CHURCHILL IS DEFEATED IN LABOR LANDSLIDE; ATTLEE PROMISES PROSECUTION OF PACIFIC WAR (7/27/45)

Microfilm-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 7/27/45 | Herbert L. Matthews, Sydney Gruson, Harold Callender, C.L. Sulzberger, Pertinax, Raymond Daniell

[dfwgator]

When they found Hoess, the Commandant of Auschwitz, they beat the crap out him. He was eventually executed just outside of where the Crematoria was.

[tanknetter]

Pity.

They should have lit the thing up and fed the basturd in. Feet first.

[colorado tanker]

What a nice entree you gave me, Peter.

I have posted in the past about "Grandpa," who was the grandfather of a man my daughter dated and with whom I was able to discuss his WWII service. He resigned a judgeship in New Jersey to join. Eventually the Army figured out his highest and best use - civil affairs in running post-War Germany.

Grandpa was an officer assigned to the European Civil Affairs Division (ECAD). Specifically, he was assigned to Detachment H5D2. Decoded, that meant he was in the fifth "H" Detachment in Company D, 2nd Civil Affairs Regiment. H Detachments were assigned the military government of a Landkreis or Stadtkreis, rural districts or larger towns. Fully staffed, they would have five officers, one warrant officer and ten enlisted men. The Detachments were independent in their movements during the fighting, following line units going in the general direction of their assigned destination.

To recap for those not on the threads in those days, on December 16, 1944, Grandpa's Detachment was administering Manderfeld, Belgium, also HQ of the 14th Cavalry Group, then holding the left flank of the 106th Infantry Division sector on the Ardennes front. Grandpa awoke to the sound of gunfire. He reconnoitered and for a time shuttled ammunition to advanced positions of the Cavalry. Manderfeld was at the west end of the Losheim Gap, a pass through the Schnee Eifel which was one of the principle routes used by the German forces advancing in the Wacht am Rhein offensive. After witnessing history, the Detachment fell back along with the 14th Group, which was almost entirely destroyed. Two regiments of the 106th were also overrun. Manderfeld is in the small German speaking part of Belgium and Grandpa was very worried about possible retribution by the Germans against people who had cooperated with him.

"Today" the Detachment is administering Geissen, a mid-size university town in Hesse state, near Frankfurt. Geissen was also a rail junction and German HQ and was heavily bombed.

In the summer of 1945, the Detachment found a large collection of Jewish "church vestments," scrolls, etc., and archives, estimated at 20 freight car loads, stored at Hungen, near Geissen. One report mentioned three Rembrandts in the trove. The Detachment arranged for protection and shipment of the Nazi loot to Frankfurt.

On the way to Geissen, the Detachment administered other Belgian cities, including Raeren, across the border from Aachen. In March 1945 a university professor informed them of a large cache of books, documents and objects sent there for safekeeping. They arranged a convoy to take it back to Aachen.

Although Grandpa talked about his experience in the Battle of the Bulge, which obviously made a big impression on him, he was reticent to discuss details of his personal service. Aside from his experience in the Bulge, I had to piece together most of the forgoing from Army histories and some German sources.

The Army expected that if Germany had to be totally defeated the destruction would cause civil administration to completely collapse. They expected a prolonged period of U.S. military rule. The Germans being the very organized, disciplined people they are, however, kept civil administration relatively intact, even under those trying circumstances. The kreise Detachments were withdrawn in November and December. The first elections for local councils were held in January 1946.

Incidentally, there is a short wartime propaganda film called Mission to Geissen, directed by John Ford, about an OSS intelligence mission. I was not able to find out how much was true and how much was docudrama, but was able to find the OSS was active in the area as the Army crossed the Rhine and the closing days of the War began. It's definitely worth a view as it was made in John Ford's fine style.

[colorado tanker]

I believe you are referring to the Jewish Brigade.

The Palestinian Jews were finally able to persuade the British to let them serve in the British Army. The result was the Jewish Brigade, which deployed to Italy in the closing days of the War. After the War, they used their status as British military to roam Europe picking up "displaced persons" - Jews who had survived. They trucked them to camps and got them passage to Palestine, all under the noses of the British brass.

Becoming a force of assassins would attract unwanted attention and could lead to the end of their important work.

Veterans of The Brigade would also form the nucleus of the Israeli Defense Force.

[GeronL]

No, I thought I heard about attacks by Germans on the occupation forces for years afterward.

Could have been wrong I guess.

[colorado tanker]

I'm not surprised a bunch of academics, probably socialists themselves, voted Atlee "great." I would say he was very effective in implementing his program. Also kudos for keeping Britain on the anti-communist side.

But no kudos at all for putting Britain into the socialist state that would keep Britain broke and poor until Lady Thatcher saved Britannia.

[Oatka]

[The Brigade]

Thanks - requested from my library.

[henkster]

So, how would the Japenese look at todays headline?

You mean the one telling them to quit? My guess, and it's only a guess, knowing the Japanese leadership as I do, is that they will "treat it with silent contempt."

[colorado tanker]

This from the official Army history PeterPrinciple linked to: "The Nazi Party," 12th Army Group G-5 reported in the third week of June, "seems almost to have vanished from the earth."

The article linked to Werewolves is not sourced and is at a website I would not trust.

Werewolves were another fantasy spun by Goebbels and Hitler, like the Volksturm could hold off the Red Army. A few SS fanatics bought into the propaganda, but after the fall of Berlin and the Nazi collapse, there was no more appetite for war among the Germans. The fanatical Nazis were jailed and the rest of Germany was trying to figure out how to get enough food to avoid starvation.

[laplata]

ping

[colorado tanker]

Operation Downfall had two components. Operation Olympic, set for November, was the invasion of Kyushu. The plan was to occupy the southern third of the island to provide airfields, logistics facilities and staging areas for the invasion of Honshu. Olympic was to have been staffed with troops already in the Pacific. There is some controversy what would have happened if Japan had not surrendered after the atomic bombs dropped. Intelligence is learning that the Japanese have correctly deduced that Kyushu is our next target and the Navy is becoming alarmed. The Japanese know our habit of never jumping farther than our land based air cover can extend. So, there might have been a rethink of that plan.

Coronet is the invasion of Honshu with landings near Tokyo. It was anticipated that the occupation of Tokyo and the Kanto Plain would force surrender, but if not there could have been further operations.

It is Coronet that the seven million man army will support. Those troops are almost all in transit or in training in the U.S. in July 1945. The 86th Division was the first to redeploy from Europe. They were slated for the Pacific and got amphibious training. When he Battle of the Bulge drove home the lack of a strategic reserve in Europe they were sent to the ETO. Because of their short time in combat in Europe and Pacific combat training, they were the first to go. According to Wiki they were in Phillipine waters when Japan surrendered.

Coronet was tentatively set for March 1, 1945, but obviously depended on progress in Olympic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall

[colorado tanker]

Ooops, March 1, 1946.

[EternalVigilance]

Good informative post.

[EternalVigilance]

Way more problems developed because of the fraternization of Allied servicemen with German women, and because of the problems associated with DPs, Displaced Persons, than there ever were with the remaining scraps of the Nazi Party. And even the problems associated with the latter were mainly caused by a relative few former Hitler Youth punks.

[Churchillspirit]

I have been given the order of the boot.

Churchill.

[colorado tanker]

From the Band of Brothers posts it sounds like darn near every man in the outfit had an Austrian girlfriend.

[EternalVigilance]

I wonder what percentage of western Europeans today have American grandfathers.

And what percentage of eastern Europeans have Russian grandfathers.

[EternalVigilance]

July 27, 1945

WAC Staff Sergeant Mayne M. Narton (right) of Macon, Georiga receives the Bronze Star from Major Hortense Boutel (left) for her meritorious service in connection with the post exchange service. The ceremony took place in Caserta, Italy where the WACs were stationed supporting the Fifth Army.

President Harry S. Truman receives a bound German edition of Stars and Stripes from Staff Sergeant Paul Elliott, managing editor, at the Little White House. The Little White House is the President's residence in Germany during the Potsdam Conference. Left to right: Private First Class Ernest Leiser, Berlin correspondent, Stars and Stripes; Staff Sergeant Elliott; Lieutenant Colonel Jack Redding, public relations officer; President Truman; Captain Max H. Gillstrap, editor of the German edition. From Potsdam album, 1945

Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (left, back to camera) shaking hands with Secretary of State James Byrnes during the Potsdam Conference. Others are unidentified. From Potsdam album, 1945.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower (right) bids goodbye to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson (left), as Mr. Stimson prepares to leave for Frankfurt, Germany during the Potsdam Conference. Others are unidentified. From Potsdam album, 1945.

Gen Henry H. "Hap" Arnold (seated, center) with his staff at the Potsdam Conference. All others are unidentified. From Potsdam album, 1945

Commander Harold E. Stassen, USNR Aide and Flag Secretary to Admiral William F. Halsey, USN, at a press conference in the Navy Department. He urged a strong Navy after the war and commented on the over-optimism about the war and defeatism about the peace on the home front. Commander Stassen, who resigned as Governor of Minnesota to join the Navy, had the highest praise for the matter-of-fact fighting patriotism of our soldiers, sailors, and marines all around the globe. From: Beth Gore

United States and Soviet Chiefs of Staff meet in the Cecilienhof Palace during the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany. In the group are General Antonov (seated in large chair, center rear), Chief of Russian Military Staff; General George C. Marshall (right); General Henry Arnold (seated at General Marshall's left); and Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations (on General Marshall's right). Others are unidentified. From Potsdam album, 1945.

United States and Soviet Chiefs of Staff meet in the Cecilienhof Palace during the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany. In the group are General Antonov (center rear, with map in front of him), Chief of Russian Military Staff; General George C. Marshall (right); General Henry Arnold (seated at General Marshall's left); and Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations (on General Marshall's right). Others are unidentified. From Potsdam album, 1945.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photographs/index.php?browse=Date&browsedate=1945-07-27

[EternalVigilance]

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/27/opinion/27iht-edwarn.html

The Ultimatum to Japan Didn’t Detail Consequences

By Denis Warner
Published: July 27, 1995

MELBOURNE— Soon after daylight on July 27, 1945, Tokyo radio monitored the Potsdam Declaration issued in the name of the three major Allied powers —the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union — then engaged in the war against Japan.

In the declaration, the three governments agreed that Japan should be given the opportunity to end the fighting. They called on Tokyo to “proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.”

Although it was an ultimatum, a little carrot went along with the club. The declaration promised that acceptance would ensure that Japan would neither be enslaved as a race nor destroyed as a nation.

It made no mention of the means that would be used to bring about Japan’s immediate and total destruction. However, the orders had already been issued that would lead to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. These could, and almost certainly would, have been canceled if there had been a positive response from Tokyo. Whether the Potsdam declaration was warning enough will no doubt be debated for centuries to come.

Long before the first nuclear test, the United States had considered using the bomb in a nonmilitary demonstration to persuade the Japanese that the atomic age had arrived and that they had no alternative but togive up.

How to do it was the problem. To announce a time and place over the Japanese homeland was to invite a swarm of kamikaze planes to shoot down the aircraft carrying the demonstration bomb.

Moreover, no one was fully confident at the time of the debate that the atomic weapon would really work. An announced demonstration that failed would hold the United States up to ridicule and reinforce the hand of those in Japan who wanted to continue the war at any cost.

The overriding American consideration was to save the horrendous casualties that every day seemed more certain to result from the invasion of the Japanese home islands scheduled for November 1, 1945.

“The decision to use the atomic bomb was a decision that brought death to over a hundred thousand Japanese,” said Henry L. Stimson, the U.S. secretary of war, in his book “On Active Service.”

“No explanation can change that fact and I do not wish to gloss over it,” he went on. “But this deliberate, premeditated destruction was our least abhorrent choice. The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki put an end to the Japanese war.”

In hindsight, it seems the Potsdam declaration might have been more specific. In any event, it did not product the desired result.

Unaware that the atomic bomb had been tested successfully in New Mexico, and having abandoned their own efforts to produce a nuclear weapon, the Japanese interpreted the warning from Potsdam to mean that the firebombing would continue until all their cities had been razed.

Such a prospect did not faze the hard-liners in Japan who wanted to continue the war. They were still confident that the fury of the kamikaze attacks when American forces attempted to land would lead to peace negotiations on more acceptable terms.

Nevertheless, to three members of the six-man Supreme War Council in Tokyo, who met immediately to consider the Potsdam declaration, it seemed that at last there was a way out for Japan — peace with as much honor as the nation could reasonably expect. Japan was not being asked to surrender unconditionally; the conditions applied only to its armed forces.

“This is a very favorable chance for Japan,” said Shigenori Togo, the foreign minister, who had opposed the decision to go to war in 1941 and had now emerged as a leading advocate of peace.

He was supported by Kantaro Suzuki, the elderly prime minister who had commanded the Japanese torpedo fleet in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05,and had narrowly escaped death when he was shot as the militarists were launching themselves into the occupation of Manchuria in 1936.

Mitsumasa Yonai, the navy minister, who had opposed Japan’s alliance with Hitler and the war against the United States, also agreed that Tokyo should seek peace.

More than 300,000 civilians had been killed in the air attacks, a half million more had been wounded and millions were homeless. With the economy in ruins, only disaster could mount on disaster if the war continued.

Despite Stalin’s presence at the Potsdam meeting, and the ominous movement of vast numbers of Russian troops and equipment into the Far East, the other three members of the council believed the Soviet Union might still use its good offices to bring about a more acceptable end to hostilities. If not, then Japanese forces would give the Americans such a bloody nose when they invaded Kyushu that Washington would be happy to call the whole thing off.

What was needed now, they argued, was a resolute show of strength so that neither the Allies nor the Japanese people would be in any doubt about Japan’s determination.

Led by General Korechika Anami, the war minister, the army and navy chiefs of staff effectively won the day. They wanted to lay down their own conditions for ending the war. These included the protection and retention of the Emperor, a token Allied occupation that excluded Tokyo, and Japan’s right to disarm its military forces and to conduct any war crimes trials of its own people that it deemed necessary.

Thus, since the council’s decisions had to be made by consensus, Japan slammed the shutters on the window of opportunity opened by the Potsdam declaration.

At a press conference the next day, a vacillating Prime Minister Suzuki, under pressure from General Anami, said the government did not regard the declaration as an important issue and would pay no attention to the ultimatum.Foreign Minister Togo protested angrily to Mr. Suzuki about his comments. But it was now too late.

Radio Tokyo announced that Japan would continue to fight, while on the other side of the Pacific, American B-29 bombers took off to fly the remaining parts of the bomb to Tinian in the Marianas, where the crew of the Enola Gay was preparing for its fateful mission to Hiroshima.

The writer, who covered the war in the Pacific for Australian and British newspapers, contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.

[henkster]

I did not know there was a joint meeting of the Soviet and American military staffs at Potsdam. I suppose it makes sense that they would confer over operations against Japan. That is one high powered military conference.