August 17, 1945: General Order Number One for the Surrender of Japan

Issued by General Douglas MacArthur, prepared by the Joint Chiefs and approved by President Truman, in the aftermath of having brought the Japanese to unconditional surrender. An excerpt:

a. The senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air and auxiliary forces within China [meaning "Republic of China"] (excluding Manchuria), Formosa and French Indo-China north of 16° north latitude shall surrender to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.

b. The senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air and auxiliary forces within Manchuria, Korea north of 38° north latitude and Karafuto shall surrender to the Commander in Chief of Soviet Forces in the Far East. [bad call, DiT]

c. The senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air and auxiliary forces within the Andamans, Nicobars, Burma, Thailand, French Indo-China south of 16 degrees north latitude, Malaya, Borneo, Netherlands Indies, New Guinea, Bismarcks and the Solomons, shall surrender to the Supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia Command.

d. The senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air and auxiliary forces in the Japanese Mandated Islands, Ryukyus, Bonins, and other Pacific Islands shall surrender to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

e. The Imperial General Headquarters, its senior commanders, and all ground, sea, air and auxiliary forces in the main islands of Japan, minor islands adjacent thereto, Korea south of 38° north latitude, and the Philippines shall surrender to the Commander in Chief, U. S. Army Forces in the Pacific.

V-J Day is commemorated in a couple of weeks. On my birthday (not that year you jerks).

But on this day 68 years ago it began to end. (headline from Aug 15 1945)

posted by Dave In Texas at 08:21 PM

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