Takeo Itō

For the Japanese field hockey player, see Takeo Ito (field hockey).

Takeo Itō
Japanese General Takeo Itō
Native name	伊東 武夫
Born	(1889-07-06)July 6, 1889 Fukuoka prefecture, Japan
Died	Rabaul, New Britain
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	IJA 38th Division
Battles/wars	Second Sino-Japanese War World War II

In this Japanese name, the family name is Itō .

Takeo Itō (伊東 武夫, Itō Takeo, 6 July 1889 – 24 February 1965) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

Biography

Takeo Itō was born in the city of Fukuoka in the Fukuoka prefecture The commanding officer of the IJA 228th Infantry Regiment at the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he assumed command of 114th Infantry Regiment on September 1, 1941. Upon attaining the rank of major general on August 25, 1941, Itō was given command of the IJA 38th Division's infantry group, which was the primary Japanese division in the invasion of Hong Kong.

In early 1942, Itō was reassigned to an independent command in his own name, the "Itō Detachment", consisted mainly of 228th Infantry Regiment, 38th Infantry Division and the 1st Kure SNLF, which took part in the Battle of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies (30 January–3 February 1942), and in the occupation of Timor. All of these campaigns were characterized by extreme ruthlessness and the massacre of prisoners.

In November, Itō, along with one regiment of the 38th Division, was shipped to Guadalcanal. On 11 November, during the pivotal Battle of Guadalcanal, Itō was positioned by Lieutenant-General Harukichi Hyakutake to attack Marines under the command of United States General Alexander Archer Vandegrift who were involved in the Matanikau offensive against Japanese positions. However, Vandegrift called off his offensive that day after receiving intelligence reports of Hyakutake's plans. Itō later helped command 38th Division troops during the Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse. He and the 38th's survivors on Guadalcanal were evacuated by the Japanese navy during the first week of February 1943. Itō became commander of the 40th Independent Mixed Brigade, stationed at New Ireland on 8 July 1944. He was promoted to lieutenant-general on November 26 of that year.

At the end of the war, Itō was taken into custody by Australian forces, and was tried as a war criminal in a military tribunal for the murder of Chinese civilians. He was sentenced to death at Rabaul, New Britain on 24 May 1946. However, Ito was released on 28 October, and repatriated to Japan. He died on 24 February 1965.

Further reading

• Chapter VIII:Advances Towards Kokumbona in United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific - Guadalcanal: The First Offensive by John Miller (United States Army Center of Military History, 1949 & 1995), pp. 196, 201-202, 204
• Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal: History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, by Lt. Col. Frank O. Hough, USMCR; Maj. Verle E. Ludwig, USMC; Henry I. Shaw, Jr. (Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps) Volume I, Chapter 8: Critical November
• The Hong Kong Society of Wargamers: "The Fall of Hong Kong, Christmas 1941", by Andrzej Cierpicki
• Benjamin Lai: Hong Kong 1941–45, First Strike in the Pacific War, Osprey Publishing 2014, ISBN 978-1-78200-268-0