Japanese general who directed Okinawa's war of attrition
Even after defeat was clear, he rejected a surrender appeal and ordered his remaining forces to fight to the end.
Mitsuru Ushijima was an Imperial Japanese Army officer who commanded formations in the war against China and the Pacific War. Sent to Okinawa in 1944, he led the 32nd Army in a defense-in-depth and war of attrition in the south rather than a beach battle, while its system also mobilized civilians for labor and combat. His May 1945 withdrawal from Shuri prolonged resistance but drew refugees into the battlefield and increased civilian losses; he rejected surrender and killed himself in June.
Career Timeline
- 1908Graduated from Army Academy, 20th class; infantry second lieutenant
- 1916Graduated from Army Staff College, 28th class
- 1918–1919Staff of the Siberian Intervention force, transport and deployment
- 1937–1939Commander, 36th Infantry Brigade, China campaigns
- 1939–1941Commander, 11th Division, stationed at Hulin, Manchukuo
- 1942–1944Commandant, Imperial Japanese Army Academy
- 1944–1945Commanding general, 32nd Army, Okinawa defense
- 1945Promoted to general; suicide at Mabuni