If anyone wonders whether the Japanese are stalling on allowing the American occupation of Japan, you need wonder no more.
They are.
They know the Americans have rounded up the Nazi leadership and are collecting evidence from the German records to use in war crimes trials. They also know the Americans have promised war crimes trials for the Japanese leadership.
The Japanese are buying as much time as they can to “sanitize” their internal records. Or they are just dumping files and lighting them on fire. It will allow many Japanese to give recollections of events that cannot be rebutted by the official historical record.
But I would also say the situations are rather different. Germany was overrun and the war criminals were mostly fleeing to try to save their skin. In contrast, we have to figure out an occupation plan and how, where and when to transport the occupation troops plus a logistics plan to supply them since they can't local source much if anything. That is a big undertaking for staffs that until a few days ago were planning Olympic.
Since I found the note from Truman to Stalin yesterday which ceded the Kuriles to the Soviets, but made it clear that we would control all of the Japanese main islands, I was surprised to find this Soviet order to prepare to invade Hokkaido.
http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/122334
August 19, 1945
ORDER BY ALEKSANDR NOVIKOV TO THE COMMANDER OF THE 9TH AIR ARMY
COMMANDER OF THE 9TH AIR ARMY COLONEL GENERAL CDE. SOKOLOV
COPY: GENERAL COMMANDER MARSHAL CDE. VASILEVSKII, COMMANDER of the 1st FAR EASTERN FRONT MARSHAL CDE. MERETSKOV
Implementing decisions of the General Commander, I ORDER:
1. For providing air support to the landing of land forces on the island of HOKKAIDO and on the southern group of the KURILE islands, fully use air force of the 9th air army in coordination with the sea air force of the POF [Pacific Ocean Fleet].
Develop a plan of air support of the landing operation and report to me no later than 24.00 on 19.8.45.
2. Prepare 32nd and 34th air divisions for the transfer in full to the northern part of the island of HOKKAIDO and the islands of KUNASHIRI [Kunashir], ITURUP.
For support of the said divisions, provide one air base area consisting of four b[atallions] of a[erodrome] s[upport], area management and the head depot. Make provision for the transfer—for bombing—of 5 (five) units of fuel and 3 sets of ammunition, and 10 units of fuel and 5 (five) sets of ammunition for destroyers.
Provide the transferred air divisions fully with means of radio communication and supply each air division (32nd and 34th air divisions) with one SM[?]-17 plane, which will come to you from the 12th air army.
3. Transfer of the flying echelon is to be organized along the route: KHABAROVSK, KOMSOMOL’SK, SAKHALIN, island of HOKKAIDO.
Land echelons, means of communication and ammunition are to be transferred by sea transport.
4. Provide for the departure for the island of HOKKAIDO with the first departed rifle division the departure [sic] of the operative group from the area management and one b[atallion] of a[erodrome] s[upport] , and with the transferred second air division, send one more [base of] a[erodrome] s[upport] and the entire area headquarters.
5. The timing of the transfer of the divisions and the timing of the conduct of the operation will be supplied by the Commander of the front.
6. Report to me daily [two words unclear] on the progress of the implementation of this order.
MAIN MARSHAL OF THE AIR FORCE NOVIKOV
http://alphahistory.com/vietnam/the-august-revolution/
The August Revolution of 1945 was an attempt by Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh to claim Vietnamese independence and self-government. Though successful at first, the Viet Minh was soon supplanted by Allied forces, which occupied Vietnam at the conclusion of World War II. Vietnam had been given nominal independence by the Japanese in March 1945, after they arrested the French governor and his officials and invited emperor Bao Dai to form a government. But Bao Dai, who had been an impotent political figurehead under the French, proved to be little more than a Japanese puppet. There was little faith in his ability to lead the nation, particularly with his Japanese backers facing imminent defeat. Japan’s fate was sealed with the detonation of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, which led to the Japanese surrender several days later. According to the terms specified by the Allies, Japanese forces in northern Vietnam were to surrender to the Chinese, while in southern Vietnam they were to surrender to British Commonwealth forces:
The senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air and auxiliary forces within … French Indochina north of 16 north latitude shall surrender to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek … The senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air and auxiliary forces within … French Indochina south of 16 degrees north latitude… shall surrender to the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command or the Commanding General, Australian Forces.
The Japanese surrender provided a golden opportunity for the Viet Minh, the nationalist group led by Ho Chi Minh. Through 1945 the Viet Minh had expanded their numbers and support in the north, with the weakened French and distracted Japanese unable to stop them. In June 1945 Ho Chi Minh’s forces were strong enough for him to claim control of a ‘free zone’ in the north of the country. The departure of the Japanese in August 1945 left a power vacuum, and prompted Ho to call for a ‘national uprising’. “Many oppressed peoples the world over are vying with each other in wresting back independence”, Ho told his followers on August 10th. “We should not lag behind! Forward! Forward!” Responding to his call, Viet Minh forces emerged from their secret bases and hidden positions in the jungles and the mountains. They began to mass and advance on major towns and cities. Their push for independence was aided by the retreating Japanese, who defied the surrender terms and handed political authority to locals rather than Westerners. Viet Minh officials were given access to government buildings and control of infrastructure and facilities. They also acquired weaponry and munitions surrendered by the Japanese.
An August revolution
The August Revolution, as it was later called, proceeded swiftly. On August 19th Viet Minh forces marched into the capital Hanoi. Within another week they occupied other major cities, including Saigon in the south and Hue, the seat of the emperor. Bao Dai was forced to abdicate on August 25th, marking the end of the Nguyen dynasty. One day later, the Communist Party of Vietnam – the political core of the Viet Minh – began preparations for a Vietnamese declaration of independence. On September 2nd 1945 more than 400,000 Vietnamese – double the usual population of Hanoi – gathered in Ba Dinh Square in the capital (see picture) to hear the proclamation, drafted by Ho Chi Minh. Ho’s proclamation quoted extensively from the 1776 United States Declaration of Independence, citing the values of freedom and self-determination...
If my memory serves, another Fat Man plutonium bomb would have been ready to drop today if the Japs hadn’t surrendered.
I wonder where it would have gone.
Seems there were lots of rumors running wild in Japan that Tokyo was next.
