Atom Bomb
by J. Allen
It is often said in some circles that the atom bombs dropped on NAGASAKI and HIROSHIMA
by the Allies were not necessary, as the Japanese had already been beaten. That this
was so is not disputed. It did not, however, mean that they would surrender, as their
tradition would not allow it. Thus it was necessary for the Allies to make the position
clear inequitably that their chauvinism was no protection. The only way, therefore,
for the Allies to end the war successfully was by invasion of the Japanese mainland
with the use of conventional weapons. That this would be cataclysmic is evidenced
by the following facts: -
In February 1945 the Japanese High Command concocted a Defence Plan -
Sixteen new divisions were to be formed by dividing Japan's six military districts into sixteen areas each of which would raise a conscript division. In addition as many troops as possible from China, Manchukuo (Manchuria) and Korea would be transferred. This would provide a manpower large enough for at least three trained Japanese soldiers to be committed against every Allied soldier who landed.
Behind this considerable trained force conscription had been extended to include men aged 15 to 60 and women aged 17 to 45 adding a staggering total of 28,000,000 individuals to defend the country. These men and women were in the "People's Volunteer Army" which, despite its title, they were compelled to join. Training was inevitably basic and weapons limited (the Army was not keen to distribute rifles until the last moment and so much of the training was carried out with dummy rifles and bamboo spears.) but the Japanese ethos made the nation chauvinistic in the extreme so that each individual was prepared to defend the homeland literally to the death. This would mean that tidal waves of Japanese, troops and civilians, would push the enemy back into the sea in the bloodiest battle in history, a true Armageddon.
This estimation was accepted on 6th June 1945 when the Japanese War council formalised "The Basic Policy for the Future Conduct of the War". This stated that the Allies would be met at the point of landing by an "overwhelming Japanese force" which would continue to attack until the enemy was defeated and driven into the sea. The plan anticipated destroying a quarter of the invasion force at sea and a further quarter or more on the landing beaches. It was hoped that these horrendous casualties would force the Allies to sue for peace "on the shoreline". Nevertheless, should this not be the case, the Japanese prepared for a long battle to the end involving scorched earth and guerrilla war in the mountains. With their short lines of communication compared to those of the Allies it seemed obvious to the Japanese High Command the attackers would be exhausted long before the defenders.
The People's Volunteer Army would be armed with as many rifles and grenades as possible with deficiencies being made up with spears and bows and arrows. As well as the ground forces air support would be provided by 7,000 Army planes and a further 6,000 Navy aircraft. Most of these were training planes and over 5,000 were allocated for Kamikaze (Divine Wind) suicide missions. The term Kamikaze applied to all suicide volunteers whether flying planes, manning torpedoes or carrying bombs but the ones who most stirred the Japanese were the pilots.
The Japanese Army emphasised that death or disgrace were the only alternatives to victory and to strengthen the sinews of the civilians false rumours were spread of atrocities being committed by the Allies in Europe. Strangely, however, the Provost Marshal of OSAKA announced that because of the growing shortage of food and the imminent invasion of Japan when the presence of in effectives would hamper operations it would eventually be necessary to kill all the infirm old people, the very young and the sick..."We cannot allow Japan to perish because of them. ~"
The plight of the civilians was indeed dire. Tuberculosis (which caused the death
of Major General Yamauchi, GOC Japanese 15th Division in Burma) and pneumonia were
killing thousands and hunger was everywhere? School children collected weeds and
ferns to be boiled for food; meat was likely to be dog or cat, although called rabbit
or squirrel and silkworms were also boiled and insects from the field were roasted
for protein. Morale might be lessening but still the vast majority of the people
were fully prepared to fight and die if necessary in hand-
Every morning before dawn the civilians being trained by the Army instructors would
visit the local Shinto shrine to dedicate themselves to the Emperor and their country;
these prayers were followed by physical exercises including bayonet fighting using
sharpened bamboo poles against life sized targets made of straw bundles tied to uprights.
Illustrative of the nation's determination was a high school girl, Yukiko Kasai,
who was given a carpenter's awl by her teacher with the instruction to kill an enemy
soldier by plunging the awl into his abdomen. "If you don't kill at least one Allied
soldier you don't deserve to die!" A group of girls in Tokyo became very adept with
the naginata spear, a mediaeval weapon with a long, hooked blade on a light staff.
When swung by an expert the scythe like blade could amputate a man's leg. The new
conscript soldiers -
None of these shortcomings disturbed die Army Council and the Minister of War, General
Korechika Anami, announced that "the sure foundation for victory" had been laid and
that secret weapons were ready to be used against the invader. These "secret weapons"
were the 5,000 suicide planes and torpedoes. Many of the aircraft were old biplanes,
which were carried into the mountains where steep ramps, rather like ski-
As for the main population, they prepared themselves to kill at least one enemy soldier
before themselves dying. Many of them were aware of the terrific contrast between
the Allied bombers flying overhead and their own pathetic bamboo spears but this
in no way deterred them or lessened their training. They would fight literally to
the last, as they had shown on the Pacific Islands of OKINAWA and IWO JIMA (in June
1944 the entire garrison of 11,400 men was wiped Out on BIAK ISLAND, New Guknea.
The Garrison Commander, Colonel Kuzume Nasyiki, committed suicide on 22nd June 1944.)
The defenders of Japan would drive an exhausted enemy back into the sea. The hopeful
spoke of "Victory in the last five minutes" and the hopeless consoled themselves
with gyokusai -
As for the Emperor Hirohito, his engineers in November 1944 began digging into the
side of Mount Minakami north of TOKYO which the engineers thought was to an Army
warehouse. In fact, it was to be the Imperial Command Post and Emperor's air raid
shelter, a six-
The prologue to all this goes back as far as February 1942, less than three months after Japan entered the War. Marshal Koichi Kido, who was the Emperor's closest advisor, told Hirohito at that time that Japan could not possibly win and urged him ". To grasp any opportunity to terminate the war." That advice was eventually taken, but not until 14th August 1945, three and a half years later.
From 1942 onwards many statesmen, bureaucrats and even military men, aware of Japan's
inability to win the war, were able to inform the Emperor, through Marshal Kido,
that consideration should be given to a negotiated peace. Amongst them were the Foreign
Ministry official Shigeni Yoshida, Prince Fumimaro Konoye (a former Prime Minister)
and Admirals Mitsumasa Yonai and Kaisuke Okada. Both had also served as Prime Minister
at various times with Okada becoming an adviser to the throne in 1941 and, in November
of that year -
A long-
In 1945 the Emperor took a positive step towards being openly concerned in the conduct
of the war and commissioned Admiral Kiyoshi Hsegawa to investigate the Navy's morale.
His report indicated very firmly that Japan was not even able to defend itself at
sea as the figures of the Japanese Navy's losses indicate:12 Battleships -
In July General Kuniaki Koiso who, although not entirely subservient to Tojo, was
not strong enough to be independent and make a stand for or against peace replaced
Tojo as Prime Minister. After the defeats on IWOJJ MA (March) and OKINAWA (June)
in 1945 in the US Pacific Theatre following the KOHI7MA and IMIPHAL battles in 1944
and the captures of MANDALAY and MEIKTILA in 1945, however, he realised that there
was little doubt that Japan had lost the war and he began putting out peace feelers
-
Despite this Situation it was now that the Emperor indicated where his sympathies lay. On 23rd May 1945 he attended a mass parade in TOKYO, wearing Army uniform with all his military and international decorations, to present Regimental colours to forty new divisions. At the same time Japanese radio claimed that a further 20,000,000 had been mobilised for "active Combat duties" as well as farmers being organised into agricultural militia, a type of Home Guard.
The conclusion to be drawn from all this is that, despite a few doves in the Japanese Cabinet, the Emperor and his Government were determined to continue the war to its horrific conclusion almost as a form of universal seppuku or ritual suicide. There is little or no doubt that the Japanese people would have accepted and followed the example set by their Emperor and God. Thus the inevitable need to invade the Japanese mainland using conventual weapons would have resulted in a slaughter of cataclysmic proportions with the loss of millions of lives, both Allied and Japanese.
Apart from those killed in the actual battles there were thousands of Allied Prisoners of War mainly in South East Asia whose massacre had been officially ordered in the event of an assault on Japan.
Proof of this is contained in Document 2701 (certified as Exhibit "0" in D.C. No. 2687), which is an extract from the Journal of the TAIWAN P.0W. Camp headquarters in TAIHOKU. The entry is dated 1st August 1944, and the document is now in the National Archives (Military archives Division) WASHINGTON D.C. USA. It was originally sent to the Chief of Staff 11th Unit (FORMOSA P.O.W. Security No. 10). Following directions as to circumstances requiring the "final disposition" to be made.
Paragraph 2 states:-
The Methods: (a) Whether they are destroyed individually or in
groups, or however it is done, with mass bombing, poisonous smoke, poisons, drowning,
decapitation or what dispose of them as the situation dictates. (b) In any case it
is the aim not to allow the escape of a single one, is to annihilate them all and
not to leave traces.
It is clear that the atom bombs were much the lesser of two horrendous evils. Unfortunately there will always be those who will not accept this and continue to revile members of the Burma Star Association and other holders of the Burma Star.
A few years ago, I was collecting for the Reading Branch of the British Services Association. When a woman asked me what was the objective of the collection. When I told her, she spat in my face because, she said “I was one of those who had murdered thousands of old men, women, and children.?”
J. Allen
