Otani Kikuzo

Otani Kikuzo
Otani Kikuzo
Born	1856 (1856)
Died	1923 (aged 66–67)
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Rank	major general
Battles/wars	First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War World War I Russian Civil War Siberian Intervention

Otani Kikuzo (大谷喜久蔵, 1856 – 1923) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. Kikuzo participated in the First Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, World War I and the Russian Civil War. During the course of the latter he commanded the Vladivostok Expeditionary Force and became the chief of staff of the Allied Siberian Intervention. He was elevated to baron upon his retirement in 1920.

Military Career

Otani Kikuzo was born in 1856. He began his military career by enlisting into an infantry regiment. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1883, captain in 1886 and major in 1892. Two years later he joined the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office in Hiroshima where he served during the course of the First Sino-Japanese War. In 1897, he reached the rank of colonel. In 1902, he was elevated to major general.^[1] During the course of the Russo-Japanese War he commanded a battalion in the 4th Army.^[2] In the aftermath of the Japanese entry into World War I and the subsequent Japanese occupation of Tsingtao Kikuzo became the commander of the city's garrison.^[1]

In 1918, Japan joined its allies in a joint intervention into the Russian Civil War in support of the White movement. Kikuzo was appointed head of the Japanese expeditionary force with Yui Mitsue as the Chief of Staff. The Vladivostok Expeditionary Force was 60,000 men strong, comprising three divisions including the 12th Division and the 5th Division.^[1] On 12 August, Japanese forces departed from the Tokyo railway station for Hiroshima, where they were to board ships destined for Vladivostok.^[2] Following Vladivostok's occupation Kikuzo became the chief of staff of the Allied Siberian Intervention. In April 1920, Kikuzo ordered the Allied troops to cut off eastern Transbaikal from the Bolshevik controlled Far Eastern Republic thus creating the Chita holdup. In 1919, he was appointed inspector general at the Inspectorate General of Military Training. He retired from active service a year later and was elevated to baron. On 1 November 1920, Kikuzo was awarded the Order of the Golden Kite for his role in World War I and the Siberian intervention. Kikuzo died in 1923.^[1]

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