IJA Secret Intelligence Team at Chofu

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Very interesting link Shinpachi!! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks Aaron. Here it continues ...

****************************************

..... I found a pathetic expression on his face.


In the afternoon on the day, we were receiving telegrams one after another from our squadrons which belonged to the 1st Air Force.
Contents were all same
"What was the headquarters doing"

Sergeant-major Fujita instructed us
"Don't answer by your own judgment. Answer only 'Wait till official instruction comes from the headquarters'."

Unexpected to me, his instruction sounded very careful unlike his usual frank character.
He would have been feeling heavy responsibility as Commander was absent.

Commander and 2nd Lieutenant returned.
They looked exhausted with bloodshot eyes but, in front of us, maintained the calm attitude like an officer.

Commander Morita commenced
"What I tell you from now is never particular about our team's face but is concerned about the future war situation. Bear this matter in your mind first well.

Now, we joined the staff conference at the headquarters to explain how our team tackled the information analysis relating to the attack on Hiroshima in details. Then, we raised several problems.

1. Why has the headquarters limited the B-29s' invasion route to Bungo Channel
in spite of our team having reported that they were separated into two groups in advance.

2. Judging from their communications, it is evident that their leader belonged to the group for Kii Peninsula.
This can be identified from their beep and the waveform of frequency.
It is generally impossible for us to imagine such an operation as the leader plays a guide for the fake formation.

3. Our military has permitted the leader to invade into the airspace of Hiroshima through the blind spot of our air defense.
This is mostly because our military ignored the leader's trend.

4. Our 2nd Lt. Hiraoka has never failed to presume the flight route of B-29s before.

5. Therefore, our team did request the headquarters the follow-up survey for the B-29s who invaded into the inland from Kii Peninsula repeatedly.

6. We believe that the headquarters well recognise that it is not enough only to say 'The mistake this time was a failure of strategies' but we assume that the 2nd and 3rd Hiroshima which influence our future war situation largely will come again soon.
This has a cause in our country having ignored 'The Potsdam Declaration'."


...... to be continued.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Nice work Shinpachi. Thank you again for taking the time to entertain us with history.

 

[Shinpachi]

Thank you very much Aaron for your encouragement, always.

The young people always grow up blaming what the old people do but, when they have got old, it is their turn to be blamed by the younger generation. On the way to Pearl Harbor, there were two Coup d'etats by the young officers/soldiers of IJA. In my translation, it is no wonder that they use those straight blaming words against their seniors as the IJA itself had such a temperament.......

Everything was too late, though.
Thanks.

 

[GrauGeist]

Amazing insight you are providing, Shinpachi, to a part of the war that is rarely covered. Intelligence operations (regardless of the 'side') is always a shadowy subject and often overlooked.

Thanks again for taking the time to make the translations!

 

[Shinpachi]

You are welcome, GrauGeist. Thanks for enjoying my posts.
I am enjoying the translation too.
Please look forward to the next and next ones.... a long story

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks Aaron.
This is a very educational story for me as I have to check the IJA history to translate

*****************************************

..... This has a cause in our country having ignored 'The Potsdam Declaration'."

Commander continued
"Comment by Chief of Staff xx (*name - possibly Major General Harada) of the headquarters was -
'Your problem submission which may also be Commander Morita's opinion is quite reasonable.
We are reflecting enough as the headquarters. We ever neither escape from the responsibility nor make an excuse as the headquarters.

Everytime we received your report, we immediately informed *Air General Forces (of Army) about the movements of the B-29s.

However, Air General Forces was limitting to the Bungo Channel only which is one of the conventional invasion courses.

This is because a radar base has caught the B-29s that was flying aiming at the Mizunoko lighthouse located in the southeast of Kyushu.

I hear that this is the reason why the interception order was issued to the 6th Air Force (* their jurisdiction was Kyushu).

Although this is not what should be said on this seat, the General Headquarters are appealing for "National Unity" and "100-million Total Honorable Death" like a golden rule but the actual condition is that the military organization itself is still formed on the multiple independent "territories" inside.

It is the most important rule for us military men to obey the seniors' order but it is 'Hiroshima' that we have experienced the rule depends on the circumstances.

Therefore, it is necessary that the upper echelon of the army not only recognizes that our 1st Air Force is not a group of the worthless well but decides and executes the defense plan to prevent the second Hiroshima immediately.

In addition, I am to visit the Air General Forces with Lt. Colonel Suhara (*my ex-commander) who has sufficient experiences about the trend of the US planes in order to state our view and opinion about it in details there.

I have obtained the honourable Commander's consent already (*meaning 'I have had appointment with him already').

I appreciate for your precious opinion'


That is all what we discussed at the headquarters.
I cannot wipe off the impression 'We have been treated well' but nothing would be solved even if we blamed him further and, above all, it is impossible for us to think that we have time to quarrel each other at the moment.

Therefore, it is inevitable that the duty of our team will increase more and more in the future.
Bearing how serious the war situation is in your mind well, make your efforts for the duty accomplishment.

That is all."

It was a calm talk word by word but 2nd Lt. Hiraoka told me privately later that -

1. Our Commander blamed the headquarters' over-optimism much more than we heard.
2. Lt. Colonel Suhara at the headquarters told him that opinion is devided inside General Headquarters whether Japan should accept the Potsdam Declaration or not.
3. Discussion point is the term 'unconditional surrender' of Japan which is concerned with 'the continuation of the Emperor system' and 'the maintenance of national constitution' based on the Emperor system.

To know the time has come at last, I could not sleep that night.

***********************

*Air General Forces of Army(Kohku-sohgun aka 'Sui') was established in April, 1945 to control the army air forces. There were also two ground General Forces(1st and 2nd) in the east and the west of Japan to provide for the future landing of the allies, established in March, 1945. The headquarters of the west(2nd General Forces) was placed in Hiroshima though it is not certain whether the allies knew it or not.


/End of Article No. 112
This story continues.

 

[Shinpachi]

A movie has ever introduced the last day of old Japan in chaos.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4TELOISlGA

Author Mr. Teruo Miyoshi could have experienced the same.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Excellent work again Shinpachi!!

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks Aaron.
Nagasaki will be coming soon.

 

[Wayne Little]

Keep it coming my friend!

 

[proton45]

Endlessly fascinating...thanks

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks Wayne and proton45.

Actually, this story looks endless for me too.
It is my surprise and looks strange that some IJA officers easily show his cased sword in front of people.
My family was also Samurai till mid-19th century but I heard such manner was vulgar and impolite if he was a true Samurai.

 

[Shinpachi]

Article No.113

General Headquarters Announcement
=======================
Author: Mr. Teruo Miyoshi


On August 8, from early morning, a number of telegrams from our aviation squadrons for asking situation or condemning the headquarters were beginning to rush in and it had made us out of control.

Obtained permission from Commander, 2nd Lt. Hiraoka reported the headquarters those contents in detail but their answer was
"Information concerning the new type bomb drop on Hiroshima is as the General Headquarters announced."

Commanders of our squadrons could not have been satisfied with such an abstract answer.
Before long, telegram communications among the squadrons, including rumours and guesses, were beginning to exchange at will.

As it was almost impossible for us to control them any more, our Commander Morita requested the headquarters
"If we leave the situation as it is, our military rule will be collapsed soon. General Headquarters needs to let the entire forces know what the truth was by their announcement again immediately."

By the way, the shrill voice of our NHK announcers of those days sounded same as that of North Korean TV announcers today, as if a twins.


..... to be continued.

 

[B-17engineer]

Wonderful Shinpachi! I appreciate it!

 

[Shinpachi]

You are welcome, Harrison

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Having heard most of the story from my countries perspective it is very interesting to get the story from the opposite side. Nice work Shinpachi!

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks Aaron for your cool understanding.

It seems having taken sixty five years or more to tell what had happened inside the IJA.
Now, the story continues.....

*********************************************

..... By the way, the shrill voice of our NHK announcers of those days sounded same as that of North Korean TV announcers today, as if a twins.


Before noon on the day(* August 8 ), we were ordered to gather by Commander Morita.
"I tell you the headquarters' instruction. As all contents are handled as confidential, your letters addressed to your families and others are to be censored from now on.

1. It will be fact that the Japanese people have also become to be suspicious about the truth of the "General Headquarters Announcement" about the current battles and war-results.

2. About our defeat in the Battle of Midway, it is true that the details were not told to the people at all.
Since such a rumor that the Japanese aircraft-carriers had been totally destroyed began prevailing, the General Headquarters have kept announcing, with no hesitation, the invincible war-results which are thought forged evidently.

3. As you all know well, the US ground forces are coming closer to our mainland by their stepping-stone tactics gradually.

4. Provided all of the General Headquarters' announcements should have been true, there could not have been any total honorable deaths at those islands of Attu, Saipan, Guam, Tinian and Iwo-jima. In addition, on June 23, Lt. General Ushijima of the 32nd Force in Okinawa committed suicide to end our organized resistance there.

5. These tragedies had happened because the General Headquarters and other senior commanders were recognising only the regional battles as a war.

6. It was our General Headquarters that did not tell the people the right and precise information because they were so ignorant about the importance of information and paid no attention to it at all.

7. On July 28, Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki announced "We ignore the Potsdam Declaration" but it is said that the government has asked the Soviet Union 'Mediation of peace'.

8. To acknowledge the present seriousness and the necessity of telling the truth to his subsidiary squadrons, our Commander Lee of the headquarters has instructed us to take the immediate measure to notify all necessary informations to the squadrons by radio under the specific frequency which is different from the regular one.

9. Therefore, the specific frequency is xx(*value) khz.
This frequency has already been known to the squadrons by the communication team in the headquarters.

10. We are to transfer the information, which is coming to us by telephone from the headquarters, in the broadcasting style at 12:00 everyday. It is no problem even if it may be captured by the US military as long as the information is telling the fact.

11. However, this measure is based on arbitrary judgment of Commander of the headquarters and other forces of our military may not welcome it. Therefore, we do not dare to use the ciphertext but the high-speed(more than abt.120 letters per minute) Japanese text transmission instead.

12. We start it from 12:00 today.

In addition, we are permitted to listen to VOA - Voice of America with a set of radio.

These are the headquarters' instruction.
From now on, do your best to carry out your own duty faithfully without being confused by rumors.

Thai is all."

I felt I was just witnessing not only the General Headquarters whose supreme proposition was 'Keep fighting' but our own spiritual support 'Never be defeated' were about to be collapsed.



/End of Article No. 113
This story continues.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Very intreguing Shinpachi. Thank you again for your hard work.