Shigetaro Shimada ( Japanese: 太郎 繁 繁 太郎 Shimada Shigetaro: September 24, 1883 - June 7, 1976) - Admiral of the Imperial Navy of Japan, Minister of the Fleet during the Second World War, defendant of the Tokyo process .
| Shigetaro Shimada | |
|---|---|
| 嶋 田 繁 太郎 | |
 Shimada Shigetaro | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | |
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| Affiliation |  Japan empire |
| Type of army | Imperial Navy of Japan |
| Years of service | 1904-1945 |
| Rank | admiral |
| Commanded | 2nd Fleet Chinese fleet |
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| Awards and prizes | |
| Retired | 1945 |
Shigetaro Shimada was born in 1883 in Tokyo . In 1904, he graduated from Kaigun Heigakko in the same issue as Isoroku Yamamoto . He served as a midshipman at the submarine base "Karasaki-maru", then on the armored cruiser " Izumi ", participated in the Tsushima battle of the Russian-Japanese war . Having received the rank of junior lieutenant, Shigetaro Simada served on the cruisers " Nititaka " and " Otova "; On October 11, 1909, he received the rank of lieutenant, after which he served on the armored cruiser Tsukuba and the battleship Settsu .
In December 1913, Shigetaro Shimada graduated from Kaigun Daigakko . In December 1915, he received the rank of captain of the 3rd rank and was appointed naval attache to Rome ; in Italy, he worked during the First World War .
Upon returning to Japan, Shigetaro Shimada in 1920 received a post at the General Staff of the Fleet , in 1922 became a senior assistant on the battleship Hyuga, and in 1923 - an instructor Kaigun Daigakko . On December 1, 1924, Shigetaro Simada received the rank of captain, in 1928 he was given command of his first ship, the light cruiser Tama, and then, in the same year, the battle cruiser Hiei .
November 30, 1929 Shigetaro Simada received the title of Rear Admiral and became chief of staff of the 2nd Fleet. In December 1930, he was transferred to the 1st Fleet and became commander of the Submarine School. In February 1932, Shigetaro Shimada was appointed commander of the 3rd Fleet and as such took part in the first Shanghai battle .
In June 1932, Shigetaro Simada returned to the General Staff of the Navy, served in various positions there, in December 1933 he became Deputy Chief of the General Staff. November 15, 1934 Shigetaro Simada received the title of Vice Admiral. In the second half of the 1930s, he successively led the Kure marine region, the 2nd Fleet , the Chinese Fleet , and the Yokosuka marine region.
October 18, 1941 Shigetaro Simada headed the Ministry of the Navy . As Fleet Minister, Shigetaro Shimada was a loyal associate of Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and played an important role in coordinating the activities of the army and navy during the war. In 1944, after a series of defeats, Tojio removed the chiefs of the army and navy general headquarters from his posts, and headed the army general headquarters himself, and Shigetaro Shimada became the head of the general staff of the fleet, without leaving the post of minister of the fleet. However, the supreme power over the fleet created Shimada many enemies, and after the fall of Saipan, he was forced to resign as chief of the general staff of the fleet and minister of the fleet. For some time he remained a member of the Supreme Military Council , but on January 20, 1945, he withdrew from active work, becoming a councilor.
After the war, Shigetaro Simada was arrested by the occupation authorities on charges of war crimes. An international military tribunal for the Far East sentenced him to life imprisonment for starting an aggressive war. In 1955, he was released on parole.