Battle of Xuzhou
Oda was a native of Fukuoka Prefecture. From 1938, he was the commanding officer of the IJA 50th Infantry Regiment, which was in combat during the Battle of Xuzhou in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The regiment was withdrawn back to Japan in December 1939. In August 1940, he was promoted major general and became the commanding officer of the infantry group of the IJA 26th Division, which at the time was under the command of the Mongolia Garrison Army.