Soemu Toyoda
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| Soemu Toyoda | |
|---|---|
| 22 May 1885 - 22 September 1957[1] | |
 Japanese Admiral Soemu Toyoda |
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| Place of birth | Kitsuki, Ōita, Japan |
| Place of death | Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1905-1945 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | Yura, Hyūga Bureau of Naval Affairs, IJN 4th Fleet, IJN 2nd Fleet, Naval Shipbuilding Command, Kure Naval District, Yokosuka Naval District, Combined Fleet |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Order of the Sacred Treasures (1st class) |
| Other work | Supreme War Council (Japan), Chief of Navy General Staff |
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Toyoda.
Soemu Toyoda (豊田副武 Toyoda Soemu?, 22 May 1885 - 22 September 1957) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early career
Toyoda was born in what is now part Kitsuki city, Oita prefecture. He graduated from the 33rd class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1905, ranked 26th out of 176 cadets. He served his midshipman duty aboard the cruisers Hashidate and Nisshin, and after commissioned as an ensign he was assigned to the destroyer Asatsuyu.
Toyoda returned to school, becoming a torpedo and naval artillery expert. As a lieutenant from 1911, he served on the battlecruiser Kurama. He graduated from the Naval War College (Japan) with honors in 1915, and was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1917. From 1917-1919 he was aide-de-camp to Admiral Yoshimasa Motomaro. From 1919-1922, he was sent as naval attaché to the United Kingdom, during which time he was promoted to commander.
After his return to Japan, Toyoda was assigned as executive officer to Kuma. He subsequently served in a number of staff positions, was promoted to captain in 1925, and received his first command: the cruiser Yura in 1926. In December 1930, he became captain of the battleship Hyūga. During the London Naval Conference, he accompanied Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto to London in 1931. On 1 December 1931, Toyoda was promoted to rear admiral.
From December 1931-February 1933, Toyoda was chief of the Second Section of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, and promoted to vice admiral on 15 November 1935.
From 1935-1937, Toyoda was Director of the Bureau of Naval Affairs, and on 20 October 1937, became Commander in Chief of the IJN 4th Fleet. He subsequently became Commander in Chief of the IJN 2nd Fleet on 15 November 1938. Both fleets were active in the Second Sino-Japanese War in support of the invasion of China. From 1939-1941, he was Director of Naval Shipbuilding Command.
[edit] World War II
Promoted to full admiral on 18 September 1941, at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Toyoda was Commander in Chief of the Kure Naval District. Toyoda was strongly opposed to the war with the United States, which he viewed from the start as "unwinnable".[2]
On 10 November 1942 Toyoda became a member of the Supreme War Council, where he made a strong (but mostly unsuccessful) effort to increase funding and the capacity of Japan's industry towards naval aviation, over the opposition to the Army-dominated Imperial General Headquarters. On 21 April 1943, Toyoda was re-assigned (i.e. demoted) from the Supreme War Council to command of Yokosuka Naval District.
After the death of Admiral Mineichi Koga, Toyoda was appointed Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet on 3 May 1944. In June of the same year he drafted and implemented "Plan A-Go" which resulted in the decisive defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy under the command of Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He followed with "Plan Sho-Go", which again resulted in another major defeat at the Battle of Surigao Strait. Toyoda was aware that both plans were major gambles, but as the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet was running out of fuel and other critical supplies, he felt that the potential gain offset the risk of losing a fleet that was about to become useless in any event. In the end, however, Toyoda's aggressive defensive strategy did not pay off. Nonetheless, Toyoda continued with the same strategy, approving Operation Ten-Go to send the battleship Yamato on its one-way final mission to Okinawa.
Toyoda became Chief of the Navy General Staff and was the final supreme commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 25 April 1945 onward.
Toyoda participated in numerous Imperial Conferences concerning the surrender of Japan. Initially the Navy Minister, Mitsumasa Yonai, hoped that Toyoda would be able to exert a moderating influence over Army Chief of Staff Yoshijiro Umezu (since both came from the same district of Japan). However, Toyoda joined Umezu in his protestations against the Potsdam Proclamation of 26 July 1945. Toyoda was for termination of the war but insisted that the government push for more favorable terms. After atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Toyoda's position became even more hardline. He argued that the Japanese people should defend the home islands until the last man. After a Japanese proposal of conditional surrender was rejected by the United States on 10 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito overruled Toyoda's protests and gave the order to bring the war to an end with unconditional surrender.
After the war, Toyoda was interrogated by Rear Admiral Ralph A. Ofstie in Tokyo on 14 November 1945. He was viewed as "highly intelligent and widely informed", and was observed to be a strong critic of the amount of political power the Army held in the Japanese government. He also expressed his opinion that the war with China should have been ended "even at some sacrifice" so that the men and resources could be redeployed to the Pacific theater.[3]
Toyoda was subsequently arrested by SCAP authorities, held in Sugamo Prison and charged with war crimes. During the Tokyo Trials in October 1948, Toyoda was the only one of the accused found not guilty on all counts.
Toyoda published his memoirs in 1950, and died in 1957 of a heart attack at the age of 73.
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Butow, Robert J. C. (1954). Japan's Decision to Surrender. Stanford University Press. ASIN: B000VFCC14.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Frank, Richard B. (1999). Downfall: the End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Penguin, non-classics. ISBN 0141001461.
- Y'Blood, William T. (2003). Red Sun Setting: The Battle of the Philippine Sea. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1591149940.
[edit] External links
- Nishida, Hiroshi. Imperial Japanese Navy. Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
- Utah State Library Toyoda Soemu Trial Transcripts
[edit] Notes
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