where they went into combat during 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 ...

. He led the "Okabe Detachment" along the

Black Cat Track The Black Cat Track or Trail is a rough overland track in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It runs from the village of Salamaua on the coast of the Huon Gulf, south into the mountains to the township of Wau. In the 21st century despite being a ...

and at the

Battle of Wau The Battle of Wau, 29 January – 4 February 1943, was a battle in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Forces of the Empire of Japan sailed from Rabaul and crossed the Solomon Sea and, despite Allied air attacks, successfully reached Lae, ...

. IN May 1943, he was rotated back to Japan and attached to the

Eastern District Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army responsible for the defense of the Kantō region and northern Honshū during the Pacific War. It was one of the regional commands in the Japanese home islands reporting to the General Defense ...

, which was responsible for defense of

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

and its environs. In February 1944, he was appointed commander of the IJA 32nd Security Unit based in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

. In March 1945, he was made commander of the IJA 79th Independent Mixed Brigade, which was sent to Andong in souther Manchukuo, where he remained until the surrender of Japan. He was assigned as the Commanding Officer of the 32 Defense Unit in 1944, until being appointed as the Commanding Officer of the 79th Independent Mixed Brigade in 1945.

References

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Notes

1889 births 1961 deaths Japanese generals Japanese military personnel of World War II {{Japan-mil-bio-stub