Security· World War II
Occupation of Japan
With Japan's surrender, the Allies faced the question of whether millions of still-armed Japanese troops would lay down their weapons or fight on.
Speed mattered: occupying the Tokyo Bay area quickly would secure the peaceful surrender of outlying garrisons. Under Admiral Nimitz's plan, Halsey's Third Fleet formed landing forces from ships' crews and Fleet Marine units to seize key points ahead of the formal occupation army, while MacArthur's command staged the airborne landings. Marine ground and air units played a central part throughout. They made the first landing on the Japanese home islands at Yokosuka, occupied the whole of Kyushu and western Honshu, supervised the disarmament and demobilization of Japanese forces, disposed of vast munitions stockpiles, and managed the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of people. The anticipated resistance never came, and the Marines served largely as observers, administrators, and policemen of a cooperative defeated nation.
Engagements in this conflict (2) Podcast episodes on World War II
Record no. 588