Tadayoshi Sano , was a lieutenant general and commander in the Imperial Japanese Army ( IJA ) during World War II . Biography . Early career . Sano attended the 23rd class Imperial Japanese Army Academy and graduated in 1911 . In 1913 , he attended the IJA ' s artillery and engineering school , graduating in 1914 . Sano completed the 31st class of the Army Staff College in 1922 . We was promoted to major in 1926 , he was assigned as a military attaché to Great Britain from 1927 through 1928 . From 1931 through 1933 , Sano was assigned to the 4th Artillery Regiment . For the next two years , he worked in the IJA 5th Division and briefly commanded the 25th Field Artillery Regiment . He was promoted to colonel in 1935 . From 1935 to 1936 Sano was assigned to the IJA 12th Division , and then once again commanded the 25th Artillery until 1937 . From 1937 until 1938 , he was Chief of Staff of the IJA 14th Division , and then commanded the 4th Heavy Field Artillery Brigade . Sano was promoted to major general in 1938 . For one year beginning in 1940 , Sano commanded the IJA ' s Field Artillery School . In 1941 , he was promoted to lieutenant general . Pacific War . Hong Kong and Sumatra . In 1941 , Sano assumed command of the 38th Division . Early in the Pacific War , Sano and his division participated in the Battle of Hong Kong by invading Hong Kong Island on December 18 , 1941 . The British garrison surrendered on December 25 , 1941 . Sano ' s troops were reported to have committed atrocities against civilians in Hong Kong and British prisoners of war ( Major General Takeo Itō , Sano ' s subordinate and commander of the 38th ' s Infantry Group , was tried and convicted after the war for war crimes ) . The division then transferred to Sumatra and participated in the Netherlands East Indies campaign . Guadalcanal . The 38th Division was then transferred to Rabaul , New Britain in the Southwest Pacific in September 1942 in order to participate in the Japanese attempts to retake Guadalcanal from Allied forces during the Guadalcanal campaign . Two battalions from Sano ' s division were delivered to Guadalcanal by Tokyo Express missions in October 1942 and participated in the Battle for Henderson Field , which resulted in a decisive defeat for the Japanese forces . In November 1942 , Tokyo Express missions delivered the 38th Division ' s 228th Infantry Regiment to Guadalcanal along with Sano and his staff . The Japanese attempted to deliver the remaining 7 , 000 troops of the 38th Division by slow transport but the effort was defeated during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal from November 12 through November 15 , 1942 . Only about 3 , 000 of Sano ' s troops successfully reached the island and most of their supplies and heavy equipment were lost . After suffering losses during the Battle of Mount Austen , the Galloping Horse , and the Sea Horse , Sano and the remainder of his troops on Guadalcanal , about 2 , 316 men , were evacuated during Operation Ke on February 2 , 1943 , giving control of the island completely to Allied forces . Japan , China , and death . After returning to Rabaul with his troops , Sano was reassigned to Japan and assigned as Chief of Staff of the General Defense Command ( GDC ) in 1943 . The GDC administered all IJA line and training units in the Japanese home islands and Korea . He then served on the General Staff until 1944 . Sano was sent to China and given command of the IJA 34th Army in Hankow in July 1944 . In May 1945 , Sano and the 34th Army were transferred to Manchukuo and northern Korea under the control of the Kwantung Army . Sano became ill and died on July 3 , 1945 .