was a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

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 ...

during the Pacific campaign in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Sumiyoshi was born in Kisa, Hiroshima (now part of the city of Miyoshi) and attended military preparatory schools in Hiroshima. He graduated from the 26th 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 ...

in May 1914. He specialized in

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

operations, and went on to graduate from the 35th class of the Army Staff College in 1923. After serving in various staff positions at the

Imperial Japanese Army General Staff The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army. Role The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ...

, as an instructor at the Artillery School and even in a

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barr ...

regiment, Sumiyoshi was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the IJA 3rd Heavy Field Artillery Brigade in March 1938, and saw combat in the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Thea ...

. he rose to the position of senior staff officer for artillery in the

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = Apri ...

in December 1939 and was vice commandant of the Army Artillery School from December 1940. In March 1941, Sumiyoshi was promoted to

and commander of the divisional artillery of the IJA 3rd Division in July 1941. At the time, the division was till heavily involved in the fighting in China, participating in the

First Battle of Changsha The First Battle of Changsha (17 September 1939 – 6 October 1939; ) was the first of four attempts by Japan to take the city of Changsha, Hunan, during the second Sino-Japanese War. It was the first major battle of the war to fall within the ti ...

in September 1941 and Second Battle of Changsha in December 1941, and the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign in May 1942, In September 1942, he was transferred to command the heavy artillery of the IJA 17th Army during the strategically significant Guadalcanal campaign in 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 ca ...

, including the

Battle for Henderson Field The Battle for Henderson Field, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal or Battle of Lunga Point by the Japanese, took place from 23 to 26 October 1942 on and around Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. The battle was a land, sea, and air battle ...

. Surviving the Japanese defeat on

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the se ...

, Sumiyoshi was withdrawn to Tokyo in April 1943 placed in the staff of the Eastern District Army until October of that year. This was essentially a

home guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or military reserve force, reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the America ...

and garrison, responsible for recruitment and civil defense training to ensure the security 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, ...

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

, and the surrounding areas.Fuller, ''Shokan'', p. 200. He went into the reserves from October 1943. However, in August 1944, he was recalled to active duty and placed in command of the artillery of the Eastern District Army. He retired again in June 1945.

References

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Web

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Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumiyoshi, Tadashi Japanese military personnel of World War II Members of the Kwantung Army Japanese generals 1893 births 1976 deaths Military personnel from Hiroshima