was a Japanese general, considered to be one of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

's most successful and ablest strategists during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, who commanded the

Japanese Second Army The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on four occasions. History The Japanese 2nd Army was initially raised during the First Sino-Japanese War from September 27, 1894, to May 14, 1895, under the command o ...

during the first years after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.

Early life and career

Nishio was born in

Tottori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, least populous prefecture of Japan at 538,525 (2023) and has a geographic area of . ...

, and was a graduate of the 14th 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 1902, and the 22nd class of the

Army War College (Japan) The ; Short form: of the Empire of Japan was founded in 1882 in Minato, Tokyo to modernize and Westernize the Imperial Japanese Army. Much of the empire's elite including prime ministers during the period of Japanese militarism were graduates o ...

. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in June 1903 and served during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, seeing combat at the Battle of Sandepu. He was promoted to lieutenant in February 1905, to captain in December 1909, to major in November 1916 and to lieutenant colonel in August 1920. Nishio was first attached to the 10th Regiment/ 10th Division from 1921 to 1923; he was promoted to colonel on 6 August 1923. Afterward, he was an instructor at the Army War College until 1925 when he became commanding officer of the 40th Regiment/10th Division. From 1926 to 1929 he was Chief of the 1st Section,

Inspectorate General of Military Training The was a section of the Imperial Japanese Army charged with military education and training in the army, except military aviation training. It was headed by an inspector general who was responsible for overseeing technical and tactical training, ...

. Promoted to major general on 1 August 1929, he was assigned to command the 39th Brigade of the IJA 20th Division, stationed in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. From 1930 to 1932 he was Chairman of Military Investigation in the Ministry of War. He was promoted to lieutenant general on 1 August 1933, becoming the Head of the 4th Bureau of the General Staff in 1934.

China

On 5 March 1934, Nishio was appointed Chief of Staff of the

Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945. The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

, where he oversaw the establishment of the reorganization of the

Manchukuo Imperial Army The Manchukuo Imperial Army ( zh, s=滿洲國軍, p=Mǎnzhōuguó jūn) was the army of Manchukuo, a puppet state established by the Empire of Japan in Manchuria. Established in 1932, it was primarily involved in counterinsurgency operations agai ...

and the

pacification of Manchukuo The Pacification of Manchukuo was a Japanese counterinsurgency campaign to suppress any armed resistance to the newly established puppet state of Manchukuo from various anti-Japanese volunteer armies in occupied Manchuria and later the Co ...

. In March 1936 he became Vice Chief of the General Staff and Acting Head of the General Affairs Bureau, of the General Staff. In early 1937, he briefly commanded the Imperial Guards Division, before being transferred to China at the beginning of the

. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident Nishio was sent to North China, and took command of the Second Army on 26 August 1937. He oversaw the Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation that took the Japanese to the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

. He was at the

Battle of Xuzhou 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 ...

, crossing the Yellow River and overrunning

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

until 30 April 1938. Shortly after the defeat his army suffered in the

Battle of Taierzhuang The Battle of Taierzhuang ( zh, t=, p=Tái'érzhuāng Huìzhàn) took place during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938. It was fought between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan in the peak of the Xuzhou Campaign. The ba ...

, he was replaced and returned to Tokyo to be Inspector-General of Military Training. Promoted to general on 1 August 1939, Nishio returned to China again to take command of the Thirteenth Army on 12 September for a month and then took command of all the forces in China as Commander in Chief of the

China Expeditionary Army The was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1939 to 1945. The China Expeditionary Army was established in September 1939 from the merger of the Central China Expeditionary Army and Japanese Northern China Area Army, and was ...

on 22 September. He oversaw the Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang and the First Battle of Changsha. His force withstood the Chinese 1939-40 Winter Offensive and rolled back their gains in the spring with many operations including the Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang. His forces were again struck in North China by the Hundred Regiments Offensive, while he continued attacks in the Yangtze valley in the Central Hopei Operation and Western Hopei Operation. On 1 March 1941 he was replaced and returned to Japan to become a member of the Supreme War Council until he retired in 1943.

Return to Japan

Nishio took up the governorship of the Tokyo Metropolis from 1944 to the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Although arrested after World War II by the American occupation authorities, who accused him of unnamed

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

, formal charges were never brought to trial and he was later released.

References

Books

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External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nishio, Toshizo 1881 births 1960 deaths Military personnel from Tottori Prefecture Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Japanese prisoners and detainees Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Prisoners and detainees of the United States military