Sanji Iwabuchi
Iwabuchi Sanji | |
|---|---|
| File:Iwabuchi Sanji.jpg Japanese Rear-Admiral Iwabuchi Sanji | |
| Born | March 2, 1893 Niigata Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | February 26, 1945 (aged 51) Intramuros, Philippines |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/ |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1915-1945 |
| Rank | Rear-Admiral |
| Commands held |
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| Battles/wars | |
Template:Japanese name Iwabuchi Sanji (2 March 1893, Niigata Prefecture, Japan - 26 February 1945, Intramuros, Philippines) was a Rear Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific War of World War II. He was killed in action during the Battle of Manila.
Biography
Iwabuchi Sanji was an officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and he became an enlisted soldier in 1915 after graduating from the Japanese Naval Academy. He was a gunnery officer between 1930 and 1933 after being a gunnery specialist from 1923. He was a captain in the navy by 1937, serving as the commander of the Japanese cruiser Kashii throughout 1941 before captaining the Japanese battleship Kirishima after April 1942. He served at the Battle of Midway, the Solomon Islands campaign, and the Battle of Guadalcanal, where Kirishima had to be scuttled after being fatally damaged. In May 1943, Iwabuchi was promoted to Rear-Admiral in the navy and commanded the naval defenses of the Filipino capital of Manila from November 1944, as well as serving in the Naval General Staff. When the United States invaded, the commanding officer over the Philippines, Major-General Tomoyuki Yamashita ordered him to evacuate Manila, but Iwabuchi refused to give up his command. He had 15,000 marines and 4,000 Imperial Japanese Army soldiers under his leadership to defend the capital city. He was killed in the fighting in the city, and was posthumously promoted to Vice Admiral. Since over 100,000 civilians were killed during the battle of Manila, his superior, General Yamashita, was executed in 1946.