 Yoshihide Hayashi

A native of Wakayama Prefecture, Hayashi was a graduate of the 26th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1914, and of the 35th class of the Army Staff College in 1923.At the outset of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he was assigned to the Kwantung Army, and was on the planning team for the successful Operation Chahar in northern China.