| Revision as of 14:30, 20 June 2004 edit149.174.164.10 (talk) addition | Latest revision as of 18:06, 27 August 2007 edit undoRussBot (talk | contribs)Bots1,407,786 editsm Robot: Fixing double-redirect -"Shigetaro Shimada" +"Shigetarō Shimada" | ||
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| '''Shimada Shigetaro''' (小磯 国昭] – ]) was one of the leading members of the ] during ]. | |||
| A graduate of Japan’s Naval Academy, Shimada rose through the ranks of the Imperial Japanese Navy and eventually became an ]. Prior to World War II, Shimada held a variety of senior naval positions including Vice Chief of the Naval General Staff and Chief of the China Fleet. Shimada became Minister of the Navy in ] under ]. In this capacity, Shimada had knowledge of the ] attack plan and approved its implementation in ] of ]. As Navy Minister, Shimada became one of Tojo’s favorite lackies due to his submissiveness and unquestioniong loyalty. This extreme loyalty to Tojo made Shimada unpopular with a multitude of officers in the navy. Some of his detractors called him “Yurufun” (“Droopy Drawers”) or Tojo’s “tea servant.” Despite his unpopularity, Shimada’s career continued to rise, especially in ]. After a series of major Japanese losses, ] had lost confidence in the Army and Naval Chiefs of Staff. As such, Tojo was able to dismiss Chief of the Army General Staff ] and Chief of the Naval General Staff ]. Tojo assumed the role of Army Chief while Shimada became Naval Chief. This role, coupled with his position as Naval Minister, virtually made Shimada supreme commander of the Japanese Navy. Shimada’s power grab, however, ultimately gained him many enemies in the naval general staff and the emperor’s court. Shimada’s opponents continuously pressured Emperor ] to dismiss him, citing that the navy was losing battle after battle under Shimada’s direction. Hirohito finally made his displeasure with Shimada known to Tojo in ] of ], shortly after the fall of ]. Tojo immediately asked for Shimada’s resignation, and the Naval Minister complied. Serving as an advisor to the government for the remainder of the war, Shimada was captured by the ] in ] and tried by the ]. Found guily of a multitude of ], Shimada was given a sentence of life imprisonment. However, he was paroled in ]. Shimada died in ]. | |||
Latest revision as of 18:06, 27 August 2007
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