World War II

VI. US Participation in World War II
A. Immediate Aftermath of Pearl Harbor

Background
a. At the Atlantic Conference between the US and Britain, it was determined that a separate peace would not be made with Axis powers
(1) If war with Japan and Germany resulted, that Allied efforts would concentrate on defeating Germany first (because of its greater capacity for war, its greater technical knowledge and its more advanced scientific knowledge).
(2) In spite of this decision, the US sent more Americans to the Pacific in 1942.
b. Many European governments, once overrun by Nazis, created governments-in-exile (legitimate representatives of former governments established working governments in another country in agreement with allied proposals.
c. Jan 1942 - Rio De Janeiro Conference - 21 Pan-American states agreed to break diplomatic relations with the Axis powers but Chile waited until 1943 and Argentina 1944.
US Actions on the West Coast 1942
a. A fear of possible Japanese attacks on the US mainland existed
(1) 23 Feb - Oil refinery near Santa Barbara CA was shelled by Japanese sub.
(2) June - The Japanese occupies two Aleutian Islands, Attu and Kiska
(3) Japanese troops on US soil had great psychological affects for Japan and US.
b. US response to the rising fear of Japanese invasion.
29 Feb 1942 - To counter fears of a Japanese invasion, FDR authorized (EO 9066) removing Japanese-Americans from the Pacific coast states.
(a) 18 March - War Relocation Authority was created for the purpose of interning all West Coast Japanese-Americans (112,000 /100,000 Nisei)
(b) Supreme Court upheld these actions aimed at Japanese-Americans
i) Hirabayashi vs US - 21 June 1943 - unanimously upheld ethnic internment by not considering the issue of Japanese exclusion from the West Coast, citing the authority to wage war successfully.
ii) Korematsu vs US - 18 Dec 1944 - 6 to 3 upheld the exclusion of the Japanese from the West Coast (a military decision because the US was at war with Japan).
iii) Ex Parte Endo (1944) limited these decisions by declaring that a person may not be retained whose US loyalty had been established
(2) Alcan Highway Project - To prepare for a possible Japanese land invasion of North America, a US-Canadian overland route linked the US with Alaska.
(a) It took 8 months and 12 days, covered 1,422 miles and used 16,000 construction workers, including 3 regiments of Black Army engineers who plowed over 1/3 of the road.
(b) The highway ran from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska, south of Fairbanks.
(c) Japan, who may have only been there as a decoy, were driven from the Aleutian Islands in 1943 by Canadian and US forces.
Japanese Advances On Allied Possessions In the Pacific Basin
a. Thailand surrendered followed by Guam, Wake Island (Dec 23), the Gilbert Islands , Hong Kong (26 Dec), and British Malaya with its capital Singapore
b. 21 Feb - l Mar 42 - Allies were defeated in the Dutch East Indies including island of Java
c. Philippines - 1942
(1) 11 March - Gen. Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964 ) secretly left the Philippines for Australia after establishing headquarters on Bataan Peninsula at the fortress of Corregidor in Manila Bay.
(2) 7 May - US forces surrendered Corregidor while 75,000 Philippine and US troops surrender the Bataan Peninsula.
(3) Bataan Death March began with Gen. Jonathan Wainwright and 11,500 men, many of whom died enroute.
(4) 2 June - Manila fell to the Japanese.
Japanese Advance Is Halted -1942 - the turning points of the Pacific war
a. The Japanese planned to take Australia and strike at Hawaii again.
b. 4-8 May - Battle of Coral Sea - First naval engagement in world history where no surface vessels met in combat (no ships fighting ships)
(1) All combat was done by carrier-based planes.
(2) Japan's Southward advance toward Australia was halted, turned back from Port Moresby, New Guinea.
(a) US lost the carrier USS Lexington and USS Yorktown was damaged.
(b) Japan lost one carrier and suffered damage to two others.
c. 3-6 June - Battle of Midway
(1) Central Pacific, Japan suffered their first major defeat at Midway Island.
(2) Admiral Chester Nimitz (1885-1966), commander of the Central Pacific, halted their threat to Hawaii, and restored the balance of Naval power in the Pacific.
(3) US lost 2 ships, including the carrier Yorktown, and 300 men while Japan lost 4 carriers, 275 planes and 4800 men and its naval superiority after Pearl Harbor

American Troop Arrival In Europe
a. 26 Jan 42 - the first US troops arrived in Northern Ireland .
b. Although the US did not lose one combat soldier while crossing the Atlantic, the US lost 400 ships to German submarines in American waters.
Operation Torch - Oct 42
a. Partially conceding to the Soviet insistence that the Allies open a 2nd front against Germany, the North African campaign was launched when Gen Erwin Rommel "desert fox" was attacked by Britain's Sir Bernard Montgomery at El Alamein, West of Cairo.
b. 8 Nov - l Dec - the first major Allied amphibious operation (400,000 Allied troops + 850 ships with Gen Dwight Eisenhower) landed at Oran, Casablanca and Algiers in North Africa, completely surprising Vichy French forces, who offered little resistance
c. 6 Feb - Gen. Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) was made Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in North Africa which halted the advance of Rommel's Afrika Corps successfully by 25 Feb.
d. 2 -10 May - After Tunisia fell to the Allies, Axis resistance almost ceased in North Africa
e. 13 May - Germans in North Africa surrendered along with 250,000 Axis troops, effectively taking Germany out of North Africa.
f. US casualties totaled about 18,500 while Axis casualties over a two year fighting period totaled nearly 500,000.

Operation Husky

Gen George S. Patton 's 7th Army and Gen Bernard Montgomery 's British 8th Army (including Canadian and French forces + 2500 ships) invaded Sicily.
25 July - Mussolini abdicated to King Victor Emanuel and PM Bagdogho sought to end the war.
17 Aug - Sicily fell to the Allies with US casualties at 7,400, Allied losses at 25,000 and German/Italian losses at 167,000.
3 Sept - Mainland Italy was invaded by the Allies.
8 Sept - Italy, led by Pietro Bagdoglio, accepted an unconditional surrender
13 Oct - After Mussolini escaped to Northern Italy, Italy declared war on Germany.
4 June 44 - The Allies liberated Rome when German forces in southern Italy surrendered.
2 May 45 - German troops in Northern Italy finally surrender.

Bi-Elections of 1942 - Republican gains: 6 Senate seats (37-58, 1 other), 50 House seats (208-218, 4 other).
Candidates
a. Republicans in Chicago
(1) Willkie announced he was a candidate again for President and was joined by supporters of Gen. Douglas MacArthur who formally withdrew on 30 April, but Willkie withdrew after losing the Wisconsin primary.
(2) Gov Thomas E. Dewey (NY), mild liberal interventionist, nominated for President and Gov John W. Bricker (OH), staunch isolationist, Vice-President
b. Democrats in Chicago by acclamation nominated FDR for a 4th term, but dumped Vice President Henry Wallace at the convention in favor of Sen Harry S. Truman (MO).
Campaign - Both candidates supported US participation in some form of postwar international organization to maintain peace and security.
Results
a. FDR gained 432 electoral (25, 609, 504 popular) votes to Dewey's 99 electoral (12 states) (22,006,278 popular) votes (2,691,160 soldiers voted)
b. Democrats retained Congress, losing two Senate seats but gaining 24 in the House.
c. FDR quipped after the election "the first twelve years are the hardest."

Operation OVERLORD - "D-Day" - Began 6 June 44
a. 16 Jan 44 - After IKE assumed his post as European Allied Supreme Commander, a 3d major offensive was planned into France across the English Channel (coast of Normandy)
b. This invasion, largest amphibious operation in world history, involved 4,000 ships, 600 warships, 10,000 planes and 176,000 troops.
c. Germany, partially decoyed by Gen. Patton's operations, expected an Allied invasion between Dover and Calais.
d. 2 Jul - 1 million+ Allied troops landed (566,648 tons of supplies + 171,532 vehicles)
Final Allied Push Into Germany
a. 20 July - A bomb attempt against Hitler by some of his Generals to end the war failed.
b. 25 Aug - Paris was liberated by the Allies.
c. 28 Aug - Southern France was liberated by the advancing Allies.
d. 11 Sept - Luxembourg was liberated from the Nazis.
e. 12 Sept - Americans entered Germany and by Dec, Allied forces pushed toward Berlin
New Military Rank Created - 15 Dec - Congress created the rank of 5-star General of the Army and elevated Eisenhower, Henry "Hap" Arnold, Douglas MacArthur and George C. Marshall.
Germany's Final Counter Offensive
a. 16 Dec 44 - Germany mounted its last major offensive with the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium against the American 101st Airborne Division, led by BG G.C. McAuliffe, who, when asked to surrender, replied, "Nuts !"
b. 30 Dec - American forces regrouped to slow the German advance.
c. 31 Jan 45 - The German offensive was halted.
End of the War in Europe 1945
a. 25 March - The Allies pushed German forces to East of the Rhine.
b. 25 April - The Allies linked up with Soviet forces at the Elbe River.
c. Death of the War Leaders
(1) 12 April - FDR died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage at Warm Springs GA.
(2) 30 April - Hitler (age 63) committed suicide in his Berlin bunker
(3) 1 May - The German Provisional Government announced his death
(4) Mussolini, captured, shot by "anti-Fascists" hanging his body upside down.
d. 2 May - Berlin fell to the Allies as German forces in Italy finally surrendered.
e. 4 May - German forces in Netherlands, Denmark, northwest Germany surrendered.
f. 7 May - German unconditional surrender accepted at Allied headquarters Rheims
g. 8 May - V-E Day was proclaimed.

Guadalcanal 7 Aug 42 - 9 Feb 1943
a. Having halted Japan's advance at Midway, Allies on the offensive drove the Japanese back to their own islands.
(1) 25 - 26 Oct 42 - Battle of Savo Island (North of Guadalcanal), a major Japanese offensive, temporarily deprived Allies on Guadalcanal of air and naval support.
(2) 12 - 15 Nov - Admiral Halsey destroyed Japan's fleet (28 ships and transports)
(3) Battle of Cape Espeerance prevented Japan from keeping the Solomons.
b. Naval Battle of Guadalcanal kept Japan from reinforcing the island and they lost it.
c. 9 Feb 43 - The final Japanese forces were withdrawn from the island.
Allied Strategy - Island Hopping
a. US forces planned to recapture the Central Islands, the Gilberts, the Marshalls, the Carolines, the Marianas and the Bonins, in order to prevent the Japanese from using these islands as bases for strikes against MacArthur and Nimitz.
b. Once rid of Japanese troops, all Allied forces would push into the Philippines, the coast of China and eventually the Japanese mainland.
c. 2 - 4 March 43 - Battle of Bismarck Sea off New Guinea was a major Allied victory.
d. Nov 1943 - Nimitz began island-hopping to recapture the islands.
(1) 31 Jan - Feb 44 - The Marshall Islands were recaptured.
(2) 22 April - 22 Aug 44 - New Guinea was retaken.
(3) Jul - Aug 44 - Marianas were recaptured (Dead: US, 3,400; Japan, 27,000)
e. After capturing these islands, Allies were in striking distance of the Japanese Islands.
(1) The first shelling of Japan's territory (Kurile Islands) occurred 3 Feb 44
(2) The first air raids on Japanese territory began 15 June 44.
Taking the Philippines - Began 19 June 44
a. Battle of Philippine Sea , fought entirely with carrier based aircraft, resulted in the US loss of 50 planes with 72 more crashing while Japan lost 500 planes and 3 carriers.
b. 18 July 44 - Premier Tojo resigned as head of the Japanese government.
c. 23-26 Oct - Battle of Leyte Gulf , largest naval battle of war (3 separate engagements), was a decisive Japanese defeat (lost 24 ships including 4 carriers, 3 battleships, 10 cruisers).
d. 4 - 24 Feb 45 - Manilla was liberated by the Allied forces.
e. 19 Feb - 16 Mar - On Iwo Jima, US Marines forced Japan's withdrawal after 25 days.
f. Mar 45 - Philippines were returned to Allied control completely by 5 July (US: 12,000 dead; Japan 400,000 casualties).
g. Apr - 21 Jun - Ryukyus (Okinawa) taken (8,000 US, 120,000 Japanese casualties).
Air Strikes Against Japan Begin
a. Having captured the central islands forcing the Japanese to withdraw, the Allies began an air assault against Japan with the Superfortress B-29 attacks on Tokyo.
b. The closer Allies came to main islands of Japan, the greater the Allied casualties, causing Truman to consider using a new weapon against Japan to quickly end the war.
Development of a New Bomb - 28 June 1941 - Manhattan Project
a. Office of Scientific Research and Development was established by executive order with Vannevar Bush as chairman and J. Robert Oppenheimer as chief scientist.
b. Its primary purpose was to coordinate the American scientific effort to develop radar, proximity fuses, sonar against submarines and an atomic bomb.
c. 1 May 43 - Development of the atomic bomb was transferred to the US Army and placed in the care of a unit known as the "Manhattan Project" for security reasons.
d. 16 July 45 - First atomic bomb, code named Trinity , was exploded in Almagordo NM
Final Days of the War With Japan 1945
a. At the Potsdam conference, the Allies demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan, although they demonstrated no willingness to do so.
(1) 26 July - The Allies warned Japan at that time that they must surrender or face sudden destruction from a newly developed weapon.
(2) 29 July - Japan formally rejected the Allied demand.
b. When realizing a land assault on mainland Japan would likely result in 1000s of Allied casualties, Truman's use of the new weapon against Japan made good sense at the time.
(1) Revenge for Pearl Harbor sneak attack;
(2) To serve as a warning to the Soviet Union of our potential power;
(3) To speed up the end of the war without thousands of Allied casualties
c. 6 Aug - An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima resulting in over 70,000 dead and 110,000 wounded or missing.
d. 8 Aug - USSR declared war on Japan, 90 days after victory over Germany (Yalta).
e. 9 Aug - A second atomic device was dropped on Nagasaki - 80,000 casualties.
f. 10 Aug - Japan surrendered asking to let emperor Hirohito keep his throne.
g. 14 Aug - Japan accepted the Allied terms of surrender and its troops in Korea surrendered to the Soviets above the 38th parallel and to Allied forces below it.
h. 15 Aug - V-J Day was declared.
i. 2 Sept - Japan formally signed the surrender agreement on board of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay before Gen. MacArthur

Benefits of the War
a. Totalitarianism was dead in Germany, Italy and Japan.
b. Cooperation with the USSR during the war led many to hope for the relations between the two nations to continue to improve.
c. Isolationism had almost disappeared from the US.
d. Technological advances and improvements in transportation and communication were made (including a synthetic rubber).
e. Although the atom's power was unleased, potential beneficial usages were discussed.
f. Penicillin and other anti-bodies were developed, seriously reducing deaths over the ratio suffered in other wars primarily due to the introduction of penicillin, the sulfa drugs, the introduction of blood plasma and a more efficient air evacuation plan.
g. United Nations was formed to promote international cooperation and preserve world peace. -- United Nations Charter - 26 June 45
(1) Preliminary meetings to discuss a postwar international organization were held at Dumbarton Oaks near Washington D.C.
(2) 24 April 1945 - Delegates from 50 nations attended a UN conference in San Francisco with a charter signed on 26 June.
(3) 28 July - The US Senate ratified the UN Charter, 89-2.
(4) 10 Jan 46 - first UN session in London elected Trygve H. Lie (Norway) Secretary General.
(5) Secretary of State Cordell Hull received the 1945 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in establishing this organization.
(6) 24 Oct 1949 - UN headquarters building was dedicated in NY City, from a Rockefeller grant.
Costs of the War
a. Through 15 Aug 45, the US lost 321,999 dead, 800,000 wounded/missing
b. A total of 12,466,000 enlisted in the military (8,300,000 in the Army; 3,500,000 Navy; 486,000 Marines; 180,000 Coast Guard).
c. Revenue Act 1942 assessed a 5% tax on all incomes over $642 until the war ended.
d. Serviceman's Readjustment Act or G.I. Bill of Rights
(1) Although Sen John Rankin (MS) led a filibuster against it, Congress approved a benefits package for veterans returning home after WW II.
(2) 22 June 44 - FDR signed the measure.
Women in the Military
a. Women's Auxiliary Corps or WACS was formed on 15 May 1942.
b. WAVES were formed on 30 July.

Women During the War
a. Increased Employment Opportunities
(1) Of 6 million women employed, 75% were married, over age 35 with children.
(2) Public opinion supported women working during the war, but not permanently.
b. Women's geographic and occupational mobility increased with over 7 million women relocating to new areas during the war.
c. Problems Women Faced
(1) Juvenile delinquency increased as well as venereal disease, and teenage pregnancies. Latchkey children = 8 hour orphans.
(2) Lanham Act provided federal aid to cities for day care facilities.
(3) Marriages, divorces and births increased during the war.
Rationing
a. Numerous items were limited to consumers in order to support the war.
b. Items included coffee, sugar, fuel oil, gasoline, butter, meats, cheese, canned foods, shoes, tires.

VII. Wartime and Post-War Conferences
A. Introduction

Anti-Hitler alliance in WW II of Britain, the US and USSR, each of which had different interests and postwar goals.
A series of wartime meetings, first between FDR and Churchill and then including Stalin, took place between 1941-45, designed to coordinate military strategy and attempt to resolve postwar issues before the war was over, to reconcile different points of view and different concepts of national security.

Big Three

United States
a. A stable and orderly world system, policed by the Great Powers;
b. A strong United Nations to arbitrate future disputes peacefully;
c. An "Open Door" policy worldwide -- seen by the US as a cure-all for many problems and as a means of establishing a fair, equitable international economic order and of peacfully and orderly ending empires but Soviets and Europeans viewed "Open Door" as a code word for US dominance
Britain
a. Retention of its worldwide empire;
b. Keep the colonies and trade centers especially in the Middle East and the Balkan.
Union of Soviet Socialists Republics
a. Control of Eastern Europe so that future invasions of Soviet territory by Germany would not be as likely and unfriendly governments would not be formed in places like Hungary and Rumania, both of which had aided Germany's invasion of the the Soviet Union;
b. Restoration of the Tsarist-era position in East Asia;
c. Favorable dealings with Turkey so that the Soviets had access to the Straits;
d. Aid in restoring the war ravaged Soviet homeland.

Atlantic Conference - Aug 1941 - Between the US (FDR) and Britain (Churchill) off Newfoundland to discuss common goals of both nations (before the US was technically involved).
Atlantic Charter - Eight general statements
a. Disavowing any territorial ambitions;
b. Freedom of the seas;
c. Establishing a permanent system of general security;
d. Guaranteeing equal access to the world's resources for all;
e. Supporting self-determination (people's right to choose their own form of government).

Casablanca Conference - Jan 1943
a. Following the successful invasion of French North Africa, both FDR and Churchill met again and agreed to a joint military operation against Italy starting in Sicily.
b. Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower was made Allied commander of the North African Theatre.
c. Doctrine of Unconditional Surrender - not an armistice.
(1) A united Allied policy toward Axis Powers was announced to ease Soviet fears against the West, remove post-war peace terms from US domestic policies and lessen possible separate treaty negotiations between members of either side.
(2) It was criticized as an Axis propaganda tool that may have prolonged the war
Teheran Conference - 28 Nov--2 Dec 1943
a. After foreign ministers met in Moscow (Oct), FDR, Churchill, Stalin for the 1st time met
b. Several issues were raised:
(1) UN organization
(2) Disposition of post-war Germany
(3) Soviet interests in Eastern Europe
(4) Far Eastern front agreement against Japan
c. Although nothing definite came out of this conference, a spirit of cordiality permeated the meeting which led FDR to believe that a new friendly post-war alliance was possible.
c. Yalta Conference - 4-11 Feb 45 - high tide of Allied unity -
a. Introduction
(1) This most important and controversial conference revealed severe divisions which later plagued East/West postwar relations.
(2) A significant accomplishment nonetheless -- most successful wartime meeting and accurately foreshadowing the new post-war global balance of power to emerge
b. Specific Issues Resolved
(1) Germany
(a) Unconditional Surrender
(b) Demilitarized and Denazified
(c) Split into four occupation Zones - GB/US/USSR/FR
(d) While occupied, Germany would be administered as a unit by the Allied Control Council, composed of representatives from each occupying nation.
(2) Poland -- most difficult issue for the conference
(a) It allowed the Soviets to keep the territory seized in 1939 (previously part of Tsarist Russia) while compensating Poland with territory to the West in Germany, establishing the eastern boundary of Poland at the Curzon line
(b) Interim Government - Because two governments established in WW II claimed to represent Poland, the Lublin government (Polish communists put in power as Soviets advanced on the east) would be broadened to include members of the London government (Polish leaders government-in-exile) with fitire free elections to choose a new government.
(3) Declaration of Eastern Europe - Interim governments would be established with all democratic elements represented in them (Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Rumania) and free elections to be held at a later date.
(4) Far East
(a) FDR, Stalin and Churchill (reluctantly) agreed secretly that the Soviets would enter the war against Japan within three months after Germany surrendered, because the Allies planned to invade the Japanese Islands in the Fall 1945.
(b) In exchange for Soviet participation, the USSR would get
i) trade and territorial concessions in East Asia;
ii) recognition of Soviet control over Outer Mongolia;
iii) Special interests in Manchuria;
iv) Lease of Port Arthur as a naval base;
v) Complete control of Sakhalin Island
(c) Soviets also agreed to work with Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) in China instead of "margarine communists" of Mao Tse-tung
(5) Big Three called a meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco on April 25 to establish international peace. (81% of U.S. population favored this action).
c. The debate raged after the war over concessions made to the Soviets: Did FDR give the Soviets too much with too little in return? Could he give away what he did not have such as Eastern Europe? Could the US have prevented the Soviets from establishing spheres of influence over Eastern Europe short of war?

Potsdam

Big Three met again, but Stalin was the only original member.
a. Because of FDR's death, Truman now represented the US but was in the dark about earlier confer-ences, and midway in the conference, Churchill's government collapsed and he was replaced by Clement Attlee .
b. Truman's diplomacy was shaped by several things:
(1) His background and personal views esp. his distrust of the Soviet system and its leaders (which he had previously expressed as a Senator);
(a) Born in Lamar MO 8 May 1884, Truman's had a rural farm childhood.
(b) His service in WW I in France as captain in the 129th Field Artillery Regiment forever took him off the farm.
(c) After his business (a clothing store) failed, he entered county politics in 1922 as a judge, before being electing in 1934 to the US Senate.
(d) His re-election in 1940 gained him notice among his Democratic colleagues as chairman of a special committee investigating fraud and corruption in war-related business contracts.
(e) Before the US entered the War, Truman commented publicly about the German invasion of Russia, saying that it was essentially a good thing, that we should let the dictators beat each other up and then jump in to help whichever side was losing.
(2) His lack of close involvement with FDR's foreign policy during the war; and,
(a) As a result he did not appreciate the tremendous sacrifices made and physical devastation suffered by leading US Allies, England and Russia.
(b) He believed that the war had been won by the application of American military strength, failing to note that the Soviets had done the lion's share of fighting against Nazi armies for two years before D-Day in 1944.
(3) Because of his inexperience his need to relay extensively upon State Department specialists , who were typically "hardliners" toward the Soviet Union.
(a) Roosevelt had conducted his foreign policy through a world-wide network of military and civilian envoys, virtually ignoring the State Department in all foreign policy decisions
(b) State Department advisers generally agreed with Truman about the untrustworthy nature of the Soviets and were "chafing at the bits" to be heard when Truman became president.
16 July 1945 - The US Manhattan Project having test fired an atomic device near Alamagordo NM, Truman informed Stalin on 24 July (although Soviet intelligence had already informed him).
Germany having surrendered unconditionally on 7 May 45 was discussed.
a. Disarmed, demilitarized, denazified.
b. Wartime leaders to be tried as criminals (Nuremburg Trials Nov 45 to Oct 46).
c. Divided into 4 occupation zones, with each to get reparations from its own zone (Because the Western zones had the richest, most industrialized area of Germany, 10% of their capital equipment was transferred to the Eastern (or Russian) zone who transferred food, coal and raw materials to the Western zones).
Council of Foreign Ministers - beginning 25 April 46, regular meetings of the foreign ministers from the US, USSR, Britain, France and China were to meet to negotiate separate treaties with the other Axis Powers (Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria, Rumania, Finland)
Potsdam Declaration - publicized 26 July 45
a. Truman, Attlee and Chiang Kai-shek (U.S.S.R. had not yet declared war on Japan) discussed the disposition of Japan after the war.
(1) The Allies would occupy Japan after Japan's surrender;
(2) Japanese sovereignty reduced to the main islands only;
(3) Japan would be disarmed;
(4) Japan was told to surrender unconditionally or face "prompt destruction" from a new weapon.
b. Japan surrendered within two weeks after the Americans dropped two atomic bombs although it is known today that the Soviet declaration of war against Japan had a greater affect on their surrender than the US bombs.