Yamashita Tomoyuki, General (1885–1946)

Abstract Yamashita Tomoyuki will always be known as the Tiger of Malaya, a sobriquet bestowed by a fawning Japanese press after he conquered Singapore in February 1942. Born on November 18, 1885 in Shikoku, Japan, Yamashita was a professional soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army. Yamashita's great ability earned him an unusually varied career, including regimental, staff, and high command appointments, foreign service, and finally the honor of being handpicked to command two of the most important campaigns the army fought during World War II. He commanded in turn a company, a regiment — the elite 3rd Regiment of the Imperial Guards Division — a brigade and a division — leading both in combat in China — an army, and finally two army groups. In staff postings Yamashita helped modernize Japanese army doctrine and organization, but was ensnared along the way in bitter factional feuding that marred the army from the 1920s onwards. This put him into conflict with Tojo Hideki, later Japan's wartime prime minister, and in 1936 he suffered the displeasure of the emperor himself. This last consequence provoked Yamashita to become a charismatic fire‐eater in command, seeking expiation by earning glory or even death in battle.