Ryojun Guard District

The Ryojun Guard District (旅順要港部, Ryojun Yōkōbu) was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Kwantung Leased Territory before and during Second Sino-Japanese War. Located in at Ryojun 38°48′45″N 121°14′30″E), (present-day Lüshunkou, China, The Ryojun Guard District was responsible for control of the strategic seaward approaches to Manchukuo and to north China and for patrols in the Yellow Sea and along the China coastlines. It was disbanded in 1943.

Japanese destroyer Kaba entering Ryojun

History

The Guard Districts (警備府, Keibifu) were second tier naval bases, similar to the first tier Naval Districts (鎮守府), with docking, fueling and resupply facilities, but typically lacked a shipyard or training school.[1] They tended to be established by strategic waterways or major port cities for defensive purposes.[2] In concept, the Guard District was similar to the United States Navy Sea Frontiers concept. the Guard District maintained a small garrison force of ships and Naval Land Forces which reported directly to the Guard District commander, and hosted detachments of the numbered fleets on a temporary assignment basis.

The port of Ryojun on the Kwantung Peninsula was an area with a long association with the Imperial Japanese Navy, having been first seized during the First Sino-Japanese War in December 1894. Japan was forced to abandon the port due to the Triple Intervention in February 1896, and its port facilities were soon occupied and developed by the Imperial Russian Navy as Port Arthur, Russia’s most important naval base in the Far East.

The Russian naval base was seized by Japan after the Battle of Port Arthur in August 1904 and was proclaimed the Ryojun Naval District (龍順鎮守府). However, it lacked the shipyards, armories and the training facilities associated with other naval districts, (for which it relied on Sasebo Naval District). Tasked primarily with coastal patrols of the Liaodong Peninsula and control of the strategic seaward approaches to Tianjin and Beijing, it was regarded as a prestigious posting, with its commander receiving his commission directly from the Emperor.

However, on March 14, 1914, the status of the Ryojun Naval District was reduced to that of a third echelon naval port, or yōkōbu (要港部). It served as a staging point and refueling base in World War I for operations against the Imperial German Navy’s German East Asia Squadron based out of Tsingtao. With the Allied victory in World War I eliminating the German threat and with the Washington Naval Treaty limiting naval forces, Ryojun Military Port was deactivated on December 1, 1922.

In April 1933, the base was reactivated, and its role expanding to include patrols and guard of the coastline of Manchukuo. On November 20, 1941 in anticipation of the coming war with the United States, Ryojun was upgraded to Guard District status.

However, on January 15, 1942, with Japan in full control of the seaward approaches to China and Manchukuo, the Guard District was again deactivated.

Order of Battle at time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
  • Ryojun Guard District
  • Minesweeper Division 32
    • Shanan Maru #16

List of commanders

Commanding officer[3]

NameDates
1Admiral Baron Yahachi Shibayama6 Feb 1905 - 2 Feb 1906
2Admiral Baron Sotaro Misu2 Feb 1906 - 22 Nov 1906
3Vice-Admiral Baron Masaaki Hashimoto22 Nov 1906 - 28 Aug 1908
4Vice-Admiral Baron Sadayasu Tomioka28 Aug 1908 - 1 Dec 1910
5Vice-Admiral Hikohachi Yamada1 Dec 1910 - 1 Dec 1912
6Vice-Admiral Hajime Sakamoto1 Dec 1912 - 1 Apr 1914
7Vice-Admiral Reijiro Kawashima1 Apr 1914 - 13 Dec 1915
8Vice-Admiral Takeshi Takarabe13 Dec 1915 - 1 Dec 1916
9Admiral Teijiro Kuroi1 Dec 1916 - 1 Dec 1918
10Vice-Admiral Tatsuo Matsumura1 Dec 1918 - 1 Oct 1920
11Vice-Admiral Naoe Nakano1 Oct 1920 - 1 Dec 1921
12Vice-Admiral Kesataro Kawahara1 Dec 1921 - 10 Dec 1922
XDeactivated10 Dec 1922 - 20 Apr 1933
13Vice-Admiral Shizue Tsuda20 Apr 1933 - 1 Jul 1933
14Vice-Admiral Yurikazu Edahara1 Jul 1933 - 15 Nov 1934
15Vice-Admiral Kichijiro Hamada15 Nov 1934 - 15 Nov 1935
16Admiral Hideho Wada15 Nov 1935 - 1 Dec 1936
17Vice-Admiral Masaichi Maeda1 Dec 1936 - 15 Nov 1938
18Vice-Admiral Ichiro Sato15 Nov 1938 - 15 Nov 1939
19Vice-Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya15 Nov 1939 - 15 Nov 1940
20Vice-Admiral Teruhisa Komatsu15 Nov 1940 - 5 Jul 1941
21Vice-Admiral Hidehiko Ukita5 Jul 1941 - 5 Jan 1942

Chief of Staff[4]

NameDates
1Vice-Admiral Chikataka Tamari7 Jan 1905 - 22 Nov 1906
2Rear-Admiral Tomokazu Takigawa22 Nov 1906 - 28 Aug 1908
3Vice-Admiral Yasutaro Egashira28 Aug 1908 - 1 Dec 1909
4Rear-Admiral Genzaburo Ogi1 Dec 1909 - 1 Dec 1910
5Vice-Admiral Tadamichi Kamaya1 Dec 1910 - 1 Dec 1911
6Rear-Admiral Sukeshiro Hanabusa1 Dec 1911 - 6 Dec 1911
7Rear-Admiral Yoshimoto Shoji6 Dec 1911 - 1 Dec 1912
8Rear-Admiral Sadaichi Hiraoka1 Dec 1912 - 1 Dec 1913
9Rear-Admiral Masaki Nakamura8 May 1914 - 11 May 1916
10Rear-Admiral Kanshiro Haji11 May 1916 - 1 Dec 1917
11Rear-Admiral Kametaro Muta12 Feb 1918 - 10 Nov 1918
12Rear-Admiral Kenkichi Wada20 Nov 1920 - 1 Apr 1922
13Vice-Admiral Kiyohiro Ijichi1 Apr 1922 - 10 Nov 1922
XDeactivated10 Dec 1922 - 20 Apr 1933
14Rear-Admiral Hisoharu Kubota20 Apr 1933 - 15 Nov 1935
15Vice-Admiral Chuichi Hara15 Nov 1935 - 1 Dec 1937
16Vice-Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto1 Dec 1937 - 15 Nov 1939
17Rear-Admiral Isamu Takeda15 Nov 1939 - 1 Nov 1940
18Rear-Admiral Keizo Tanimoto1 Nov 1940 - 5 Jan 1942

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-12-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/KYE/CINCPAC-11-45/index.html
  3. Wendel, Axis History Database
  4. Wendel, Axis History Database
  • Prados, John (1995). Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-460-02474-4.
  • Goldstein, Donald M (2004). The Pacific War Papers. Brassey. ISBN 1-57488-632-0.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.