The Japanese general whose armored command exposed the limits of Japan's tank doctrine
On 9 July 1939, after losing more than half its tanks, the Yasuoka Detachment was dissolved and he was relieved of command.
Yasuoka Masaomi was a lieutenant general of the Imperial Japanese Army who commanded tanks within an army still organized around infantry. At Khalkhin Gol in 1939, he led the improvised Yasuoka Detachment, built around the 1st Tank Corps, in the July offensive; poor coordination among tanks, infantry and artillery contributed to the loss of more than half its armor and the unit's dissolution. He later entered the reserve, served in Japan's occupation administration in Indonesia, and was arrested after the war on war-crimes charges before dying in 1948.
Career Timeline
- 1906Second lieutenant, 43rd Infantry Regiment
- 1914Graduated from the Army War College
- 1935Major general; commander, 30th Infantry Brigade
- 1938Lieutenant general; commander, 1st Independent Mixed Brigade
- 1939Commander, 1st Tank Corps; led the Yasuoka Detachment at Khalkhin Gol
- 1941Transferred to the reserve
- 1942–1945Army administrative official; governor of Surabaya
- 1945–1948Arrested after the war on war-crimes charges; died in 1948