Chapter 1: The death of FDR and Operation Downfall
"Workers of the world, unite!"
Motto of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
Motto of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
This timeline will be covering the book called 'The History of the World: 1945-1999'. Note that the images presented do not appear in the actual book but only serve to present a clearer picture of some situations.
Prologue
Some consider 'contemporary history' to start after the end of World War 2, which I find fitting as it paved the way for a social revolution never seen before: a communist revolution across the world. Thus, researching for all the information I could find regarding the modern history of the world, I decided for 1945 to be the start date of the book since it works as the starting point for this revolution.
I would also like to use this space to thank my tutor during my childhood and adolescence, Gregory Stevens, for helping me in my efforts to study history, and always giving me a reason to keep researching. I dedicate this book to him and his efforts.
Chapter 1: The death of FDR and Operation Downfall
April 12th, 1945. The Allies were deep into German territory, with French forces nearing Hanover, Bremen, and Stuttgart[1], while the Soviet troops approached Stettin, occupied Vienna, and confidently advanced towards Berlin[2], being closer to the capital than their western allies.
However, on that same day, tragedy struck the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as he felt 'a terrific headache' and collapsed to the floor. He was pronounced dead not long after[3].
The replacement for the now-vacant President spot was filled by his vice-president Henry A. Wallace. Now, a wonder filled many people's heads: How will he carry on as the new President of the United States?
Soon, Nazi Germany was defeated by the Allied forces, with May 8th marking their defeat as the 'German Instrument of Surrender' was signed. War in Europe was over after five and a half years of brutal fighting. The German lands were later carved up into occupation zones by the main Allied powers in the Potsdam Agreement, including Berlin, and the same happened to Austria and Vienna[4].
The occupation zones in Germany and Austria
But the war overall was not yet over, with the Japanese forces still holding though simultaneously the United States 'leapfrogged' across multiple islands, reaching ever closer to the Japanese mainland.
The new President of the United States faced a difficult dilemma: Either drop an atomic bomb (or more, if necessary) on the Japanese mainland in order for them to surrender or directly invade the Japanese mainland. Wallace chose the latter, deeming the first option 'inhumane', even when he was assured it would only be dropped on military strategic places and not on civilians[5].
Thus, the operation to invade mainland Japan began, codenamed Operation Downfall[6]. It involved the western Allied powers (mostly consisting of American troops supported by the Commonwealth Corps) first capturing Kyūshū under Operation Olympic[7], and then the Kantō Plain on Operation Coronet[8]. There was also planning for a Soviet invasion of Hokkaido, separate from the operation itself[9].
On August 9, the Soviet Union declared war on the Japanese Empire, quickly invading Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Korea, South Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. This invasion proved successful and Japan's colonies in mainland China and Korea fell within weeks.
After heavy preparations for what would be perhaps the Allies' toughest battle yet, X-Day (November 1) marked the beginning of Operation Olympic and Operation Downfall as a whole[10]. The invasion of Kyūshū was now underway.
The invasion plan for Operation Olympic
Meanwhile, in the north, the Soviets also started their invasion of Hokkaido, expecting an invasion from the south and north to overwhelm Japanese forces into submission[11].
Over the first 30 days, the Soviets occupied most of Hokkaido, though they still had to fight off small pockets of resistance and had to be careful with their garrisons[12]. At the same time, the outnumbered Japanese forces still ferociously fought back both in land and in the sea with their deadly kamikaze attacks on Soviet ships attempting to land more troops in Hokkaido[13]. The Red Army also confirmed its invasion of northern Honshū, planning an offensive into the southwest due to the mountainous terrain in the east[14]. They suffered an estimated 200,000 casualties[15].
The R-K line proposed as an objective in the Soviet Union's invasion of Hokkaido. It was reached withing two weeks.
Meanwhile, on the south, western Allied forces pushed through most of the south-eastern area of Kyūshū but suffering heavy casualties reaching as high as 500,000 (455,000 is a more commonly cited figure), while inflicting 1,345,000[16]. Despite these losses, they kept pushing north. By this time, the invasion of Shikoku was also confirmed, seeing that it wasn't as heavily defended, and could work as a heavy challenge on the Japanese reinforcements going to eastern Kyūshū[17].
As 120 days since X-Day passed, the western Allied troops took control of most of Kyūshū, with small pockets of resistance being the last opposing forces they would fight on the island[18]. Garrisoning the area would prove to be difficult, however. In this same period, the American 9th Division successfully landed in Shikoku and took the eastern half of the island[19].
Moving to the northern front, the Soviet troops managed to land in northern Honshū, going forward with their planned offensive into the city of Akita and reaching as far as the city of Yamagata[20]. By this time they sustained 550,000 casualties but inflicted 900,000[21].
As Japan still stood, the United States had no choice but to commence Operation Coronet, by which the United States would invade the Kantō Plain, with Kujūkuri Beach and agami Bay being chosen as the initial landing locations.
The invasion plan for Operation Coronet
This operation started on 'Y-Day', March 1 of 1946, and successfully managed to take the Bōsō Peninsula and reach the outskirts of Tokyo[22]. There wouldn't be a race for the capital this time, as the Soviets were far away compared to the western Allied forces.
The fighting for Tokyo was ferocious, and as the Americans and Commonwealth troops stagnated on their advances to the north to rush to the capital, the Soviets pushed further south to secure a northern Japanese puppet state[23].
Finally, on April 3, the Japanese emperor Hirohito officially declared the capitulation of Japan, ending World War Two after several years. Just on Operation Downfall, over 1,800,000 casualties were received by the Americans, 220,000 by the Commonwealth Corps, and 800,000 by the Soviets. But Japan definitely had the roughest numbers, with 3,400,000 casualties in battle and many more including non-combat[24].
In the Seoul Agreement, Japan was divided into north Japan, taken by the Soviet Union, and south Japan, taken by the United Kingdom, China, and the United States. The same happened to Tokyo as it was divided by the four main Allied powers.
The division of Japan into occupation zones by the Allied powers
The division of Tokyo into occupation zones by the Allied powers
During the invasion of Japan, other events around the world occurred, such as the Labour Party's win in the 1945 United Kingdom's general elections, with Clement Atlee serving as the new Prime Minister, the resuming of the Chinese Civil War between the nationalists and the communists, the Indonesian National Revolution, the Southern Resistance War in Vietnam, and the Greek Civil War.
Sources
- Chamberlain, Morgan (1995) Final Days of the Reich. p. 148
- Ivanov, Vasily (1986) The Great Patriotic War. p. 236
- Matthews, Thomas (1990) The Life of FDR. p. 195
- Stuart, Ian (1975) A Short History of the Occupation of Germany. p. 34
- Stevens, Noah (1966) An Analysis of the Wallace Presidency. p. 52
- King, Jonathan (1979) On the Japanese Shore. p. 6
- King, Jonathan (1979) On the Japanese Shore. p. 14
- King, Jonathan (1979) On the Japanese Shore. p. 22
- Kelchin, Vladimir (2003) The Logistics for the Invasion of Hokkaido. p. 13
- Williams, Charles (1982) X-Day: The End of the Japanese Empire. p. 8
- Smith, George (1992) A History of Soviet-Japanese conflicts. p. 74
- Smith, George (1992) A History of Soviet-Japanese conflicts. p. 99
- Petrov, Alexander (1969) One Last Push: The Liberation of Northern Japan. p. 42
- Morozov, Sergey (2003) The Evolution of War Strategies Vol. 3: World War Two. p. 110
- Jones, Donald (1989) The Cost of War: The Invasion of Mainland Japan. p. 62
- Jones, Donald (1989) The Cost of War: The Invasion of Mainland Japan. p. 62
- Morozov, Sergey (2003) The Evolution of War Strategies Vol. 3: World War Two. p. 134
- Williams, Charles (1982) X-Day: The End of the Japanese Empire. p. 75
- Williams, Charles (1982) X-Day: The End of the Japanese Empire. p. 88
- Petrov, Alexander (1969) One Last Push: The Liberation of Northern Japan. p. 177
- Jones, Donald (1989) The Cost of War: The Invasion of Mainland Japan. p. 80
- Brown, Morgan (1979) Y-Day: The Final Nail in the Coffin. p. 6
- Petrov, Alexander (1969) One Last Push: The Liberation of Northern Japan. p. 215
- Jones, Donald (1989) The Cost of War: The Invasion of Mainland Japan. p. 136
