was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in 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 ...

during

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 ...

Biography

Early career

Uchiyama was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

as the eldest son of General Uchiyama Kojirō, but was adopted and raised by his uncle. He attended military preparatory schools in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

and graduated from the 21st 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 1909 with a speciality in artillery. He graduated from the 32nd class of the Army Staff College in 1920. During his early career, he served in a number of artillery units and became an artillery instructor in 1927. From May 1930, he was sent for further studies in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In August 1933, after his return to Japan, he was promoted to colonel and given command of the IJA 1st Field Artillery Regiment, and was later commandant of the Field Artillery School. Uchiyama was promoted to major general in August 1937. He subsequently served as commander of the IJA 5th Field Artillery Brigade and the commander of artillery 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 ...

World War II

In October 1939, Uchiyama was promoted to

. From September 1940, he was assigned command of the 13th Division which was assigned to the

Japanese Eleventh Army The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. History The Japanese 11th Army was formed on July 4, 1938, under the Japanese Central China Area Army for the task of conquering and occupying the central prov ...

in China 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 ...

, notably the Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang,

Battle of West Hubei The Battle of West Hubei (), was one of 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was also one of four major battles that took place in Hubei ...

and

Battle of Changde The Battle of Changde (Battle of Changteh; ) was a major engagement in the Second Sino-Japanese War in and around the Chinese city of Changde (Changteh) in the province of Hunan. The purpose of the Japanese offensive was to maintain press ...

. A particularly heavy Chinese attacks in

Yichang Yichang ( zh, s= ), Postal Map Romanization, alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. Yichang had a population of 3.92 million people at the 2022 census, making it the third most pop ...

were repulsed in October 1941 with the extensive use of chemical weapons by ''13th division''. On August 17, 1942, Uchiyama became commander of the IJA 3rd Army, which was based in

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 ...

as a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

force to guard the eastern borders against possible incursions by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. It afterwards came under the command of the Japanese First Area Army in July 1942. From February 7, 1944 he was assigned command of the IJA12th Army, which was primarily a garrison force in Japanese-occupied northern China. This force was sent south into combat during

Operation Ichi-Go Operation Ichi-Go () was a campaign of a series of major battles between the Imperial Japanese Army forces and the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, fought from April to December 1944. It consisted of three separate battles in ...

and Uchiyama was distinguished in operations at the Battle of Central Henan. In April 1945, Uchiyama was recalled to Japan, to take command of the

Japanese Fifteenth Area Army The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the closing stages of World War II. History The Japanese 15th Area Army was formed on February 1, 1945 under the General Defense Command as part of the last desperate defense effort by th ...

. This organization was part of the last desperate defense effort by Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces during

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ...

and was responsible for the

Kansai The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...

and Chugoku regions of Honshū and the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

. It was headquartered in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. He entered the reserves in December 1945. After the end of the war, Uchiyama was assigned to the central demobilization office. In June 1946, he was arrested by order of the U.S. military authorities and charged

war crime 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 hostage ...

s. In 1947, he was found guilty of

command responsibility In the practice of international law, command responsibility (also superior responsibility) is the legal doctrine of hierarchical accountability for war crimes, whereby a commanding officer (military) and a superior officer (civil) are legally r ...

for allowing the execution of American airmen shot down between April and August 1945 in the region of Japan under control of the 15th Area Army. Uchiyama was sentenced to 30 years of hard labor at

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima 23 special wards, ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was orig ...

. He was paroled in April 1958, and died in 1973.

References

* * *

External links

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia

Allied Aircraft and Airmen lost over the Japanese Mainland by Toru FUKUBAYASHI

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uchiyama, Eitaro 1887 births 1973 deaths Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese military attachés Members of the Kwantung Army People of the Second Sino-Japanese War People convicted in the Yokohama trials