Yamashita, Tomoyuki (1885-1946) Japanese general known for his successful attacks on Malaya and Singapore during World War II. He became the highest ranking general in the Japanese Imperial Army's air force. He helped plan Japan's invasion of the Thai and Malay peninsulas in 1941-1942, and his Twenty-fifth Army overran all of Malaya and defeated the British naval base at Singapore in a ten-week campaign. Retired to Manchuria by Prime Minister Tojo Hideki, he was militarily inactive until Tojo's fall in 1944, when he was sent to command the defense of the Philippines. In spite of the fact that his forces were defeated in both the Leyte and Luzon campaigns, he held on until Japan surrendered in August 1945. He was tried for war crimes and, in spite of his denials of knowledge concerning atrocities committed under his command, was eventually convicted and hanged.

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