Important US naval dispatch from the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, one page, 8 x 7, headed, "U.S. Naval Communication Service, Amphibious Forces, Pacific," August 9, 1945. Originating from Radio Tokyo, the dispatch reads: "The manufacture of high octane airplane gasoline from resin pine-trees has been launched throughout nation in preparation for show down battle Japanese mainland stop processing this airplane fuel perfected by army technical major Toyama and army Technical major Masamitsu Yoshimura of Army fuel headquarters x Pinetrees are plentiful in Japan and the processing of the Gasoline is simple x it is quite suitable for aircraft x it surpasses in quality all other fuels made from roots and herbs that Japan has perfected thus far." Corner-mounted and matted with a satin-finish 8 x 10 photo of the Hiroshima mushroom cloud, signed in blue felt tip by Enola Gay crewmen Paul Tibbets, Dutch Van Kirk, and Tom Ferebee to an overall size of 13.5 x 23.5. In fine condition.
In advance of this moment, the invasion of Japan had promised to be the bloodiest seaborne attack of all time, conceivably 10 times as costly as the Normandy invasion in terms of Allied casualties. On July 16, a new option became available when the United States secretly detonated the world’s first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. Ten days later, the Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration, demanding the 'unconditional surrender of all the Japanese armed forces.' Failure to comply would mean 'the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitable the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland.' On July 28, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki responded by telling the press that his government was 'paying no attention' to the Allied ultimatum. President Harry Truman ordered the devastation to proceed, and on August 6, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 80,000 people and fatally wounding thousands more.
Japan was also suffering from lack of fuel for their airplanes. Japan is famously resource-poor and there were no significant oil deposits in the pre-war Japanese Empire. The Imperial Navy, in growing desperation for fuel, launched the pine root campaign where pine roots were dug up and heated for 12 hours to produce a crude oil substitute. Each gallon of pine root produced required 2.5 man days of work. Thus, the official 12,000 bbl/d target would have required 1.25 million persons per day! By June 1945, pine roots were producing 75,000 barrels per month fuel. However, the refining technology for pine roots oil was still lacking. In Spring 1945, a new government came into power in Japan headed by 80 year old retired admiral, Kantaro Suzuki. Suzuki ordered a survey of Japan’s fighting ability to determine if they were sufficient to carry on the war. Their implementation of the Kamikaze attacks limited the amount of fuel needs (as ironically no return flight was necessary) but for all practical purposes, Japan was out of oil!
After the Hiroshima attack, a faction of Japan’s supreme war council favored acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, but the majority resisted unconditional surrender. On August 8, Japan’s desperate situation took another turn for the worse when the USSR declared war against Japan. The next day, Soviet forces attacked in Manchuria, rapidly overwhelming Japanese positions there, and a second US atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese coastal city of Nagasaki. Just before midnight on August 9, Japanese Emperor Hirohito convened the supreme war council. After a long, emotional debate, he backed a proposal by Prime Minister Suzuki in which Japan would accept the Potsdam Declaration 'with the understanding that said Declaration does not compromise any demand that prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as the sovereign ruler.' The council obeyed Hirohito’s acceptance of peace, and on August 10 the message was relayed to the United States.
Early on August 12, the United States answered that 'the authority of the emperor and the Japanese government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.' After two days of debate about what this statement implied, Emperor Hirohito brushed the nuances in the text aside and declared that peace was preferable to destruction. He ordered the Japanese government to prepare a text accepting surrender. In the early hours of August 15, a military coup was attempted by a faction led by Major Kenji Hatanaka. The rebels seized control of the imperial palace and burned Prime Minister Suzuki’s residence, but shortly after dawn the coup was crushed. At noon that day, Emperor Hirohito went on national radio for the first time to announce the Japanese surrender. In his unfamiliar court language, he told his subjects, 'we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable.' The United States immediately accepted Japan’s surrender.
We use cookies on this site to improve your experience. By using this site, you accept our use of cookies. To learn more, please see our Privacy Policy.
