Jisaburo Ozawa
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Jisaburo Ozawa (小沢治三郎 Ozawa Jisaburō, October 2, 1886 – November 9, 1966) was a Japanese admiral during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of Combined Fleet.
Ozawa graduated from the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1909. He rose through the ranks so that, by 1936, he held the rank of Rear Admiral. In 1937, Ozawa was appointed Chief-of-Staff of the Combined Fleet and in 1940, he was promoted to Vice Admiral and president of the Naval Academy. Ozawa was one of leading advocates of naval aviation in the Imperial Japanese Navy. His career was filled with distinction and he conducted himself with dignity and honor. Ozawa, nicknamed 'The Gargoyle' by his men, was commonly regarded as one of the three ugliest admirals in the Navy. He also had a reputation of compassion towards his men and of being a fine commander. It was his ill fate to be the commander of a fleet that was doomed to lose an uninterrupted series of battles to the ever-expanding American naval forces.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ozawa became responsible for Japan's naval operations in the South China Sea. In early 1942 (January to March), his fleet was involved in the invasions of Java and Sumatra.
In June 1944, he commanded the fleet that took on the US 5th Fleet under Admiral Raymond Spruance in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. In this battle, Ozawa, lost nearly 400 aircraft in the so-called "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." After the battle, Ozawa retreated to Okinawa where he tended his resignation - which was not accepted.
What was left of Ozawa's fleet fought at the Battle of Leyte Gulf against the force of Admiral William Halsey. Although he was the senior admiral at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Ozawa was not given a leading command position since the Japanese battle plan was to sacrifice his force as a decoy so Kurita's Center Force could traverse San Bernardino Strait and freely fall upon MacArthur's invasion forces on the Leyte beaches. Nevertheless, Ozawa played his role intelligently and professionally until the end, although his fleet ended its combat career off of the Philippines as little more than a bait force, flight decks empty for lack of planes and pilots.
Jisaburo Ozawa died in 1966 at the age of 80.
