Mako Guard District

The Mako Guard District (馬公警備府, Mako Keibifu^?) was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in Taiwan before and during World War II. Located in at Mako 23°35′24″N 119°34′05″E / 23.590°N 119.568°E / 23.590; 119.568Coordinates: 23°35′24″N 119°34′05″E / 23.590°N 119.568°E / 23.590; 119.568), (present-day Makung, Pescadores Islands, Republic of China), the Mako Guard District was responsible for control of the strategic Straits of Taiwan and for patrols along the Taiwan and China coastlines and in the South China Sea. It was disbanded in 1943, and reestablished as the Takao Guard District at Takao on the Taiwan main island.

History

The Guard Districts (警備府, Keibifu^?) were second tier naval bases, similar to the first tier Naval Districts (鎮守府^?), with docking, fueling and resupply facilities, but typically lacked a shipyard or training school.^[1] They tended to be established by strategic waterways or major port cities for defensive purposes.^[2] In concept, the Guard District was similar to the United States Navy Sea Frontiers concept. the Guard District maintained a small garrison force of ships and Naval Land Forces which reported directly to the Guard District commander, and hosted detachments of the numbered fleets on a temporary assignment basis.

The port of Mako in the Pescadores Islands was an area with a long association with the Imperial Japanese Navy, having been the first portion of Taiwan captured during the Japanese invasion of Taiwan in the First Sino-Japanese War. Mako was designated a third echelon naval port, or yokobu (要港部^?) on July 4, 1901. It served as a staging point and refueling base in the Russo-Japanese War, and especially during the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Mako was upgraded to full Guard District status on November 20, 1941, and served as a staging group and supply base for the invasion of the Philippines and other naval operations in Southeast Asia after the start of the Pacific War.^[3] In 1943, the base was relocated to Takao on the Taiwanese mainland.

Order of Battle at time of the attack on Pearl Harbor

• Mako Guard District
  • PG Akitsu Maru
  • PG Chiyo Maru
  • PG Chohakusan Maru
  • AK Kure Maru No.5
• Mako Air Group
  • 3x Aichi D1A Susie
  • Minesweeper Division 44
  • Minesweeper Division 45
  • Minesweeper Division 46

List of Commanders

Commanding Officer

• Vice-Admiral Hikonojō Kamimura (4 Jul 1901 - 23 Sep 1903)
• Vice-Admiral Tomomichi Onomoto (23 Sep 1903 - 13 Jun 1905)
• Vice-Admiral Nagataka Uemura (13 Jun 1905 - 20 Dec 1905)
• Vice-Admiral Baron Masaaki Hashimoto (20 Dec 1905 - 22 Nov 1906)
• Vice-Admiral Baron Tokioki Nashiba (22 Nov 1906 - 12 Mar 1907)
• Vice-Admiral Baron Yunoshin Kano (12 Mar 1907 - 1 Dec 1909)
• Vice-Admiral Chikakata Tamari (1 Dec 1909 - 1 Dec 1910)
• Vice-Admiral Hikojiro Ijichi (1 Dec 1910 - 1 Dec 1911)
• Vice-Admiral Kotaro Koizumi (1 Dec 1911 - 14 Apr 1913)
• Vice-Admiral Baron Shinrokuro Nishi (14 Apr 1913 - 1 Dec 1913)
• Vice-Admiral Tadamichi Kamaya (1 Dec 1913 - 17 Dec 1914)
• Vice-Admiral Rinroku Eguchi (17 Dec 1914 - 13 Dec 1915)
• Admiral Teijiro Kuroi (13 Dec 1915 - 1 Dec 1916)
• Vice-Admiral Tatsuo Matsumura (1 Dec 1916 - 12 Dec 1917)
• Vice-Admiral Tomojiro Chisaka (12 Dec 1917 - 13 Jun 1918)
• Vice-Admiral Kazuyoshi Yamaji (13 Jun 1918 - 1 Dec 1919)
• Rear-Admiral Shigeushi Nakagawa (1 Dec 1919 - 1 Dec 1920)
• Admiral Naomi Taniguchi (1 Dec 1920 - 1 Aug 1921)
• Vice-Admiral Kiyokaze Yoshida (1 Aug 1921 - 26 Dec 1921)
• Vice-Admiral Hisatsune Iida (26 Dec 1921 - 1 Jun 1923)
• Vice-Admiral Shiro Yamauchi (1 Jun 1923 - 6 Nov 1923)
• Vice-Admiral Tadatsugu Tajiri (6 Nov 1923 - 20 Dec 1924)
• Vice-Admiral Eizaburo Fujiwara (20 Dec 1924 - 1 Aug 1925)
• Vice-Admiral Nobutaro Iida (1 Aug 1925 - 1 Dec 1927)
• Rear-Admiral Kesaichi Hitsuda (1 Dec 1927 - 10 Dec 1928)
• Vice-Admiral Eijiro Hamano (10 Dec 1928 - 1 Dec 1930)
• Vice-Admiral Shusei Yuchi (1 Dec 1930 - 11 Jan 1932)
• Vice-Admiral Akira Goto (11 Jan 1932 - 18 Jun 1932)
• Rear-Admiral Toyonaka Yamauchi (18 Jun 1932 - 15 Nov 1933)
• Vice-Admiral Yoshiyuki Niyama (15 Nov 1933 - 15 Nov 1934)
• Vice-Admiral Hiroshi Ono (15 Nov 1934 - 15 Nov 1935)
• Vice-Admiral Senzo Wada (15 Nov 1935 - 1 Dec 1937)
• Vice-Admiral Shunzo Mito (1 Dec 1937 - 15 Nov 1938)
• Vice-Admiral Goro Hara (15 Nov 1938 - 15 Nov 1939)
• Vice-Admiral Ibo Takahashi (15 Nov 1939 - 27 Feb 1941)
• Vice-Admiral Koki Yamamoto (27 Feb 1941 - 20 Nov 1942)
• Admiral Takeo Takagi (20 Nov 1942 - 1 Apr 1943)

Chief of Staff

• Vice-Admiral Baron Shinrokuro Nishi (25 Dec 1904 - 14 Jun 1905)
• Vice-Admiral Baron Mitsukane Tsuchiya (14 Jun 1905 - 10 May 1906)
• Rear-Admiral Sango Obana (11 May 1906 - 5 Aug 1907)
• Rear-Admiral Kanetane Imai (5 Aug 1907 - 28 Aug 1908)
• Rear-Admiral Juntaro Hirose (28 Aug 1908 - 11 Oct 1909)
• Rear-Admiral Yushichi Kanno (8 Oct 1910 - 12 Jun 1911)
• Rear-Admiral Koki Hirose (12 Jun 1911 - 20 Apr 1912)
• Rear-Admiral Eitaro Kataoka (20 Apr 1912 - 1 Dec 1913)
• Vice- Admiral Kotaro Tanaka (1 Dec 1913 - 7 Aug 1914)
• Rear-Admiral Shigeushi Nakagawa (7 Aug 1914 - 1 Sep 1915)
• Rear- Admiral Moshiro Iwasaki (1 Sep 1915 - 28 Jan 1916)
• Rear- Admiral Hisamori Taguchi (28 Jan 1916 - 1 Dec 1917)
• Rear-Admiral Yoshitada Mikami (1 Dec 1918 - 26 Jul 1920)
• Rear-Admiral Morie Tokiwa (1 Mar 1923 - 1 Dec 1924)
• Rear-Admiral Shinichi Oguri (1 Dec 1924 - 1 Apr 1925)
• Rear-Admiral Junzo Yoshitake (1 Jul 1926 - 15 Nov 1927)
• Rear-Admiral Tadashi Kurata (15 Nov 1927 - 30 Oct 1929)
• Rear-Admiral Seizaburo Mitsui (20 Nov 1929 - 15 May 1931)
• Vice- Admiral Shunzo Mito (15 May 1931 - 1 Dec 1932)
• Rear-Admiral Shinji Suzuki (1 Dec 1932 - 1 Nov 1934)
• Rear-Admiral Tsuyoshi Kobata (1 Nov 1934 - 1 Dec 1936)
• Vice- Admiral Shigeyoshi Miwa (1 Dec 1936 - 15 Dec 1938)
• Rear-Admiral Raizo Tanaka (15 Dec 1938 - 15 Nov 1939)
• Rear-Admiral Akira Matsuzaki (15 Nov 1939 - 10 May 1941)
• Vice- Admiral Toshio Shimazaki (10 May 1941 - 1 Apr 1943)

References

1. ^ http://maisov.oops.jp/e/glos.htm
2. ^ http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/KYE/CINCPAC-11-45/index.html
3. ^ Goldstein, The Pacific War Papers. Page 64

• Prados, John (1995). Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-460-02474-4. 
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 087021893X. 
• Goldstein, Donald M (2004). The Pacific War Papers. Brassey. ISBN 1574886320. 

External links

• Wendel, Marcus. "Axis History Database". http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7860. 
• Budge, Kent G.. "Pacific War Online Database". http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/J/a/Japanese_Mako_Guard_District.html.