The Timeline for the End of WW II
February, 1945 - Stalin used the Yalta conference to obtain territorial concessions from the Allies. In order for Stalin to gain these war trophies, he had to fulfill two important conditions: participation in the war and agreement with the Chinese government on the Yalta terms. Otherwise, the Allies might renege on their promises at the peace conference. Thus, it was imperative for him not only to enter the war, but to prevent the war from ending before the Soviets joined it.
April 5, 1945 - the Soviet Union gave the required 12 months' notice that it would not renew the five-year Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact
May 1945 - Negotiation for Russia to intercede began the forepart of May 1945 in both Tokyo and Moscow. Konoye, the intended emissary to the Soviets, stated to the Survey that while ostensibly he was to negotiate, he received direct and secret instructions from the Emperor to secure peace at any price, notwithstanding its severity.
June 7, 1945 - As the emperor and the policymakers in Japan became aware of the impending defeat of the Battle of Okinawa, they decided to seek rapprochement with the Soviet Union to exit from the war. To achieve this goal, the Japanese government entrusted former prime minister and foreign minister Hirota Koki to contact Ambassador Malik on June 7 in an unofficial capacity. During a series of meetings with Malik in June Hirota sounded out the possibility of concluding an alliance or a non-aggression pact, or at least the renewal of the Neutrality Pact. Japan’s ill-advised move fell right into the Soviet trap to prolong the war.
June 22, 1945 - The Emperor summoned the Big Six to a meeting. Unusually, he spoke first: "I desire that concrete plans to end the war, unhampered by existing policy, be speedily studied and that efforts made to implement them." The Supreme Council said Soviet entry into the war “would determine the fate of the Empire.” Army Deputy Chief of Staff Kawabe remarked, “The absolute maintenance of peace in our relations with the Soviet Union is imperative for the continuation of the war.”
July 12, 1945 - On July 12, Foreign Minister Togo sent a telegram to Ambassador Sato, instructing the ambassador to see Molotov immediately to present the emperor’s message requesting Moscow’s mediation to terminate the war. Togo stated that it was the emperor’s wish to end the war, but made it clear that so long as the Allies demanded unconditional surrender, Japan had no choice but to fight to the last man.
July 15, 1945 - Just before he left Moscow for the Potsdam Conference (July 17-Aug 2), Stalin had received a personal message from the Japanese Emperor, asking him to act as intermediary between Japan and the United States. During the Potsdam Conference, Stalin's intention to enter the war was clear. Truman wrote about Stalin in his diary: “He’ll be in the Jap War on August 15th. Fini Japs when that comes about.” Truman and Byrnes were working out a “timetable” to force Japan’s surrender. They wished to avoid Soviet entry into the war, and they were determined to use the atomic bomb for that purpose. With Stalin’s reference to the date of Soviet entry into the war either “by the middle of August” or “in the middle of August,” Truman believed that the Soviets would enter the war on August 15. As his diary entry shows, Truman knew full well that the Soviet entry would cause Japan to surrender.
July 18, 1945 - On July 18, when Truman paid a return visit to Stalin’s villa, Stalin revealed the information that the Japanese had asked Moscow to mediate in ending the war. He revealed to Truman Ambassador Sato’s note requesting Soviet mediation to terminate the war. Stalin was eager to prolong the war until all the preparations for his attack were completed, while Truman was also interested in prolonging the war only until the atomic bomb could be dropped, making Truman's leadership and {Truman's} American technology the reason Japan surrendered. Besides, Truman had a long-standing racist hatred for Asians. This gave him a chance to act that out.
Aug 6, 1945 - Truman drops the bomb on Hiroshima. Essentially all of America's military leaders, including Eisenhower, Halsey, LeMay, King, Arnold, Chennault, and Spaatz, opposed Truman's decision, saying that the dropping of the atomic bomb was not militarily necessary.
Aug 8, 1945 - Verbal report of Hiroshima damage delivered to the military
Aug 8, 1945 - Foreign Minister Togo Shigenori went to Premier Suzuki Kantaro and asked that the Supreme Council be convened to discuss the bombing of Hiroshima, but its members declined.
Aug 9, 1945 - two minutes after midnight, Stalin declared war on Japan and opened a northern front in Manchuria.
- By 4 AM, Tokyo was aware of the Soviet invasion. Japan's tentative suite for peace, using neutral USSR as an intermediary, was now closed. Worse, Japan now had a two-front war to protect the home islands. Japan estimated the US could be held off for months, but with all elite units stationed in the south to face America, Japan felt it could hold out against the Soviets in the north for only ten days.
- 10:30 AM - The Supreme Council meets.
- 11:00 AM - Tokyo receives news of the Nagasaki bomb.
- 2:30 PM - Japanese cabinet meets and is informed a captured American flier had said, under torture, that the US had 100 bombs and would destroy Tokyo and Kyoto next. The meeting adjourned with no consensus about surrender
Aug 10, 1945 - at 2 AM, the Emperor is asked to decide the matter. He chooses surrender.
Aug 12, 1945 - asked if Japan would continue the war if the integrity of the Emperor were not preserved in the peace treaty, the Emperor replied, "Of course."
Aug 13, 1945 - Gen. Anami on Aug. 13 remarked that the atomic bombings were no more menacing than the fire-bombing that Japan had endured for months.
Aug 14, 1945 - an attempted coup against the Emperor is put down
Aug 15, 1945 - Emperor Hirohito's surrender speech to the public and the army is not consistent. When addressing the public, he said, "the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable ... . Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization." When addressing the military, he did not mention the "new and most cruel bomb" but rather said that "the Soviet Union has entered the war against us, [and] to continue the war ... would [endanger] the very foundation of the Empire's existence."
Sept. 2, 1945 - Japan signs peace treaty on battleship Missouri.
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