Announcement from Imperial General Headquarters January 1942
The as part of the
Supreme War Council was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the
Imperial Japanese Army and
Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime. In terms of function, it was approximately equivalent to the
United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.
History
The Imperial General Headquarters was established by Imperial Decree 52 on 19 May 1893 within the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office. The
Emperor of Japan who was defined as both
Head of State and the
Generalissimo of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces according to the
Meiji Constitution of 1889 to 1945, was the head of the Imperial General Headquarters, and was assisted by staff appointed from the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy.
The Imperial General Staff Headquarters was completely independent of the civilian government of the
Empire of Japan, including the
Cabinet and even the
Prime Minister of Japan.
Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi was allowed to attend meetings by the express order of
Emperor Meiji during the
First Sino-Japanese War. However, Prime Minister
Katsura Taro, despite his military background, was denied entry to meetings during the subsequent
Russo-Japanese War.
Imperial Decree 658 of 18 November 1937 abolished the original Imperial General Headquarters, which was then immediately re-constituted under Military Decree 1, which gave the new Imperial General Headquarters command authority over all military operations during peacetime situations as well as wartime situations.
In November 1937, to bring the chiefs of Army and
Navy General Staff into closer consultation with his government,
Emperor Hirohito established a body known as the
Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference within Imperial General Headquarters. The Liaison Conferences were intended to assist in integrating the decisions and needs of the two military sections of Imperial General Headquarters with the resources and policies of the rest of the government. Reaching agreement between the Army and Navy on strategic planning was often difficult. When agreement was finally reached on an important strategic issue, the agreement was reduced to writing in a document called a Central Agreement and signed by both Chiefs of Army and Navy General Staffs.
The final decisions of Liaison Conferences were formally disclosed and approved at Imperial Conferences over which
Emperor Hirohito presided in person at the
Tokyo Imperial Palace.
During the
Pacific War, and after the
firebombing of Tokyo, the Imperial General Headquarters relocated to
an underground facility in the mountains outside of Nagano.
With the
surrender of Japan, the
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers ordered the Imperial General Headquarters abolished on 13 September 1945.
Organization of the Imperial General Headquarters
Imperial General Headquarters comprised Army and Navy Sections. The Army Section comprised the Chief of Army General Staff and his chief of Army Operations, and the
Army Minister. The Navy Section comprised Chief of Navy General Staff, his chief of Navy Operations, and the
Navy Minister. In addition, the
Inspector-General of Military Training, whose rank was almost on-par with that of the Chiefs of the General Staff, and the
Aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Japan were also members.
Middle-ranking officers of Army and Navy General Staff, and Army and Navy Ministry, met from time to time at middle-level liaison or study conferences to discuss Japan's strategic war plans, and especially, plans requiring cooperation between the two armed services, outside of the formal meeting in the presence of the Emperor.
Relations between the Japanese Army and Navy were never cordial, and often marked by deep hostility. The Army saw the
Soviet Union as Japan's greatest threat and for the most part supported the
Hokushin-ron concept that Japan's strategic interests were on the Asian continent. The Navy looked across the
Pacific Ocean and saw the
United States as the greatest threat, and for the most part supported the
Nanshin-ron concept that Japan's strategic interests were in
Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands.
Organization during World War II
Hirohito, the
Emperor of Japan, was defined as the
Head of State and the
Generalissimo of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces according to the constitution of 1889. During World War II, the leadership of the Imperial General Headquarters consisting of the following:
Announcement from Imperial General Headquarters January 1942
Organization of the Imperial Japanese Army -- December 8, 1941
The majority of these troops were stationed in
China,
Indochina,
Japan,
Taiwan, and
Korea. This includes some 61
divisions, 59
brigades, and 51
air squadrons. Only a fraction of Japan's military, 11 to 14 divisions and the
South Seas Detachment, were available for the December 1941 operations in South-East Asia and the Pacific.
Soldiers parading before the Showa Emperor
Hirohito on Shirayuki
- Imperial General Headquarters
- ***Organization and Mobilization Department
- **1st (Operations) Bureau
- **2nd (Intelligence)Bureau
- ***Europe and the Americas Department
- ***Intelligence Department
- **3rd (Transport and Communications) Bureau
- ***Communications Department
- **4th (Historical) Bureau
- ***Military History Department
- ***Strategy and Tactics Department
- *Units under direct General Staff control
- **Korean Remount Department
- **Army Air Service Transport Department
- **IGHQ Communications Department
See also
