VJ Timeline

Discussions on all aspects of the Japanese Empire, from the capture of Taiwan until the end of the Second World War.
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Barrett
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VJ Timeline

#1

Post by Barrett » 10 Oct 2018, 17:36

It's oddish, but I've not found a timeline/chronology tracing the lead-up to Japan' acceptance of Potsdam, say from 10 August onward. Two State Dept contacts offered suggestions but one dead-ended and the other has not followed up.

The situation of course is complex, covering most of the world's time zones stretching from Geneva to DC to Hawaii to Tokyo etc. It'd be helpful to have a master list of govt to govt communications, based on Greenwich (or somewhere consistent) with the various cables & stuff. US govt/military comm also is relevant of course. A sr USAF historian says he's never seen such data.

Any leads gratefully received.

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Wellgunde
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Re: VJ Timeline

#2

Post by Wellgunde » 15 Oct 2018, 09:27

I'm not sure what exactly you are looking for. Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration on August 10th. So there can't be any Potsdam time line after that date. Also from July 26th when the Potsdam Declaration was signed until Japan's acceptance, there was no diplomatic contact between the allies and Japan. From August 10th onwards there are the surrender negotiations. Is this what you need? I think I can help you but this is not an easy task. Just so I don't reinvent the wheel, what were the leads that didn't pan out?
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Re: VJ Timeline

#3

Post by Barrett » 15 Oct 2018, 19:42

Thanks Wellgunde, much appreciated. Mainly I'm curious about Who Knew What & When because after Tokyo's acceptance, it took awhile for The Word to trickle/filter down. The Third Fleet, for instance, got word around 0600/15th when the day's first strike was approaching (in one case attacking) its targets and the second was inbound to the coast. Evidently XX Bomber Command had word hours earlier because some B-29ers returning to base monitored the info during the night.

So, trying to clarify:

The emperor's broadcast aired at noon Tokyo time, by all accounts. But backing up from there, the diplomatic/military timeline still seems lacking. The warfighters obviously were left wondering, as contemporary accounts demonstrate. (A Shangri-La sailor: "Are we still at war or aren't we?") As noted, my initial State Dept attempt dead-ended and the second drew no response.

BT

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Re: VJ Timeline

#4

Post by Wellgunde » 18 Oct 2018, 03:24

Okay, thanks for the clarification. I think I can help you. It's going to take a while because there is a lot of information but I'm pretty sure I can find. I'll have to combine several sources. The State Department wouldn't have panned out because the State Department was out of the loop as far as the surrender was concerned; it was strictly a military matter. I will be able to tell you when the order to cease combat operations went out but there is not way to know when any particular headquarters or unit received the instructions. You could but it would mean looking at the war diaries of thousands of organizations. The receipts were not simultaneous. For example, U.S. submarines were only required to copy the submarine radio broadcast once every twenty-four hours. So you can expect a large time range.
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Re: VJ Timeline

#5

Post by Barrett » 18 Oct 2018, 17:36

Looks as if Truman made the announcement about 7 p.m. Eastern (Daylight?) Time Tuesday the 14th hence the hewge night crowd in Times Square, etc. Obviously it took time for The Word to trickle down to the forces out in WestPac, and I'm guesstimating that there was 10-11 hrs time zone difference (1945 may not equate to today) hence the last-minute recall by TF-38.

Excellent point about subs.

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