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 the early part of 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 ...

. His elder brother, Suzuki Minoru was a major general in the Imperial Japanese Army Medical Corps.

Biography

The second son of a former

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

in the service of Kaga Domain, Suzuki was born in

Ishikawa prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...

and attended military preparatory schools in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

. He graduated from the 17th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1905 and was assigned to the IJA 35th Infantry Regiment. After leaving 24th class of the Army Staff College in 1912, he has served as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

to the Empire of Russia from 1916 to 1918, and was thus witness to many of the events of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

and the overthrow of the Romanov dynasty. After his return to Japan, he became

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the IJA 12th Division. Suzuki was promoted to lieutenant colonel in March 1924 and was attached to the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff from December of that year. In 1927 he was attached to 34th Regiment of the IJA 3rd Division. He was subsequently posted to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

in February 1928 and concurrently to

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

in September 1929. He was promoted to colonel in March 1928. Returning to the Army General Staff in June 1930, he was made the Chief of 2nd Section (Maneuvers), in the 1st Bureau. He then commanded of the Guards 1st Regiment from August 1931 to August 1932. In March 1933, he was promoted to major general, and served as an instructor at the Army Staff College from August 1932 to March 1934.Dupuy, Encyclopedia of Military Biography From 1934 to 1935 he was head of the 4th Bureau in the General Staff, and head of the 1st Bureau from 1935 to 1936. In December 1936, shortly before the outbreak of the

, Suzuki was promoted to

. He was given command of the IJA 11th Independent Mixed Brigade under the aegis 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 ...

, and saw combat in the

Battle of Beiping-Tianjin 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 ...

, Operation Chahar, and in the Battle of Taiyuan. Recalled to Japan in October 1937, Suzuki became commandant of the Narashino Chemical Warfare School until he retired at the end of December 1938. After his retirement from military service, Suzuki was chairman of the rationing board of the Japanese automobile industry until the end of the war. He died in 1957.

References

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External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Shigeyasu 1886 births 1957 deaths Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese military attachés People of the Second Sino-Japanese War Military personnel from Ishikawa Prefecture