Combined Fleet
Encyclopedia
For Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

, please see that article.


The was the main ocean-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

. The Combined Fleet was not a standing force, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime.

Sino-Japanese War (1894–95)

The Combined Fleet was formally created on 18 July 1894 by the merger of the Standing Fleet and the Western Fleet. The Standing Fleet (also known as the Readiness Fleet) contained the navy's most modern and combat-capable warships. The Western Fleet was a reserve force consisting primarily of obsolete ships deemed unsuitable for front-line combat operations, but still suitable for commerce protection and coastal defense. Vice-admiral Itoh Sukeyuki
Itoh Sukeyuki
- Notes :...

  was appointed the first Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

 of the Combined Fleet. for the duration of the first Sino-Japanese war
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

 against China.

Russo-Japanese War (1904–05)

The Combined Fleet was re-formed during the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

 of 1904–05 to provide a unified overall command for the three separate fleets in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The IJN 1st Fleet
IJN 1st Fleet
The was the main battleship fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 1st Fleet was created during the Russo-Japanese War when the Imperial General Headquarters divided the Readiness Fleet into a mobile strike force of cruisers and destroyers to...

 was the main battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 force, which formed the backbone of the navy and was intended to be used in a traditional line-of-battle showdown with an equivalent enemy battleship fleet (kantai kessen
Kantai kessen
The was a naval strategy adopted by the Imperial Japanese Navy following the Russo-Japanese War. It called on the use of a strong battleship force, which would destroy an invading fleet as it approached Japan after suffering losses through attrition as it penetrated Japanese perimeter defenses.The...

). The IJN 2nd Fleet
IJN 2nd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 2nd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as a mobile strike force of cruisers and destroyers to pursue the Imperial Russian Navy's Vladivostok-based cruiser squadron while the...

 was a fast, mobile strike force with armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...

s and protected cruiser
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

s. The IJN 3rd Fleet
IJN 3rd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was created on six separate occasions.-Russo-Japanese War:First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 3rd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as an administrative unit to manage various vessels considered too obsolete for...

 was primarily a reserve fleet of obsolete vessels considered too weak for front-line combat service, but which could still be used in the operation to blockade Port Arthur
Battle of Port Arthur
The Battle of Port Arthur was the starting battle of the Russo-Japanese War...

. Admiral Togo Heihachiro
Togo Heihachiro
Fleet Admiral Marquis was a Fleet Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He was termed by Western journalists as "the Nelson of the East".-Early life:...

 was commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

 of the Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War.

Interwar years

The Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but was temporarily created when necessary—either during wartime or during fleet maneuvers. Thus, during the period from 1905–1924, the Combined Fleet was created only sporadically as the occasion or circumstances dictated, and disbanded immediately afterwards.

In 1924, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared in an edict on fleet organization that "for the time being" the Combined Fleet would be a permanent organization consisting of the IJN 1st Fleet and IJN 2nd Fleet. As the commander of IJN 1st Fleet concurrently directed the Combined Fleet, the Combined Fleet did not have a Headquarters staff of its own.

From 1933, with the Manchurian Incident and the increasing tension with China, a permanent HQ staff for the Combined Fleet was established. By the late 1930s, it included most of Japan's warships—only the base units, the Special Naval Landing Forces, and the China Area Fleet lay outside the Combined Fleet.

World War II

The Combined Fleet came under command of the Imperial General Headquarters
Imperial General Headquarters
The as part of the Supreme War Council was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime...

 in 1937. With the start of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

 with the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

 carried out by the Combined Fleet's Kido Butai
1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy at the beginning of World War II contained the world's largest carrier fleet. At the centre, was the 1st Air Fleet which was a grouping of naval aircraft and aircraft carriers...

, the Combined Fleet became almost synonymous with the Imperial Japanese Navy. It comprised the battleships, aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

s, aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

, and the components that made up the main fighting strength of the IJN. It was first mobilized on the whole for the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

. After the devastating carrier losses at Midway and in the Solomon Islands campaign
Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942...

, the Navy re-organized into a number of "Area Fleets" for local operational control of various geographic zones. The Combined Fleet then evolved into more of an administrative organization.

As the war situation deteriorated for the Japanese and the territories controlled by the "Area Fleets" fell one after another to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, the Imperial General Headquarters
Imperial General Headquarters
The as part of the Supreme War Council was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime...

 and the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff
Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff
The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo.-History:...

 acted to force the American fleet into a "decisive battle" in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 per the kantai kessen
Kantai kessen
The was a naval strategy adopted by the Imperial Japanese Navy following the Russo-Japanese War. It called on the use of a strong battleship force, which would destroy an invading fleet as it approached Japan after suffering losses through attrition as it penetrated Japanese perimeter defenses.The...

philosophy. In the resultant Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...

 and the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...

 the Japanese fleet was decimated. The remnants of the Combined Fleet fled to Okinawa, but further operations were hindered by lack of fuel and air cover. By the time of the final suicide mission of the battleship Yamato
Japanese battleship Yamato
, named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was the lead ship of the Yamato class of battleships that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing...

 in Operation Ten-Go
Operation Ten-Go
was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Other renderings of this operation's title in English include Operation Heaven One and Ten-ichi-gō....

, the Combined Fleet had ceased to exist as an effective combat force. The Combined Fleet was formally dissolved on 10 October 1945.

Commanders of the IJN Combined Fleet

Commander in chief
Rank Name From To
1 Vice Admiral Itoh Sukeyuki
Itoh Sukeyuki
- Notes :...

18 July 1894 11 May 1895
2 Vice Admiral Arichi Shinanojo
Arichi Shinanojo
Baron was an admiral in the early Imperial Japanese Navy, and served as Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff in the late 19th century.-Biography:...

11 May 1895 16 November 1895
3 Vice Admiral Togo Heihachiro
Togo Heihachiro
Fleet Admiral Marquis was a Fleet Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He was termed by Western journalists as "the Nelson of the East".-Early life:...

28 December 1903 20 December 1905
4 Vice Admiral Ijuin Goro
Ijuin Goro
-External links:...

8 October 1908 20 November 1908
5 Vice Admiral Motaro Yoshimatsu 1 November 1915 13 December 1915
6 Vice Admiral Motaro Yoshimatsu 1 September 1916 14 October 1916
7 Admiral Motaro Yoshimatsu 1 October 1917 22 October 1917
8 Admiral Yamashita Gentaro 1 September 1918 15 October 1918
9 Admiral Yamashita Gentaro 1 June 1919 28 October 1918
10 Admiral Yamaya Tanin
Yamaya Tanin
- Notes :...

1 May 1920 24 August 1920
11 Admiral Tochinai Sojiro 24 August 1920 31 October 1920
12 Admiral Tochinai Sojiro 1 May 1921 31 October 1921
13 Vice Admiral Takeshita Isamu 1 December 1922 27 January 1924
14 Admiral Suzuki Kantaro 27 January 1924 1 December 1924
15 Admiral Okada Keisuke 1 December 1924 10 December 1926
16 Vice Admiral Hiroharu Kato 10 December 1926 10 December 1928
17 Admiral Naomi Taniguchi
Naomi Taniguchi
Naomi Taniguchi is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Japan. In 1959, Taniguchi became the first Japanese racer to compete at the world championship level when Honda entered him in the Isle of Man TT...

10 December 1928 11 November 1929
18 Vice Admiral Eisuke Yamamoto 11 November 1929 1 December 1931
19 Vice Admiral Seizo Kobayashi 1 December 1931 15 November 1933
20 Vice Admiral Nobumasa Suetsugu 15 November 1933 15 November 1934
21 Vice Admiral Sankichi Takahashi
Sankichi Takahashi
was an Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy. After the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 Takahashi, an important figure of IJN's Fleet Faction, made a swift career, from commander of an obsolete cruiser in 1923 to commander of the Combined Fleet in 1934...

15 November 1934 1 December 1936
22 Vice Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai
Mitsumasa Yonai
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and politician. He was the 37th Prime Minister of Japan from 16 January to 22 July 1940.-Early life & Naval career:...

1 December 1936 2 February 1937
23 Admiral Osami Nagano 2 February 1937 1 December 1937
24 Vice Admiral Zengo Yoshida
Zengo Yoshida
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy.-Biography:Yoshida was born into an impoverished farming family in Saga prefecture in 1885, and was adopted into the family of a local rice merchant. He was a graduate of the 32nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1904, ranking 12th out of...

1 December 1937 30 August 1939
25 Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Isoroku Yamamoto
was a Japanese Naval Marshal General and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and a student of Harvard University ....

30 August 1939 18 April 1943
26 Admiral Mineichi Koga
Mineichi Koga
- Notes :...

21 May 1943 31 March 1944
27 Admiral Soemu Toyoda 3 May 1944 29 May 1945
28 Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa
Jisaburo Ozawa
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of Combined Fleet. Many military historians regard Ozawa as one of the most capable Japanese flag officers.-Biography:...

29 May 1945 10 October 1945


Chief of staff
Rank Name From To
1 Captain Samejima Kazunori 19 July 1894 17 December 1894
2 Captain Dewa Shigeto
Dewa Shigeto
- Notes :...

17 December 1894 25 July 1895
3 Captain Kamimura Hikonojo
Kamimura Hikonojo
Baron was an early admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy later commanding the IJN 2nd Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle off Ulsan and Tsushima.-Biography:...

25 July 1895 16 November 1895
4 Captain Shimamura Hayao
Shimamura Hayao
Baron was a Japanese admiral during the First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars as well as one of the first prominent staff officers and naval strategists of the early Imperial Japanese Navy.-Biography:...

28 December 1903 12 January 1905
5 Rear Admiral Kato Tomosaburo
Kato Tomosaburo
Viscount was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 12 June 1922 to 24 August 1923.-Biography:...

12 January 1905 20 December 1905
6 Rear Admiral Fujii Koichi 20 December 1905 22 November 1906
7 Captain Yamashita Gentaro 22 November 1906 10 December 1908
8 Captain Takarabe Takeshi
Takarabe Takeshi
- Notes :...

10 December 1908 1 December 1909
9 Rear Admiral Nomaguchi Kaneo 1 December 1909 11 March 1911
10 Captain Akiyama Saneyuki
Akiyama Saneyuki
was a Meiji-period career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He was famous as a planner of Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War. The Japanese general Akiyama Yoshifuru was his elder brother.-Early life and career:...

11 March 1911 24 May 1912
11 Captain Isamu Takeshita
Isamu Takeshita
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He was also a diplomat whose accomplishments included helping end the Russo-Japanese War favorably for Japan and obtaining former German possessions in the Pacific for Japan following World War I...

1 December 1912 24 May 1913
X X Vacant 23 May 1913 1 December 1913
12 Rear Admiral Satō Tetsutarō
Sato Tetsutaro
-Notes:...

1 December 1913 17 April 1914
13 Captain Kazuyoshi Yamaji 17 April 1914 1 December 1914
14 Rear Admiral Shibakichi Yamanaka 1 December 1914 13 December 1915
15 Rear Admiral Saburo Horiuchi 13 December 1915 1 December 1917
16 Rear Admiral Hanroku Saito 1 December 1917 1 December 1918
17 Rear Admiral Kajishiro Funakoshi 1 December 1918 1 December 1919
18 Rear Admiral Hansaku Yoshioka 1 December 1919 1 December 1921
19 Rear Admiral Kumazo Shirane 1 December 1921 1 December 1923
20 Rear Admiral Bekinari Kabayama 1 December 1923 10 November 1924
21 Captain Kanjiro Hara 10 November 1924 1 December 1925
22 Rear Admiral Naotaro Ominato 1 December 1925 1 November 1926
23 Rear Admiral Sankichi Takahashi
Sankichi Takahashi
was an Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy. After the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 Takahashi, an important figure of IJN's Fleet Faction, made a swift career, from commander of an obsolete cruiser in 1923 to commander of the Combined Fleet in 1934...

1 November 1926 1 December 1927
24 Rear Admiral Eijiro Hamano 1 December 1927 10 December 1928
25 Rear Admiral Ken Terajima 10 December 1928 30 October 1929
26 Rear Admiral Koichi Shiozawa
Koichi Shiozawa
-External links:* - Notes :...

30 October 1929 1 December 1930
27 Rear Admiral Shigetarō Shimada
Shigetaro Shimada
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He also served as Navy Minister-Biography:A native of Tokyo, Shimada graduated from the 32nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1904...

1 December 1930 1 December 1931
28 Rear Admiral Zengo Yoshida
Zengo Yoshida
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy.-Biography:Yoshida was born into an impoverished farming family in Saga prefecture in 1885, and was adopted into the family of a local rice merchant. He was a graduate of the 32nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1904, ranking 12th out of...

1 December 1931 15 September 1933
29 Rear Admiral Soemu Toyoda 15 September 1933 15 March 1935
30 Rear Admiral Nobutake Kondō 15 March 1935 15 November 1935
31 Rear Admiral Naokuni Nomura
Naokuni Nomura
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and briefly served as Navy Minister in the 1940s.-Biography:Nomura was born in Hioki, Kagoshima prefecture. He graduated from the 35th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, ranked 43rd out of 172 cadets. He served his midshipman tour on the...

15 November 1935 16 November 1936
32 Rear Admiral Yasutaro Iwashita 16 November 1936 18 February 1937
33 Rear Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa
Jisaburo Ozawa
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of Combined Fleet. Many military historians regard Ozawa as one of the most capable Japanese flag officers.-Biography:...

18 February 1937 15 November 1937
34 Rear Admiral Ibo Takahashi
Ibo Takahashi
- Books :...

15 November 1937 5 November 1939
35 Captain Shigeru Fukudome
Shigeru Fukudome
- Notes :...

5 November 1939 10 April 1941
36 Rear Admiral Seiichi Ito
Seiichi Ito
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and commander of the battleship on its final mission towards the end of World War II.-Early career:...

10 April 1941 11 August 1941
37 Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki 11 August 1941 22 May 1943
38 Vice Admiral Shigeru Fukudome
Shigeru Fukudome
- Notes :...

22 May 1943 6 April 1944
39 Rear Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka 6 April 1944 24 June 1945
40 Rear Admiral Shikazo Yano 24 June 1945 25 September 1945

External links

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