By 1969 Japan could no longer go on the offensive. It, like Germany, was clearly on the losing side of the war. In Indonesia, Japan continued to lose ground. In May the Japanese won a victory against Canadian forces led by Pierre Renaud at Pekanbaru. Such victories were increasingly rare. The coalition of America, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand also attacked the Japanese in Taiwan, where it did not have enough soldiers to adequately defend. Russia was pushing back Japan in Siberia. Xinjiang was invaded and the Xinjiang government surrendered to Russia in September. A few days later, Zhao Kai, the heroic Chinese general who led horseback raiders, was shot and killed by Russian soldiers. The Mukden government of China made peace with Russia in October. In a stunning move, Japanese Imperial rejected a declaration of war on their former puppet, showing that the peace faction was growing in power.
The anti-war movement in Japan was becoming more and more popular. There were anti-war protests, a first for Japan. The government reacted to these protests with brutality. But there was also growing anti-war sentiment within the Japanese government, and even in the military. Many Japanese military and civilian officials saw what happened to Germany and became convinced that Japan should make a peace deal before it was too late. There was still some hope that Japan could get a decent peace deal like Germany had in 1967. Japan reached out to the United States and Russia for peace deals, asking for a status-quo antebellum with some minor adjustments. These overtures were rejected. Japan was hoping to maintain its status as a major power. Russia was especially interested in making sure this didn’t happen.
In September, Irkutsk fell. This meant that the way to Mongolia, which was a source of prewar tensions between Russia and Japan, was open. China (Beijing government) began to mobilize its troops and allowed American ships into its ports. Japanese spies soon learned that an invasion of Korea was being planned. The peace faction renewed their calls for a ceasefire. Many politicians who had previously been cheering for war now wanted to sue for peace while it was still possible to keep Korea. At this point any peace deal would involve at least some territorial concessions from Japan, and that was unacceptable for a large part of the Japanese population. Meanwhile, Russia continued to advance, and entered into Mongolia.
By November, a majority in the Japanese government realized that a ceasefire must be signed soon. On the 16th, Russian troops liberated Chita. The Trans-Siberian railway was transporting not only Russian troops, but troops from the US, UK, France, Italy, and other nations as well. Half of Korea was under rebel control. There was no way for Japan to win the war. Thus, Prime Minister Fujimori Yuuto was resigned to the inevitability of the war ending as a Japanese defeat and was willing to give in to the peace faction. Fujimori spoke with Emperor Hirohito [1] to inform him of his plan to make peace with Russia. By this time, China was allowing the US Air Force to launch bombing raids into the Japanese home islands from its territory.
(American bombers)
Messages were exchanged between Japanese, Russian, and American officials. All sides were amenable to a ceasefire. A ceasefire was finally agreed to on December 31, 1969. Japan was required to withdraw all its troops from Russian, Indonesian, and Mongolian territory. The Japanese puppet government in Mongolia was abandoned to its fate, though some Japanese soldiers stayed in Mongolia to fight against the inevitable Russian invasion. The Japanese puppet government in Indonesia, which had retreated to Borneo, was also left to its fate. In addition to these, spillover conflicts were also ongoing in Eastern Europe as Austria-Hungary was desperately trying to hold on to its empire. Nevertheless, for the main participants, the Third Great War had come to a close and there was peace. The people of Japan and its occupied territories awaited the terms of peace.
1: Different person, same name
The anti-war movement in Japan was becoming more and more popular. There were anti-war protests, a first for Japan. The government reacted to these protests with brutality. But there was also growing anti-war sentiment within the Japanese government, and even in the military. Many Japanese military and civilian officials saw what happened to Germany and became convinced that Japan should make a peace deal before it was too late. There was still some hope that Japan could get a decent peace deal like Germany had in 1967. Japan reached out to the United States and Russia for peace deals, asking for a status-quo antebellum with some minor adjustments. These overtures were rejected. Japan was hoping to maintain its status as a major power. Russia was especially interested in making sure this didn’t happen.
In September, Irkutsk fell. This meant that the way to Mongolia, which was a source of prewar tensions between Russia and Japan, was open. China (Beijing government) began to mobilize its troops and allowed American ships into its ports. Japanese spies soon learned that an invasion of Korea was being planned. The peace faction renewed their calls for a ceasefire. Many politicians who had previously been cheering for war now wanted to sue for peace while it was still possible to keep Korea. At this point any peace deal would involve at least some territorial concessions from Japan, and that was unacceptable for a large part of the Japanese population. Meanwhile, Russia continued to advance, and entered into Mongolia.
By November, a majority in the Japanese government realized that a ceasefire must be signed soon. On the 16th, Russian troops liberated Chita. The Trans-Siberian railway was transporting not only Russian troops, but troops from the US, UK, France, Italy, and other nations as well. Half of Korea was under rebel control. There was no way for Japan to win the war. Thus, Prime Minister Fujimori Yuuto was resigned to the inevitability of the war ending as a Japanese defeat and was willing to give in to the peace faction. Fujimori spoke with Emperor Hirohito [1] to inform him of his plan to make peace with Russia. By this time, China was allowing the US Air Force to launch bombing raids into the Japanese home islands from its territory.
(American bombers)
Messages were exchanged between Japanese, Russian, and American officials. All sides were amenable to a ceasefire. A ceasefire was finally agreed to on December 31, 1969. Japan was required to withdraw all its troops from Russian, Indonesian, and Mongolian territory. The Japanese puppet government in Mongolia was abandoned to its fate, though some Japanese soldiers stayed in Mongolia to fight against the inevitable Russian invasion. The Japanese puppet government in Indonesia, which had retreated to Borneo, was also left to its fate. In addition to these, spillover conflicts were also ongoing in Eastern Europe as Austria-Hungary was desperately trying to hold on to its empire. Nevertheless, for the main participants, the Third Great War had come to a close and there was peace. The people of Japan and its occupied territories awaited the terms of peace.
1: Different person, same name