Kiyochi Ogata (died August 1, 1944) was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

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 ...

. He committed ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'' after the

Battle of Tinian The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The 8,000-man Japanese garrison was eliminated, and the island joined Saipan ...

Biography

Kiyochi Ogata was the commanding officer of

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of th ...

, one of the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

. He commanded 4,500 soldiers on the island, while the other troops were commanded either by the commander of the four airfields on Tinian, Captain

Goichi Oie Goichi Oie (died August 2, 1944) was a captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, and died during the Battle of Tinian. Biography Goichi Oie was the subordinate to Admiral Kakuji Kakuta, the commander of the Tinian garrison. He ...

, or the commander of the naval forces stationed there, Vice Admiral

Kakuji Kakuta , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He is noted for his role in commanding Japanese naval aviation units in the Pacific War. Biography Kakuta was a native of rural Minamikanbara, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He gra ...

. Fortunately for the Japanese, the 50th Division arrived on the island after leaving

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 ...

. But when the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

invaded Tinian, Ogata's defenses were poor and the US troops made it onto the beaches without extensive resistance. He failed a counterattack, and was forced into the inner parts of the island. The Japanese were defeated in the battle, and Ogata and Oie committed ritual suicide.

References

* Brooks, Victor: Hell is Upon Us: D-Day in the Pacific, 2005 pp. 234–260 1944 deaths Japanese military personnel who committed suicide Japanese military personnel of World War II Year of birth missing Japanese Army officers Japanese military personnel killed in World War II {{Japan-mil-bio-stub