Kōsō Abe

Infobox Military Person
name= Kōsō Abe
lived= 24 March 1892 – 19 June 1947 [Nishida, "Imperial Japanese Navy"]
placeofbirth=Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
placeofdeath= Guam


caption= Admiral Kōsō Abe (center) during the Guam War Crimes trial, 1946
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1912-1945
rank=Vice Admiral
commands="Jintsu", "Naka", "Tenryū", "Mikuma", "Myōko", "Hiei"
6th Air Base Group
Tateyama Naval Gunnery School
unit=
battles=World War II
oBattle of the Coral Sea
oMakin Raid
awards=
family=
laterwork=nihongo|Kōsō Abe|阿部孝壮|Abe Kōsō|extra= 24 March 1892 – 19 June 1947 was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

Biography

Early career

A native of Yamagata prefecture in northern Japan, Abe was a graduate of the 40th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1912. He ranked 73rd out of 144 cadets. He served as midshipman on the cruisers "Azuma" and "Yakumo" from 1912-1913, and after commissioning as an ensign in 1915, was assigned to the cruiser "Izumo". He returned to naval artillery and torpedo school later that year, and did not graduate until late 1917, so he was unable to participate in combat operations in World War I.

As a lieutenant from 1918, lieutenant commander from 1924, and commander from 1930, he served as chief gunnery officer on the destroyers "Yamakaze", "Akikaze", battleship "Yamashiro", cruiser "Asama", and battleship "Nagato", cruisers "Naka", "Ashigara", battleship "Haruna" and "Hyūga". He was promoted to captain on 15 November 1934.

Abe was given his first command on 15 November 1935, the cruiser "Jintsu". He subsequently served as captain of the "Naka", "Tenryū", "Mikuma", "Myōko", "Hiei" in the 1930s.

Abe was promoted to rear admiral on 15 November 1940. He commanded the transport division for the Port Moresby Invasion Force in abortive Operation Mo during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

The Makin Raid incident

From 5 February 1942 to 29 November 1943, Abe was commander of the 6th Base Force at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. As such, he was essentially the wartime military governor of the Marshall Islands, Gilbert Islands, Nauru, Ocean Island and Wake Island in the central Pacific Ocean.

On 17 – 18 August 1942, a force of approximately 200 US Marine commandos landed by submarine and raided Makin Island. The Makin Island raid was intended to destroy Japanese installations, gather intelligence data, test raiding tactics, boost home front morale, and possibly to divert Japanese attention from Guadalcanal. At a loss of 30 men, the US Marines killed the 85 Japanese, destroyed the radio station, fuel depot, supplies and installations. The raid attracted much attention in the American press, spawning a 1942 propaganda movie entitled "Gung-Ho," but its military significance was negligible. Nine US Marines who had been accidentally left behind during the raid were captured by Japanese forces, and moved as prisoners of war to Kwajalein, where they were held for about a month.

The initial plan was to send those American prisoners to Japan for incarceration. However, Abe was advised by central military authorities in Tokyo that the new official policy was to execute all prisoners of war in the field, and not to hold any in captivity or to send them to the home islands. Reportedly over the protests of Captain Yoshio Obara (local Japanese commander on Kwajalein) and Commander Hiusakichi Naiki (Chief of military-police on Kwajalein) (although this has been disputed by historian W. Emerson Wiles who states that Obara and Naiki were willing participants), Abe ordered the execution of the prisoners by beheading on 16 October 1942. [Whitman, "Submarine Commandos"]

Subsequent career

From 27 December 1943 until 25 April 1945, Abe was Commandant of the Tateyama Naval Gunnery School in Tateyama, Chiba, Japan. Until the end of the war, he served as a commander of base units at Sasebo Naval Base in Kyūshū, Japan. [Nishida, "Imperial Japanese Navy"]

After the war, Abe was arrested by SCAP authorities and charged with war crimes, largely based on witness testimony regarding the Makin Raid Incident. Abe was extradited to Guam, where a military tribunal convicted him of "violation of the law and custom of war and the moral standards of civilized society." Abe was executed by hanging on 19 June 1947 on Guam. [Nishida, "Imperial Japanese Navy" and Whitman, "Submarine Commandos".]

References

Printed sources

* cite book
last = Fuller
first = Richard
year = 1992
title = Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai
publisher = Arms and Armour Press
location = London
isbn = 978-1-85409-151-2
* cite book
last = Morison
first = Samuel Eliot
authorlink = Samuel Eliot Morison
coauthors =
year = 1949 (reissue 2001)
chapter =
title = Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942-August 1942, "vol. 4 of "History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
publisher = University of Illinois Press
location = Champaign, Illinois, USA
isbn = 978-0-252-06995-6
* cite book
last = Morison
first = Samuel Eliot
authorlink = Samuel Eliot Morison
coauthors =
year = 1961
chapter =
title = Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942-April 1944, "vol. 7 of "History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
publisher = Little, Brown and Company
location = Boston
id = ASIN B0007FBB8I
* cite book
last = Smith
first = George W.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2003
chapter =
title = Carlson's Raid: The Daring Marine Assault on Makin
publisher = Berkley Trade
location =
isbn = 978-0-425-19019-7- Neutral review of this book: [http://www.historyofmilitary.com/Carlsons_Raid_0891417443.html]
* cite book
last = Wiles
first = W. Emerson "Tripp"
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2007
chapter =
title = Forgotten Raiders of '42: The Fate of the Marines Left Behind on Makin
publisher = Potomac Books
location =
isbn = 978-1-59797-055-6
* Young, Howard. "Carlson's Raiders on Makin, 17-18 August 1942", "Marine Corps Gazette" 87(8): August 31, 2003.

External links

* cite web
last = Crowl
first = Philip A.
authorlink =
coauthors = Edmund G. Love
date =
year = 1955
month =
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Gilberts/index.html
title = Seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls
format =
work = United States Army in World War II - The War in the Pacific
pages = p. 60-66
publisher = Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army
language = English
accessdate = January 23
accessyear = 2007- Briefly describes the Makin Raid and its impact on future U.S. operations in the Gilbert Islands.
* cite web
last = Hoffman
first = Jon T.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 1995
month =
url = http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/extContent/usmc/pcn-190-003130-00/sec4.htm
title = Makin
format = brochure
work = FROM MAKIN TO BOUGAINVILLE: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War
pages =
publisher = Marine Corps Historical Center
language =
accessdate = 2006-11-21
accessyear =
* cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px40.htm#v002
title = Imperial Japanese Navy: Abe, Koso
format =
work =
pages =
publisher =
language =
accessdate = 2008-08-25
accessyear =
* cite web
last = Whitman
first = Edward C.
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url = http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/n87/usw/issue_10/submarine_commandos.html
title = SUBMARINE COMMANDOS: "Carlson's Raiders" at Makin Atoll
format =
work = Undersea Warfare
pages =
publisher = United States Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, Submarine Warfare Division
language =
accessdate = 2006-11-21
accessyear =

Notes