Red Ice Box

[Marek Tucan]

If the demarcation line runs to Kushiro, it offers the Bolshevists acess to the ocean, though no major ports. Do the Americans plan to stretch the line to get Shiretoko peninsula? Or should a navigation error happen? Any way we should try to beat the Bolshevists to Kunashir and otehr south Kurils as then even if not sealed in, their access to West of Hokkaido would be complicated.

 

Japanese garrisons on Kurils were apparently instructed to contact us by radio in order to speed up the surrender process. Small groups will be enough to cover most of the islands as from experience so far Japanese garrisons are cooperative - if ordered to. It seems so far that the Japanese are ratehr disciplined in this, even though reports from the fight on Hokkaido seem to indicate the Bolshevists are interested in shedding blood to get their claim and actually are firing at groups under flag of truce. It seems that while wartime picture was pretty same, at least Japanese command now sees the difference.

[BansheeOne]

We have been hearing reports about Soviet troops firing at Japanese negotiation parties since Sakhalin, though how true those are and how much of that is owed to the confusion of battle is not clear; there is definitely a capitulation in effect on Sakhalin now. As for Hokkaido, the clear intent is to stop the Bolshevists from advancing as soon as possible. So far they don't seem to have moved out of their beachheads at Rumoi and Wakkanai, probably because the weather is affecting unloading of their ships. With any luck, western allied troops will confine them to the northwestern tip of the island, though time is of the essence. Nobody really wants to believe they will fight after being confronted, but we for our part are preparing for that.

 

We may not have much of a choice over troop strength to land on the lower Kuriles - we're getting stretched awfully thin already because this kind of advances were never planned for this year rather than next, when II Corps would have been available. We don't want to move parts of 1st and 2nd Division off Paramushir and Shumshu since we still consider those under threat from Kamchatka, so are left with very little disposable forces now; we just ordered I. and III./1st Yeger Battalions to leave behind one company each on Onekotan and Shiashkotan, prepare to board APDs returned from Matua tomorrow and head south ahead of 1st Marine Division.

 

They could reach all of the lower Kuriles the same day, but will merely be able to take capitulations and act as a tripwire to any Bolshevist landings until reinforced by the Marines after three to four days. However, they will have backup by the American battleship/cruiser task groups and Carrier Division 22 which are also sailing south; we hope that the US presence will be the best deterrent.

[swerve]

Who's in charge on Matua? If the reports relayed to me (originating in our airfield group, apparently) are correct, he's told the Japanese that if they undertake to resist any Soviet attack, they can keep their weapons.

[Marek Tucan]

This may be actually necessary until we have enough presence throughout the chain. How is it going legally? Can POWs use weapons in self-defense?

 

American motivation to get to the North of Hokkaido should be that if the Soviets see they will not get the West Coast foothold, they may lose most of interest in getting on the Isles. Though we should be wary of US throwing in some Kurils as bargaining chip to get Bolshevists from the mainland Japan or claiming Kurils below 1855 line to be a demilitarized territory or whatever they can think of.

[GPMG]

I think the British used Japanese troops and pilots post WWII. Possibly in Malaysia? against Communist resistance? Until enough troops of their own arrived.

[swerve]

Should be in the meta thread.

[R011]

I think the British are using Japanese troops and pilots post WWII. Possibly in Malaysia? against Communist resistance? Until enough troops of their own arrive.

 

 

There you are Мой друг, I have fixed it for you. English tenses can be tricky sometimes - though not as bad as the spelling, my personal cross too bare!

 

 

I too have heard that the British have kept Japanese troops under arms in Indochina in part due to Bolshevik-inspired anti-French forces. I believe the Dutch have as well, though the opposition in the NEI seems to be pro-Fascist former allies of the Japanese.

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 24 August 1945

 

Commander 3rd Marines is in charge on Matua. I see people are getting creative in the field again, but really don't want to know too much about it; it's probably bending the Geneva Convention all out of shape, and we have been building up a certain history of this with the Chievres battle school and Vlasov's troops in Czechoslovakia ...

 

Forces for south of Matua are largely underway now, though movement is a bit more complicated than I previously understood. 1st Airborne Brigade in particular has to go through a variety of staging bases due to limitations of range and airfield capacities; the 30 aircraft carrying 1st Parachute Battalion are now on Attu after a stop at Umnak, 2nd Parachute Battalion at Shemya via Holodnayabukhta, and brigade command with the cannon and heavy mortar companies at Amchitka via Naknek.

 

Tomorrow they will go from there to different bases on Paramushir, then stage through Matua for Hokkaido on the 26th; 1st Commando Battalion will already go to Matua tomorrow with the attached forward observer/security flight after the airfield was declared operable today, and fly out ahead of the brigade. After some exchange of information with Southwest Pacific Area it looks now like their destination will not be Kushiro, but an IJN airfield at Nakashibetsu, about 80 verst to the north. Since refueling there is not expected, the return leg will tax the range of the C-47s anyway, but we hope they will be able to divert in an emergency by the day after tomorrow.

 

I./1st Yeger Battalion [-] arrived at Urup this evening at 1900 hours with TG 90.2 and immediately received the surrender of the Japanese garrison after landing near the IJA staging airfield on the island's northern tip. The American ships also landed a small battalion of 400 sailors and marines, and with backup from USS Arkansas, Cruiser Division 3 and Carrier Division 22, we are certain of holding onto that small bit no matter what happens until 1st Marine Division arrives on the 27th. By first reports the airfield is usable, but they will have a closer look tomorrow. III./1st Yegers will only reach Iturup in the early morning with TG 90.1 and try to secure Tenneru army airfield on the central southern coast there.

 

The current plan is for 1st Marine Division to put a regimental group with one amtrac and two artillery battalions each on both Urup and Iturup by the 28th while the Yegers go on to Shikotan, the last stepping stone to Hokkaido. We are currently debating at Allied Air Forces North Pacific Area about which air units to deploy to the new bases, keeping in mind that we still see a threat from Kamchatka and with TGs 38.3 and 38.5 heading for Hokkaido, there will probably be copious carrier aviation in the south in addition to Carrier Division 22. However, while conditions in the Tartar and Perouse Strait calmed down somewhat today, there seems to be a proper typhoon brewing in the Pacific off Japan, so the weather may mess up everybody's plans.

 

3rd Division had of course landed its armored elements among the first on Shimushir and therefore needed to re-embark them after their orders for Hokkaido came; but we still think 9th Mechanized Brigade Group will make it until the 26th since we now consider landing them in Nemuro Bay to link up with 1st Airborne Brigade, a bit quicker either way.

 

An advance party of US 11th Airborne Division flew into Atsugi Airfield outside Yokohama today and seems to have survived both the weather and reception by the Japanese. The airlift from Okinawa is supposed to start in earnest tomorrow, concurrently with the arrival of TG 38.4 in Tokyo Bay, and it is still hoped deployment to Chitose can begin the day after while TGs 38.3 and 38.5 arrive off Kushiro, unless that typhoon blows everybody all over the place.

Edited November 14, 2013 by BansheeOne

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 25 August 1945

 

III./1st Yegers and TG 90.1 received another prompt surrender with a hint of "we've been waiting for some time you know" at Iturup in the morning. Shortly afterwards they got an unplanned test of availability of Tenneru airfield when one C-47 of the squadron carrying 1st Commando Battalion to Hokkaido developed engine problems enroute and had to touch down there; crew and passengers were glad to find friendly forces on the ground, though the Japanese would probably have capitulated to the detachment of two dozen just the same.

 

The rest of the flight continued with no complications, being handed off from their original fighter escort to Hellcats from Carrier Division 22 and then again to aircraft from TG 38.3 as they approached Hokkaido; as of today, American and British carrier aviation is conducting flights over the Japanese Home Islands to patrol airfields, locate shipping movements and find and supply prisoner of war camps.

 

1st Commandos therefore had the reassurance of air cover when they conducted a drop onto Nakashibetsu Airfield at noon, though again it turned out that the combat approach was in fact unnecessary as they pretty much had a white flag stuck in their faces before they could even wrap up their parachutes. Communication is spotty due to distances involved, but an all clear message was eventually relayed through a chain of allied aircraft and ships, and the bulk of 1st Airborne Brigade will fly into the base tomorrow as planned.

 

TGs 38.3 and 38.5 will also land a small provisional American-British brigade of sailors and marines at Kushiro tomorrow in the morning, and there are plans to put some carrier aviation ashore at both places after they have been thoroughly secured. 9th Mechanized Brigade Group will also land below the Notsuke Peninsula later in the day tomorrow, not far from Nakashibetsu.

 

However, deployment of US 11th Airborne Division has run into trouble as there are now not one, but two typhoons moving into the way from Okinawa to Yokohama, and flights had to be suspended today; while TF 39.4 began landing 4th US Marine Regiment and seagoing detachments at Yokosuka, the only other allied forces are the advance detail of about 150 that flew in yesterday and are now in Tokyo to prepare the arrival of the fleet and MacArthur in the next days.

 

That means no onward movements to Hokkaido for an indeterminate period while the typhoons last, and we are a little worried about supply lines for our two brigades there; TGs 38.3 and 38.5 are not really prepared for this kind of logistics, and it is quite a way down the Kurile Chain with our current setup, still aimed no further than Urup under the original plans for this year.

 

Unfortunately the Bolshevist now also seem to have started moving out of their beachheads; one American carrier reconnaissance flight found columns of troops moving east near Asahikawa, 50 verst inland from Rumoi, and was promptly shot at. They were not really sure about identity and intentions, and at any rate didn't return fire under current orders, but thought those were Soviet.

Edited November 14, 2013 by BansheeOne

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 26 August 1945

 

More unfortunate delays. 9th Mechanized Brigade Group will arrive in Nemuro Bay tomorrow morning rather than this afternoon; apparently the delay from re-embarkation at Shimushir due to the disturbance of 3rd Division's original well-laid plans to marshal units ashore was underestimated. Still no flights possible from Okinawa to Yokohama, and the deployment of US 11th Airborne Division is being further pushed back. The Americans think about flying their entire 201st Infantry Regiment to Hokkaido, currently based on Beringa with one battalion deployed to Shumshu for airfield security, but that too would take some days.

 

However, the bulk of 1st Airborne Brigade arrived at Nakashibetsu as scheduled. In the absence of 11th Division, they are reporting to Commander Task Group 38.3, Vice Admiral Frederick Sherman USN, just returned from leave and promotion to find himself in this mess. He has smartly left operations ashore to commanders in the field, and 1st Airborne's intentions are to assume blocking positions against the Bolshevist advance in the mountain range northwest of the airfield, with 1st Parachute Battalion to the left holding the road junction at Teshikaga backed up by the cannon company, and 2nd Parachute Battalion to the right at the Konpoku Pass; they hope to organize themselves enough local transport to use 1st Commando Battalion as a mobile reserve until 9th Mechanized Brigade Group arrives.

 

TGs 38.3 and 38.5 also landed a force of ca. 1,500 in the morning to secure the port, town and airfield of Kushiro. They plan to send some officers to Chitose tomorrow - packed into a flight of Avengers if necessary, though some C-47s are intended to return for forward deployment if there are no more urgent tasks and the airfields are judged fit for operations - to take the capitulation of 5th Area Army at Sapporo ahead of possible Bolshevist moves. 9th Mechanized Brigade Group is also bringing a small mixed helicopter/spotting plane detachment with them, which might work as well.

 

Rather unplannedly, operations on Hokkaido are therefore currently run through Nimitz' Central Pacific Area command; obviously MacArthur is fighting any notion of making this official tooth and nail though. Meanwhile the Bolshevist forces out of the Rumoi and Wakkanai beachheads seem to have linked up in the Shibetsu area, and some were spotted on the road to Monbetsu on the north coast. The aircraft that found them subsequently got into a tense situation with Soviet fighters, though no shots were actually fired.

 

We have a somewhat better intelligence picture now of the Soviet forces involved. The 87th Rifle Corps is confirmed to be in overall command, with the 264th Rifle Division from Rumoi and the 355th from Wakkanai. Its third division, 342nd Rifle, plus 215th Artillery Brigade are now reported as crossing over from Sakhalin, too; apparently they just arrived there, having suffered a breakdown delaying their convoy from Vladivostok. There is some indication that a separate tank brigade is planned to be sent to Hokkaido, possibly 214th from Sixteenth Army, previously engaged on Sakhalin.

 

We do now believe that the air assault on Rumoi was not executed by 3rd Airborne Rifle Regiment but two independent parachute battalions. A naval infantry battalion, possibly from 13th Brigade, was also reported in the Wakkanai landing. Air support is coming chiefly from 255th Air Division, comprising the 191st and 365th Attack and 610th and 718th Fighter Regiments; 15th and 16th Naval Air Divisions may also be involved.

 

Forces on Iturup were alerted to the presence of two Soviet minesweeping trawlers in Rubetzu Bay this morning which had crept in under the usual thick fog, on the opposite coast from Tenneru airfield but only ten verst across. Using local Japanese transport, a company from III./1st Yegers with some officers from the American landing force attached arrived in time to confront a Bolshevist landing party of about equal strength, which resulted in a rather arkward situation.

 

Eventually a small bi-national group was sent over under a flag of truce, which stated to the new arrivals that they were in the operations area of US Pacific Ocean Areas Command and the Japanese garrison had already surrendered to us, so their presence was neither needed nor warranted, with a helpful pointer to the American battleship/cruiser group on the other side of the island added. The Soviet officer in charge merely said that he would relay that information, and the standoff continued for some time after the exchange while another yeger company arrived.

 

Eventually some aircraft from Carrier Division 22 showed up after the fog began to lift, and soon thereafter the Bolshevists returned to their vessels without a further word and eventually left. Carrier aircraft are keeping an eye at them, and TG 90.1 is sending two destroyers around the island to stay in touch. 2nd Marine Regimental Group is expected at Urup tomorrow and 4th Marines at Iturup the day after, which should improve our position against such attempts.

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 27 August 1945

 

1st Airborne Brigade spread out between the Konpoku Pass ascent and the Notsuke-Teshikaga road today, though the only element in Teshikaga itself by now is a company from 1st Commandos who got themselves some local transport (in large part commandeered bicycles, as I understand it). The rest was on foot and marched up to 35 verst, expected to reach intended positions tomorrow. I've done that in my time, and my legs hurt just thinking about it; their jeeps are still being flown in, and most are prime movers for the howitzers and heavy mortars, so they have even less organic motor transport right now than would usually be available if this would be an operation involving gliders for the heavier troops.

 

Still, I have to commend the venerable jeep again for the work it does - when we developed the airborne TO&E, we conservatively intended the Dodge half-ton to pull the then-used M28/37 75 mm gun and do quartermaster stuff, but it turned out to not even really fit into a Horsa, much less a C-47. The jeep will do both and still pull the much heavier M3 howitzer - amazing. The overall transport situation will improve after today as 9th Mechanized Brigade Group is bringing a truck company with them. Another commando company went out to meet them on the coast this morning, and disembarkation went smoothly, unlike the confused turnaround at Shimushir.

 

9th Mechanized intends to move through 1st Airborne's positions tomorrow, one battalion group to go over the Konpoku Pass to Shari and then on along the coastal road towards Abashiri, another through Teshikaga and the Bihoro Pass with the bulk of 6th Stoyanka Cavalry Regiment; the third will stay in reserve at Teshikaga in case the Bolshevists advance more to the south. So far they seem to make the best progress along the coast; 355th Rifle Division was reported on the Yubetsu River near Lake Saroma today while 264th Rifle is stuck in more mountaineous terrain inland where the Yubetsu branches off from the Ishikari River.

 

So far they don't seem to have crossed their self-declared demarcation line as they have been reported no further south than Fukagawa and keep moving east rather than towards Sapporo. I understand attempts are ongoing to defuse the situation politically, but no results so far. Luckily 2nd Marine Regimental Group arrived at Urup as planned today, and 4th Marines should be at Iturup tomorrow. The destroyers from TG 90.1 could not pick up yesterday's visitors at sea before the aircraft from Carrier Division 22 lost them in the dark and usual morning fog, but flights today found no indication they had landed elsewhere on Iturup either. They are trying to find them back and determine whether they are sailing for one of the neighboring islands.

 

There are still no flights possible from Okinawa, though it is hoped they can resume tomorrow as the second of the typhoons has now reached Shikoku and is expected to weaken and move out of the way. First units of 11th Airborne Division may arrive on Hokkaido the day after that on the 29th; the Americans have also ordered 201st Infantry Regiment to prepare for an airlift as early as tomorrow, and they are sending more transport aircraft over from the US via the Aleutians, mostly long-ranged C-46 and C-54. British Task Group 38.5 was folded into 38.3 under overall command of Admiral Shepard today and reinforced by some additional ships, including USS Wasp which keeps operating aircraft despite having had her bow stoved in 30 feet during the typhoon two days ago.

 

This is to make up for some British (and Australian and New Zealand) ships which have been detached to represent their nations at the official surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay within the next days, though HMS Indefatigable and some escorts remain off Hokkaido. Unfortunately we have no ships to spare for the same purpose in the current situation, though a Russian American delegation will attend. The overall OOB thus currently looks like this:

 

 

US/UK Task Group 38.3 (Vice Admiral Shepard)

 

- USS Randolph (flagship)

- USS Cabot

- USS Oakland

 

- HMS Indefatigable

- HMS Teazer

- HMS Tenacious

- HMS Termagant

- HMS Terpischore

- HMS Troubridge

 

Carrier Division 5

- USS Monterey

- USS Wasp

Carrier Division 6

- USS Ticonderoga

- USS Bataan

Battleship Division 6

- USS North Carolina

- USS South Dakota

Cruiser Division 17

- USS Astoria

- USS Pasadena

- USS Springfield

- USS Wilkes-Barre

Cruiser Division 18

- USS Duluth

- USS Topeka

Destroyer Squadron 48

- Destroyer Division 96

- Destroyer Division 96

Destroyer Squadron 60

- Destroyer Division 119

- Destroyer Division 120

Destroyer Squadron 62

- Destroyer Division 123

- Destroyer Division 124

 

US/UK TG 38.3 Landing Force (1,700; Kushiro)

 

- HQ Company (US)

- Service Company (US)

- Artillery Battery (US)

 

1st + 2nd Battalion (US)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Infantry Company

- Machinegun Company

3rd Battalion (UK)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Infantry Company

RA 1st Airborne Brigade [-] (2,400, Nakashibetsu)

 

- HQ Company

- 1/4th Airborne Cannon Company

- 2/4th Airborne Heavy Mortar Company

 

1st + 2nd Parachute Battalion

- HQ Company

- 3 x Parachute Company

- Weapons Company

1st Commando Battalion

- 3 x Commando Company

RA 9th Mechanized Brigade Group (4,800; Nakashibetsu)

 

- HQ Company [+]

- 9th Mechanized Cannon Company

- 9th Mechanized Heavy Mortar Company

- 1/3rd Anti-Aircraft Battery [+]

- 2/3rd Transport Company [+]

- 3/3rd Medical Company

- 4/3rd Engineer Company [+]

- 4/3rd Maintenance Company

 

I. + II./4th Northern Mechanized Infantry Battalion

- HQ Company

- 3 x Mechanized Infantry Company

- Weapons Company

 

3rd Armor Battalion [-]

- HQ Company

- 3 x Tank Company

6th Stoyanka Cavalry Regiment [-]

- HQ Squadron

- 3 x Cavalry Squadron

I./4th Krasivayaberga Artillery Battalion (Self-Propelled)

- HQ Battery

- 3 x Self-Propelled Artillery Battery

Edited November 16, 2013 by BansheeOne

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 28 August 1945

 

1st Airborne Brigade assumed their intended blocking positions today, 1st Parachute Battalion [+] with four line companies, the cannon company and a heavy mortar platoon at Teshikaga with one company each holding the northern, western and northwestern roads out of town supported by cannon, one in reserve and the mortar platoon emplaced on the high ground along the western shore of Lake Mashu; they may push out two companies tomorrow to block the northwestern roads more forward on either side of Lake Kussharo. Those lakes are actually volcano craters, so are situated on commanding terrain with pass roads running by their shorelines. 2nd Parachute Battalion [-] with two line companies and the rest of the mortar company is holding the Konpoku Pass between Mounts Shari and Unabetsu.

 

As planned, 9th Mechanized Brigade Group moved through their positions in the morning, and I./4th Northern Mechanized Battalion Group is now deployed in a line from Mount Shari to the town of the same name on the coast with one tank and two infantry companies, supported by their weapons company and a Priest battery from I./4th Krasivayaberga Artillery Battalion. Most of the rest went through Teshikaga and is between Lakes Mashu and Kussharo with II./4th Battalion Group forward and 3rd Armor Battalion Group in the rear; 6th Stoyanka Cavalry has patrols out ahead to the downslopes either side beyond Lake Kussharo and to Lake Tofutsu on the coast. They may continue on during the night due to the tense situation.

 

So far there has been no contact with the Bolshevists, but that will likely change when they advance onto the Abashiri River. Lead elements of Soviet troops were reported just to the west of that near Lakes Notoro and Abashiri today; we believe this to be a rifle regiment of 355th Division, while another supposedly reached Kitami further inland. We have no very good idea of what will happen when both sides meet; our troops are under orders to stop the Bolshevist advance as soon as possible, by force if necessary.

 

No Soviet armor has been reported so far, and 9th Mechanized Infantry Group has a good chance of holding against a rifle regiment on the coastal plain, though we are worried about ene- ... opposing reinforcements and particularly artillery, especially as we're at the end of a very long supply line and might burn through ammunition stocks quickly if it came to fighting. However, USS Wasp put most of her air group ashore today to relieve her shortened flight deck, including three dozen Corsairs of VBF-86 at the Nakashibetsu airfield which is protected by 9th Mechanized's reinforced anti-aircraft battery and supervised by one of our air force forward observer platoons.

 

USS North Carolina is also sailing through the Nemuro Strait with three Cleveland-class cruisers and will be in position tomorrow to deliver naval gunfire support as far inland as the north shore of Lake Kussharo. It may not come to this though as I hear there are American-Soviet talks in the background to have everybody stop at the Abashiri River before it comes to unseemly brawling between notional allies. The western position is also slowly strengthening as the Americans began airlifting 201st Infantry Regiment into Hokkaido today, though they are going to Kushiro to close the gap between the US/UK landing force and 1st Airborne Brigade along the western mountain range.

 

Some of the incoming planes finally took a detachment to Sapporo today to receive the official capitulation of 5th Area Army, too. It was confirmed the Bolshevists have not advanced south below a general Rumoi-Fukagawa-Biei line. There are in fact only two Japanese divisions on Hokkaido, of which the 42nd has already surrendered to the Bolshevists after some initial fighting in the northwestern area - mostly because the latter were so keyed on to secure their landings that first attempts to make contact failed. 7th Division is in the southeast and remained untouched by either side, while 101st Independent Mixed Brigade is bottled up with our forces in the northeast; their command capitulated to TG 38.3 soon after the landing at Rumoi.

 

There are IJA coastal defense sites on the northern tip of the Nemuro Peninsula and at Abashiri which have not been approached yet. At the insistence of the Americans, the latter garrison was instructed to surrender only to 9th Mechanized Brigade group rather than the Bolshevists, and 6th Stoyanka Cavalry's most forward squadron on the coast will try to get there still this evening if possible; they were last reported only 20 verst from Abashiri and might beat the Bolshevists there. As hoped for, flights from Okinawa to Yokohama resumed today, and an advance element of US 11th Airborne Division is expected at Chitose tomorrow; their commander Major General Swing will take charge of ground operations on Hokkaido thereafter. Meanwhile 4th Marine Regimental Group has also arrived at Iturup, and 1st Yegers are preparing to move on to Kunashir tomorrow.

 

By the way, I have looked at the details for deployment of 1st Airborne Brigade, and while not involving the massive numbers of operations in Europe like Market-Garden or Varsity I found them very notable for our means, particularly considering the distances involved; 2,100 troops and their equipment (though light, the sticky bits being twelve M2 4.2" mortars, six M3 105 mm howitzers, and four Oerlikon AA and Six-Pounder AT guns each with their prime movers - plus another 70 jeeps and some motorbikes) to go about 2,700 nautical miles from Stoyanka to Nakashibetsu in three days!

 

72 C-47s from US 10th Troop Carrier Group transported the entirety of 1st and 2nd Parachute Battalion; two C-54s flown up from the US on regular supply runs, three of our own and twelve C-47s from 28th Transport Squadron the HQ and HQ company, minus the staff's vehicles; six C-54s (four pulled from the trans-altlantic link per orders of Air Force High Command from 22 August) and four C-47s from 8th Wing the cannon company; and 24 C-47s from 4th Wing plus eight from 8th the mortar company.

 

We were so stripped of air transport that the balance of 1st Commando Battalion had in fact to be loaded into six S-44 flying boats because even 10th Troop Carrier Group could provide only seven operable C-47s in addition to their other tasks. That is a total of 127 C-47s, eleven C-54s and six S-44, an impressive fleet. Even more impressive that none were lost, though some had to divert enroute due to technical problems like the C-47 that touched down on Iturup, or plain losing their formation due to weather conditions. But some managed to close up again over various stages of the trip, and only a dozen did not arrive with their planned wave.

 

The C-54s made the same trip again yesterday to deliver the rest of 1st Airborne's vehicles and some supplies, and we now have 8th Wing detailed for an air link to Nakashibetsu. The Americans are also using a group's worth of C-46s and C-54s from their Air Transport Command to move 201st Infantry Regiment to Hokkaido and fly in supplies, nearly doubling the number of transport aircraft in our theater.

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 29 August 1945

 

Terribly critical situation at this point. First, 1/6th Stoyanka Cavalry Squadron arrived at Abashiri after their dash in the dusk at 2100 hours yesterday, where they found a Japanese garrison of an infantry battalion and a coastal battery which readily surrendered to them. Their chief worry was however securing the bridges over the Abashiri River downstream from the lake of the same name. This was quickly done with the ones near the port itself, but when a troop went down for the bridge of the southwestern road at the river bend near the lake, they found the near bank already occupied by Bolshevist troops - though as it was by now dark, their first clue was some machinegun fire aimed at the lead vehicles advancing on the road.

 

While not clear about the opposition at this point, the troop returned fire and maneuvered to close, encountering no more than automatic small arms fire. However, within a few minutes enemy artillery was incoming, and they had to withdraw about two verst towards the town, but suffered no casualties. Shelling of the zone before them went on for some time but eventually gave way to intermittent starshells. With no artillery of their own, they had to wait until I./4th Northern Battalion Group arrived in the morning while Corsairs out of Nakashibetsu also showed up overhead.

 

The latter reported troops moving on the road on the far side of Lake Abashiri and all along the river to the south, but were under orders to not attack unless in defense of our units on the ground. They even adhered to that after some were chased away from the far side with anti-aircraft fire. A Bolshevist column moved across the bridge at the river bend, but went south along the road on the eastern bank until they ran into I./4th Northern's tank company with supporting infantry on the shore of the lake, which stopped them with a few rounds.

 

The enemy diverted into the wooded area east of the river, and there was some exchange of artillery while dismounted infantry blocked off lateral moves. By this time troops were ordered through 9th Mechanized Brigade Group to hold off, but not advance on the Bolshevists, and everybody dug in. Fighting subsequently died down; we seem to have suffered about a dozen casualties, though mostly wounded.

 

Meanwhile another standoff had developed upstream at Bihoro, were II./4th Northern was facing off with more Bolshevist troops on the western side of the river, but no shots were fired there. 2/6th Stoyanka Cavalry Squadron was also holding the next bridge upstream when the Bolshevists showed up, but they retreated after our troops fired some flares to make their presence known. 3rd Armor Battalion Group moved down from Lake Kussharo during the day to be able of quick reinforcement for either of the lead groups and prevent crossings of the Abashiri between both.

 

1st Airborne Brigade began moving 2nd Parachute Battalion down from the Konpoku Pass to secure the costal town of Shari against a possible Soviet landing into 9th Mechanized’s flank, though North Carolina and her escorts arrived off shore there today. They also sent 1st Commando Battalion through Teshikaga on trucks along the pass road towards Mount Oakan to secure the southwestern flank. They are intended to link up with US 201st Infantry Regiment, the first battalion of which began marching north into the mountains from Kushiro today while more of its units are being flown in, within the next 48 hours. At this point 3rd Parachute Battalion is also expected, having launched from Stoyanka today.

 

The advance element of 11th Airborne Division arrived at Chitose as planned, too, and General Swing will officially take command of the Hokkaido forces tomorrow. For now orders remain to move to contact with, but not attack the Bolshevists, hold position against them while trying to avoid fighting, and use force only in self-defense. Our current main worry is the left flank of 9th Mechanized further up the Abashiri, though we have friendly aircraft patrolling that way.

 

The other complication arose today when 1st Yegers arrived at Kunashir with TGs 90.2, 91.3 and 91.4 today to find five Soviet ships in Furukamappu Bay, including the mine trawlers encountered at Iturup three days ago, two transports and an escort. When hailed, they stated that the islands of Kunashir and Shikotan were under Soviet occupation and that we were to stay away, clearly turning the tables on us. Detached destroyers confirmed another three Bolshevist vessels at Shikotan some hours later. North Dakota’s group also reported encountering a Soviet transport under escort heading east off the Shiretoko Peninsula, not responding to signals.

 

We estimate that they may have landed a minimum of three battalions on Kunashir and Shikotan with at least one more on the way. While their ships were vastly outgunned against the American battleship/cruiser group, it was decided to not risk a landing and fighting on the islands; instead, parties were put ashore on the Habomais throughout the day, collecting capitulations of small Japanese detachments there while the Americans kept sitting on the Bolshevists.

 

They are also trying to intercept the incoming ships, though how exactly they will block them without initiating hostilities as per the current orders is not clear. In light of the new development we consider landing one or both of the Yeger battalions on Hokkaido and attach them to 1st Airborne Brigade for added security on the seashore against Bolshevist landings.

 

Oh, and Mac Arthur arrived in Tokyo. That will help a lot I’m sure.

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 30 August 1945

 

Nobody seems really happy with yesterday's events. The new American command on Hokkaido made itself some friends really fast when they suggested the affair at Abashiri could have been handled better by our troops on the scene; apparently they are officially treating this as an inter-Russian incident to avoid making it an issue between the Big Three from which nobody can step back. At the same time, it may have shown the Bolshevists that they can't just roll over allied troops in the northeast; there are reports that the Abashiri River was agreed upon as a deconfliction line on the highest level today.

 

General Swing personally went up to Fukagawa in a small convoy flying the biggest US flag they could find to establish a direct link with the Bolshevist command and sort things out. Whatever political constraints he is operating under, I can't fault his courage, particularly after my recent experience in Czechoslovakia. While there are still an estimated two Soviet companies wedged between the river bend and the mouth of Lake Abashiri on our side, there has been no fighting since yesterday.

 

Meanwhile the intelligence picture solidifies. From signals interception and US high-altitude overflights we believe we are facing a rifle regiment of 355th Division at Abashiri, with one battalion on our right from the coast to the lake, another on the left from the lake to Bihoro exclusively, and a third behind the lake. Another regiment has the sector upstream, one battalion facing II./4th Northern Battalion Group at Bihoro, another the 6th Stoyanka Cavalry detachment further south; 9th Mechanized moved the whole unit minus 1st Squadron there today, the latter still holding the perimeter towards the port of Abashiri in the north.

 

The third battalion of that regiment is believed to be further back at Kitami, and the third regiment of 355th Rifle division north of that on the Tokoro River. 264th Division is thought to have on regiment facing south between Rumoi and Fukagawa, another south of Asahikawa, and the third having moved east along the Ishikari and Tokoro River to link up with 355th at Kitami. We believe the units along their southern demarcation line are now being relieved by the just-arrived 342nd Rifle Division, freeing up 264th for the southeast corner of their occupied territory. 214th Tank and 215th Artillery Brigade are now also reported to have crossed over from Sakhalin.

 

US 11th Airborne Division began flying into Chitose in earnest today and is expected to be complete within the week, but the situation in the south seems not critical. US 201st Infantry Regiment is planned to finish deployment tomorrow, when lead elements are also expected to link up with 1st Commando Battalion in the Mount Oakan-Meakan area. 3rd Parachute Battalion will arrive in Nakashibetsu at the same time. III./1st Yeger was landed north of the Notsuke Peninsula and will secure the coastline east of the mountain range against possible Bolshevist landing attempts from Kunashir; I./1st Yeger is staying on the Habomais.

 

Two of the Soviet ships snooped around the chain today, but the American battleship in their wake seems to have been a convincing indication that they wouldn't achieve anything there. The two vessels reported in the Nemuro Strait yesterday went to Shikotan instead; some games were played with right-of-way rules at sea, but they persisted and were eventually allowed to land under the "hold, but don't attack" orders rather than risking collisions or trading fire, the island already being Bolshevist-occupied. We believe the troops on Kunashir and Shikotan are from 113th Independent Rifle Brigade, earlier reported on Sakhalin.

 

One worry largely resolved is about logistics, as substantial supplies are now coming in both by sea through Kushiro and over the air link along the Kuriles. 9th Armored Brigade Group in particular had brought only enough fuel with them to go to the Abashiri River and back to their landing sites if things went wrong, but are now beginning to receive supplies in position. The bigger problem is now actually transport ashore, as little has been brought in with ships and obviously almost none by air; we think of deploying a battalion from 1st Quartermaster Regiment to Hokkaido to support the growing allied forces in the northeast.

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 31 August 1945

 

It's not over yet. Alerted by radar returns heading east towards the coast southwest of Kushiro from TF 38.3 ships offshore during the night, an outpost of US 2/201st Infantry Battalion freshly moved into position on the coastal road yesterday reported an airdrop from C-47s beyond the ridgeline at dawn, first believed by them to be new arrivals from US 11th Airborne Division. The division stated however that all of their reinforcements were flying into Chitose and none by airdrop, and inquired with 1st Airborne Brigade whether this was 3rd Parachute Battalion. The latter was also flying into Nakashibetsu and only later in the day, though.

 

A patrol sent along the coastal road then promptly ran into a roadblock by Soviet paratroopers outside the next village who basically told them to piss off. By noon, aerial reconnaissance also reported an armored column moving towards the village on the mountain road from inland, and more Bolshevist troops all the way back to the next valley north of Obihiro. Obviously while everybody was looking at the Abashiri River, they flanked around to the south through the mountains and cut us off in the northeastern corner of Hokkaido.

 

We think that 214th Tank Brigade moved down from Wakkanai more quickly than expected and linked up with airdrops ahead; from the night's radar readings, it is likely there were two more at critical road junctions on the way in the next valley. General Swing is livid because he considers this a breach of the agreement for everybody to stop at the Abashiri. I could have told him though that the Bolshevists have a way of adhering to the letter rather than the spirit; all this happened south of the Abashiri's springs, and west of its furthest eastern extent. However, it is a rather liberal interpretation of their self-declared Rumoi-Kushiro demarcation line.

 

Naturally this has caused some hasty reorganization on our side. 9th Mechanized Brigade Group sent 6th Stoyanka Cavalry [-] up the Senpoku Pass, which passed through 1st Commando Battalion between Mounts Oakan and Meakan in the afternoon and US 1/201st Infantry Battalion which had just linked up with our Commandos in the evening; they are expected on the coast in the morning, minus a squadron left behind at the pass junction held by 1st Commando to scout to the southwest. II./4th Northern Infantry Battalion group was moved upstream from Bihoro to take over 6th Stoyanka's positions around the village of Tsubetsu, and 3rd Armor filled into the Bihoro sector. That uses up 9th Mechanized's reserves, though.

 

Fortunately 201st Infantry Regiment largely concluded its deployment today except for some parts difficult to airlift, and with the HQ and 3rd Squadron of 6th Stoyanka attached they should have a good chance of fending off the Bolshevists if they tried to come up that narrow coastal road with tanks. 3rd Parachute Battalion is intended to relieve 1st Commando on the Senpoku Pass over the next day, bringing a bit more firepower. 1st Parachute will stay at Teshikaga, but returned its additionally attached company to 2nd today for security on the coastal flank of 9th Mechanized. The overall allied OOB ashore on Hokkaido thus now looks like this:

 

 

US 11th Airborne Division ** (Sapporo; total strength with attached units ca. 18,000)

 

- HQ Company [-]

- 221st Airborne Medical Company

- 408th Airborne Quartermaster Company

- 511th Airborne Signal Company

- 711th Airborne Ordnance Maintenance Company [-]

 

 

US 511th Parachute Infantry Regimental Combat Team (3,200, Chitose)

- HQ Company

- Service Company

- A/127th Parachute Engineer Company

 

1 - 3/511th Parachute Infantry Battalion (Chitose, Sapporo)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Infantry Parachute Company

457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (Chitose, less one battery in Sapporo)

- HQ Battery

- 3 x Pack Howitzer Battery

- Anti-Aircraft and Anti-Tank Battery

152nd Airborne Anti-Aircraft Battalion [-] (Sapporo, less one battery in Chitose)

- Automatic Weapons Battery

- Machinegun Battery

 

RA 9th Mechanized Brigade Group (4,800; Abashiri)

- HQ Company [+]

- 9th Mechanized Cannon Company

- 9th Mechanized Heavy Mortar Company

- 1/3rd Anti-Aircraft Battery [+]

- 2/3rd Transport Company [+]

- 3/3rd Medical Company

- 4/3rd Engineer Company [+]

- 4/3rd Maintenance Company

I. + II./4th Northern Mechanized Infantry Battalion (Abashiri, Tsubetsu)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Mechanized Infantry Company

- Weapons Company

3rd Armor Battalion [-] (Bihoro)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Tank Company

6th Stoyanka Cavalry Regiment [-] (Senpoku Pass, less one squadron at Abashiri)

- HQ Squadron

- 3 x Cavalry Squadron

I./4th Krasivayaberga Artillery Battalion (Self-Propelled) (Bihoro, less one battery at Abashiri)

- HQ Battery

- 3 x Self-Propelled Artillery Battery

RA 1st Airborne Brigade (3,200, Nakashibetsu)

- HQ Company

- 1/4th Airborne Cannon Company

- 2/4th Airborne Heavy Mortar Company

1st - 3rd Parachute Battalion (Teshikaga, Shari, Nakashibetsu)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Parachute Company

- Weapons Company

1st Commando Battalion (Senpoku Pass)

- 3 x Commando Company

US 201st Infantry Regiment (2,900; Kushiro)

- HQ Company

- Anti-Tank Company [-]

- Service Company [-]

1 - 3/201st Infantry Battalion

- HQ Company

- 3 x Rifle Company

- Weapons Company

RA 1st Yeger Regiment [-] (1,500; Nemuro)

- HQ Company

I. + III./1st Yeger Battalion [-] (companies spread over Nemuro Strait shore and Habomai Islands)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Yeger Company

US/UK TG 38.3 Landing Force (1,700; Kushiro)

- HQ Company (US)

- Service Company (US)

- Artillery Battery (US)

1st + 2nd Battalion (US)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Infantry Company

- Machinegun Company

3rd Battalion (UK)

- HQ Company

- 3 x Infantry Company

[shep854]

Has there been any indication of a Soviet shift of forces and resources from Europe to Siberia? If they decide on a conflict of attrition with us, and our Allies become convinced that this is an 'internal struggle', the already delicate situation could become critical.

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 1 September 1945

 

I don’t think anybody believes for a second that the Abashiri Incident was simply trigger-happy Russians of differing ideological backgrounds running into each other; that’s just a way to step around the fact that the Bolshevists exchanged fire with western allied troops, as 9th Mechanized Brigade Group was and still is very clearly under US operational command. There have also been at least two incidents now where American aircraft were fired at by Soviet forces - but not hit, so it can be explained as just cases of mistaken identity; apparently some of this stuff happened when the allied fronts were making contact in Europe, too. Never mind it wouldn’t have happened here if the Bolshevists hadn’t been were they weren’t supposed to be.

 

The Americans obviously still want to avoid getting into a fight with a notional ally just as this costly war is about to officially conclude. I think so are the Bolshevists actually; operations in the Kuriles have been sort of a cautious game of “capture the flag”, with whoever set foot onto an island first subsequently being left alone rather than provoking a battle that could no longer be ignored. Neither has anybody moved against each other’s lines on Hokkaido since the Abashiri Incident.

 

2/6th Stoyanka Cavalry Squadron scouted along the southwestern pass from Mount Meakan today and promptly came upon Soviet armor at the next junction 20 verst down the road; just old T-26 actually, but both sides immediately stopped and did not engage. On the Bolshevist’s side this might have to do something with the fact they wouldn’t have stood a very good chance against our Hellcats, but it is possible they are under the same orders as we.

 

I’m definitely hearing now that the Big Three are having intense talks to come to a mutually acceptable resolution of the situation in connection with exchanges about the content of the Japanese instrument of surrender in time for the official signing ceremony, planned to be held on USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay tomorrow. Apparently there is a rather broad approach, involving both American and Bolshevist basing rights in northern Japanese territory as well as some areas in occupied Germany containing critical lines of communication for the Soviet and Western zones, and I suspect even the implementation of the repatriation agreements, which I find a bit disquieting. I have not seen the last report on LONGBOAT, but had my head full of Hokkaido during the last week.

 

As for Bolshevist reinforcements from Europe, they moved a lot for their campaign against the Japanese after the German surrender, but most of that is now stuck far into Manchuria or even northern Korea; they have probably reached the end of their supply lines, and the last reports of any action there were two days ago when the last division of the Kwantung Army surrendered to them. Pyongyang was occupied on the 24th after the earlier landings on the eastern coast, and apparently both 10th Mechanized and 88th Rifle Corps are deployed to Korea, which makes 87th Rifle Corps the only reserve of 1st Far Eastern Front to be used on Hokkaido.

 

There are some formations in 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Front that might still be available for operations on Hokkaido and in the Kuriles, but despite their landing operations, we believe their lack of sealift capacity remains the main weakness of the Bolshevists; they have a number of transports including lend-lease ships that were mostly sailed directly from the US under a Soviet flag to make use of their neutrality pact with the Japanese while it lasted, apparently sufficient to carry a division in a single convoy judging from the reports of transfer of 87th Rifle Corps to Sakhalin and Hokkaido. But there can't be much dedicated landing craft, and in the Kuriles part of the forces we saw were carried by minesweepers and other auxiliaries – hardly a sign of plentiful shipping space.

 

They are also now being headed off in Korea, as US XXIV Corps began arriving there with 7th Infantry Division three days ago; US III Amphibious Corps started embarking for China today, with 1st Marine Division ordered to Tientsin and 6th to Tsingtao, while 2nd and 4th are designated as area reserve. It's too late to deny the Bolshevists Port Arthur and Dairen as a tit-for-tat of course, since they reportedly airlanded troops there a week ago. Hokkaido remains the most critical spot as reinforcements to a credible counterweight to Bolshevist presence are still hindered by the distances involved. The Americans plan to put their IX Corps with 81st and 98th Infantry Divisions in control, but for now even buildup of 11th Airborne Division is still underway. Moreover, the Bolshevist thrust to the coast has isolated allied troops in the northeast from the south.

 

We have therefore ordered 3rd Division to leave behind a brigade group at Shimushir and transfer the rest of its forces to Hokkaido; they will embark tomorrow and should arrive on 4 September, division command to assume operational control of our units on the island. The convoy will also pick up an additional light marine howitzer battalion from Urup to address the critical shortage of land artillery on Hokkaido; 1st Marine Division command has set up on Iturup with the majority of division troops with an eye on Bolshevist-occupied Kunashir. 2nd Air Division has begun to deploy anti-air artillery groups throughout the chain, and as soon as shipping capacity frees up we will begin moving units from 11th Stoyanka Heavy Artillery Regiment forward from Beringa.

 

I'm attaching sketches of the current strategic situation of ground forces in the Kuriles and the tactical situation in northeastern Hokkaido.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 2 September

 

The official signing of the Japanese instrument of surrender went down aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay today. Unlike in the capitulation of Germany, representatives from all allied nations in the Pacific Theater posted to MacArthur's headquarters got to put their signature onto the document. This had the potential for some awkwardness as both Vitse-admiral Nemzov (of First Komandorskis fame/notoriety) and Bolshevist General Derevianko were in attendance after having avoided each other quite adeptly in Manila earlier; protocol had however thoughtfully separated them by China, Britain, Australia and Canada in the lineup.

 

I understand the Americans had brought the flag flown by Commodore Perry in Tokyo Bay in 1853 for the occasion, which I can't help thinking of as somewhat misplaced jingoism - if they hadn't forced the Japanese to break their self-chosen isolation then, everybody might not have had to go through the recent unpleasantries with them. But let's not delve into useless considerations of alternate history; while the official final conclusion of this terrible war is certainly reason for celebration, the situation further north is still tense.

 

During the night, TG 38.3 moved the American battalions of its landing force at Kushiro along the coast to occupy the small ports of Otsu and Tokachi in the south and prevent their being taken by the Bolshevists; 11th Airborne Division also redirected new arrivals from its currently incoming regiment, 187th Glider Infantry, to the IJN airfield at Obihiro, just south of the Soviet axis of advance, after remnants of 7th IJA Division in the area had reported no Bolshevists there through the former Fifth Area Army HQ, confirmed by aerial reconnaissance.

 

They have not encountered any so far either, though aircraft reported Soviet troops moving along the roads towards the coast further up in the valley; so it seems 87th Rifle Corps is still sticking generally to the Rumoi-Kushiro line with some slight detour around our forces in the northeast. However, apparently some sort of agreement was reached overnight at the Council of Foreign Ministers in London, which was supposed to deal with European question as per the Potsdam Agreement but became preoccupied with the Hokkaido situation as soon as it met.

 

No details are known yet, but there is talk of a UN trusteeship along the lines of what is envisioned for Korea, and giving the Bolshevists some access to the Pacific Ocean proper in exchange for a bit of their German occupation zone encompassing a critical bit of railway connecting the zone of the Americans in Bavaria to their exclave at the port of Bremen; I don't currently know whether one or both are true, and whether this includes Hokkaido, some Kuril Islands, or both. We are expecting clarification until tomorrow.

 

Meanwhile, a look at a map of winter ice conditions in the Sea of Okhotsk may be instructive. I should also point out that the rail connection from the original Bolshevist landing site at Rumoi to their stated target of Kushiro runs through Fukagawa, Kitami, Bihoro and Abashiri, then on through Teshikaga to the Pacific coast; so their advance in northern Hokkaido looks rather purposeful in crossing the island with the minimum military effort.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2013 by BansheeOne

[R011]

 

 

But let's not delve into useless considerations of alternate history

 

Indeed. There's so many things that could have gone differently so easily. For instance, did you know there was a proposal to sell Russian America to the United States in the 1860's? Wouldn't that have been interesting!

[Marek Tucan]

Well for one we would all be in a gulag or exile now...

[Simon Tan]

Relax boys, it's just Signals and NKVD squabbling over the best loot sites and having SMERSH show up and spoil the party. The War Museum in Stoyanka NEEDs a good Japanese collection.

We should make hay while the sun shines.....Macarthur thinks he owns Japan. So far, the Americans have been leery of actually confronting the Bolshies and forcing the issue.

Actually having Bolshies on Hokkaido makes them easier to access.

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 3 September 1945

 

Details of the London Agreement have come in. Provisions are as follows:

 

- Soviet troops will withdraw behind the Abashiri River and, more importantly, the borders of the Kato and Ashoro districts in the south "immediately".

 

- An Allied Council for Japan comprising two American, Soviet, British and Chinese representatives each will be set up at the beginning of next year, charged with supervising the work of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers as head of the occupation forces, who shall also be its chairman. The council will be under the Far Eastern Advisory Commission, to be renamed Far Eastern Commission.

 

- Until the time the council is installed, Soviet troops will leave Hokkaido completely except as stipulated by special provisions of the agreement, and take over occupation of the islands off northern Hokkaido but below the 1855 line, including Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, the Habomais and, on the western side, Rebun, Rishiri, Yagishiri and Teuri.

 

- The special provisions refer to two minor enclaves at the ports of Rumoi and Kushiro and the right to move freely between both to support the occupation forces on the islands. In return, an area around the German villages of Werleshausen and Neuseesen on the border between Hesse and Thuringia containing two miles of the railway line linking the US occupation zone to its exclave at Bremen will transfer to the American side.

 

This means we will have to hand over Iturup and the Habomais to the Bolshevists. We're not happy about that, but we had no say in the matter as they were not ours to dispose of under previous agreements. We still complained because this puts a further hole into our strategic aim of the Kuriles Campaign to block them into the Sea of Okhotsk, but got told by the Americans the Bolshevists actually demanded landing rights besides them in the Aleutians on the pretext that if the US had bases in the Kuriles to support trans-pacific air links to Japan, surely they should have some to fly the other way to Seattle, and we probably would have liked that even less. Which is hard to argue with.

 

I guess it could have been worse given what the Bolshevists all captured on Hokkaido, but the western allied response foiled their own strategic aim of securing a port on the Pacific coast, and they were left with a lot of mostly rocky terrain populated by an estimated 700,000 - not really worthwhile terminally pissing off the Americans other than using it for negotiations to reach at least some of their objectives, which I have to admit they did rather successfully.

 

For all his faults, MacArthur seems to have been instrumental in making them back off from drawing out the negotiations for better results; apparently he had a little talk with that General Derevianko at his HQ to the effect of "If I don't see a solution to this by the time of the signing ceremony on Missouri, the only Russian on that battleship deck will be the other guy, and the only power still officially at war with a Japan full of American troops with atom bombs after tomorrow will be you. Don't believe it? Watch me." I trust that he will keep the Bolshevists well in hand in his shiny new Japanese kingdom.

 

For now, the bulk of 3rd Division with 8th Infantry Brigade is planned to arrive on Hokkaido tomorrow; 11th Airborne Division will be complete the day after. Major General Charles Ryder of US IX Corps is expected soon thereafter as the new overall commander of allied forces on the island. Let's see if the Bolshevist stick to the first provisions of the London Agreement and pull their troops behind the mandated lines.

[shep854]

How gratifying that 'Dugout Doug' (as the American Marines derisively call him) recognizes us as having a role in recent affairs.

[swerve]

It goes against the grain having to hand over islands we've occupied to the Bolshevists, even if we didn't intend to keep them. It could be a devil of a job getting them off again.

[BansheeOne]

Junograd, 4 September 1945

 

Nobody I have talked to is at all happy about those latest developments. The overriding motive seems to have been getting the Bolshevists out of the Japanese Home Islands, precisely because people are not convinced they will ever leave from where they have once dug in. The lower Kuriles were apparently of sufficently low strategic interest for the Americans to throw them away, though sentiment in the Ministry very much disagrees with this.

 

The small footholds on Hokkaido are thought easily contained though; as I understand it, a bit of the port of Kushiro south of the Kushiro River is to be given to the Bolshevists, while the port of Rumoi will be largely under their control while not blocking the roads and railway lines on the coast. There will be road and rail links between both ports, though supplementary protocols detailing the provisions of the London Agreement are still being drawn up.

 

This will certainly have repercussions for our own negotiations about the planned trilateral agreement with the Americans and Canadians that is to be signed during the UNO founding conference in San Francisco in six weeks, based upon the memorandum of understanding we inked in Berlin. With the Bolshevists sitting on both ends of the upper Kurile chain at Kamchatka and Iturup, we will need solid American commitments to guarantee territorial integrity. We would prefer US bases on either end at Shumshu and Urup, in addition to one each in the Komandorskis and Aleutians; talks are ongoing.

 

Meanwhile, 3rd Division command and 8th Infantry Brigade arrived on Hokkaido today. The Bolshevists actually withdrew from the two square verst they had occupied on our side of the Abashiri river bend in the morning, ending the week-long tense standoff there. No movement south of Kushiro yet; it is expected some of those troops will march directly to Kushiro once all details of their establishment there are cleared. US 11th Airborne Division has fully assembled a regimental group of 187th Glider Infantry at Obihiro and made contact with the landing forces at Otsu and Tokachi, so the Soviet thrust to the coast is contained in any case (as far as light infantry can stand up to armor); the division's last troops are expected to come in tomorrow.

 

Here is the promised latest report of LONGBOAT after the Potsdam repatriation agreements. Contrary to initial fears, the program continued to run at near-full capacity, mostly because the focus shifted to the French occupation zone where the new policy has been obstructed by the lack of a French-Soviet agreement. Moving DPs from there - in large part staged from further east, particularly as the threat of repatriation to the USSR loomed - has been hampered by the fact that rail links to France are largely US-controlled, but trucks proved sufficient over the relatively short distance to the transit camps at Maubeuge, Metz and Strasbourg; particularly as they were less employed in the American and British zones.

 

Still, we managed to bring about 10,000 "Balts, Poles and Romanians" even from there, plus 10,000 others with the all-out effort during the Potsdam negotiations, and about 25,000 from the French zone. However, repatriations to the USSR by American and British forces have also started, and there have been some ugly scenes with DPs who resisted, and some altercations with our soldiers who witnessed this. The worst of this happened with the Domanov Cossacks in Austria, to the point where UNRRA stepped in at our behest and achieved a suspension after a number killed themselves rather than be deported; about 20,000 currently remain, their fate still unresolved. To the credit of allied troop, they don't seem to particularly like implementing the new policy if it means using force on unwilling DPs. I sense a growing unease with the American and British occupation governments too, but unfortunately I think they will stick to it while repatriations of their own POWs from Bolshevist "care" are going on.

 

Overall, of the 700,000 DPs expected to be willing to become Russian Americans, 100,000 are still in the French transit camps at any time, and 20,000 in the informal transit camps in North Africa; the latter number has lowered somewhat as we were able to direct the overflow on the Canadian route from France, and found some capacity to cross from North Africa to South America now that shipping is slowly returning to peacetime conditions. 25,000 are on the Australian link with another 50,000 already arrived and the first now moving on to Russian America; 10,000 are on the Canadian link, half of which have already moved through the Terrace transit camps.

 

With the peak effort in late July/early August, we now have about 220,000 safe. We estimate that we may get a total of 300,000 with those in the French zone and hopefully at least some of the Domanov Cossacks. As many as 2,000 are now arriving in Russian America per week from both the Atlantic and Pacific side, even though the C-54s were pulled off the air link as they landed here over the last week to support deployment to Hokkaido; only two are currently still flying the Atlantic, but their capacity is now almost inconsequential with the shipping going on. We expect the stream to double and maybe even quadruple in the near future as Pacific shipping also returns to normal and the Australians discharge the vast numbers they have been accommodating - largely at our expense to be sure, but nevertheless an utterly magnanimous undertaking. The program may conclude next summer. I just hope we are prepared for that kind of influx.

 

In contrast, BATTLEAXE is almost wrapped up already with little problems encountered. 5th Division is continueing to ship out from France; their last troops will leave there next week and arrive in Russian America by mid-October; as it looks now, the division will be deactivated then unless the Bolshevists make new moves in force. 4th Division will follow beginning in two weeks and be home by the end of November, following allied agreement to withdraw all troops from Czechoslovakia until year's end. Formation of 6th Division will be broken off.

 

The only troops to remain in Europe are 1st Guards Mechanized Brigade Group and 3rd Theater Support Brigade. We are currently looking over requirements in the Kuriles to plan for a drawdown of mobilized troops next year. We hope to deactivate almost all of the Territorial and about half of the regular Army, a lot of the Navy's amphibious and auxiliary units, some Air Force wings, and of course the training and replacement units. Obviously this too is condition to the Bolshevists not starting more trouble.