Takeshi Mori

Infobox Military Person
name= Takeshi Mori
lived= 25 April 1894 -15 August 1945
placeofbirth=Kochi prefecture, Japan
placeofdeath=


caption=General Takeshi Mori
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=
serviceyears=1916 - 1945
rank=Lieutenant General
commands= First Imperial Guards Division
unit=
battles= Second Sino-Japanese War
World War II
awards=
family=
laterwork=

Lieutenant General nihongo|Takeshi Mori|森赳|Mori Takeshi|extra=25 April 1894 -15 August 1945 was the commander of the Japanese Empire's First Imperial Guards Division, at the end of World War II.

Biography

A native of Kochi Prefecture, Mori was a graduate of the 28th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1916, specializing in cavalry. After serving in a number of administrative roles within the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff he returned to the Army Staff College, graduating from the 39th class in 1927. He subsequently served as commander of the IJA 13th Cavalry Regiment before returning to desk duty within the General Staff.

Mori taught at the Army Staff College from 1935-1937 and 1938-1941. He was promoted to major general in 1941. With the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Mori was assigned as a staff officer to the Japanese First Army in China from 1937-1938. He returned to the Asian mainland in 1941 as Vice Chief of Staff of the Japanese 6th Army in Manchukuo, and was promoted to Chief of Staff in 1942. From 1943-1944, he was Deputy Commander of the Kempeitai, and from 1944-1945, served as Chief of Staff of the Japanese 19th Army. [Ammenthorp, the Generals of World War II]

Mori was promoted to lieutenant general in 1945. On 7 April 1945, Mori became commander of the 1st Imperial Guards Division, the prestigious division assigned direct responsibility for protection of the Imperial Family of Japan. [Fuller, Shokan, Hirohito’s Samurai]

After Japan's decision to surrender, Mori was visited just after midnight on 15 August 1945 by Major Kenji Hatanaka and Lieutenant Colonels Masataka Ida and Jiro Shiizaki, who attempted to secure his aid in their plot to isolate the Imperial Palace and prevent the announcement Japan's surrender. At around 1:30, Ida and Shiizaki had left the room, and after repeated refusals on Mori's part, Mori was shot and killed by Hatanaka. His seal was then placed on a false set of orders (). [Brooks, Behind Japan’s Surrender]

ee also

*Colonel Kazuo Mizutani—Mori's Chief of Staff
*Lt. Col. Michinori Shiraishi–Mori's brother-in-law, who died trying to save Mori from the sword of Captain Shigetaro Uehara, just moments before Mori was killed by Major Hatanaka.

References

Books

*cite book
last = Brooks
first = Lester
authorlink =
year = 1968
title = Behind Japan's Surrender: The Secret Struggle That Ended an Empire
publisher = McGraw-Hill Book Company
location = New York
id =
*cite book
last = Butow
first = Robert J. C.
authorlink =
year = 1954
title = Japan's Decision to Surrender
publisher = Stanford University Press
location =
id = ASIN: B000VFCC14
*cite book
last = Frank
first = Richard B.
authorlink =
year = 1999
title = Downfall: the End of the Imperial Japanese Empire
publisher = Penguin, non-classics
location =
id = ISBN 0141001461
*cite book
last = Fuller
first = Richard
coauthors =
year = 1992
title = Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai
publisher = Arms and Armor
location = London
id = ISBN: 1-85409-151-4

External links

*cite web
last = Ammenthorp
first = Steen
url = http://www.generals.dk/general/Mori/Takeshi/Japan.html
title = Takeshi Mori
work = The Generals of World War II

Notes