Reports

of

General MacArthur

 

MACARTHUR IN JAPAN:
THE OCCUPATION: MILITARY PHASE

VOLUME I SUPPLEMENT

 

 

 

5 Star Rank

 

PREPARED BY HIS GENERAL STAFF


 

 

 

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-60006

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facsimile Reprint, 1994

CMH Pub 13-4


FOREWORD

The Reports of General MacArthur include two volumes being published by the Department of the Army in four books reproduced exactly as they were printed by General MacArthur's Tokyo headquarters in 1950, except for the addition of this foreword and indexes. Since they were Government property, the general turned over to the Department in 1953 these volumes and related source materials. In Army and National Archives custody these materials have been available for research although they have not been easily accessible. While he lived, General MacArthur was unwilling to approve the reproduction and dissemination of the Reports, because he believed they needed further editing and correction of some inaccuracies. His passing permits publication but not the correction he deemed desirable. In publishing them, the Department of the Army must therefore disclaim any responsibility for their accuracy. But the Army also recognizes that these volumes have substantial and enduring value, and it believes the American people are entitled to have them made widely available through government publication.

The preliminary work for compiling the MacArthur volumes began in 1943 within the G-3 Section of his General Staff, and was carried forward after the war by members of the G-2 Section, headed by Maj. Gen. Charles A. Willoughby with Professor Gordon W. Prange, on leave from the University of Maryland, as his principal professional assistant. Volume II of the Reports represents the contributions of Japanese officers employed to tell their story of operations against MacArthur's forces. The very large number of individuals, American and Japanese, who participated in the compilation and editing of the Reports would make a complete listing of contributors relatively meaningless.

Volume I narrates the operations of forces under General MacArthur's command from the Japanese attack on Luzon in 1941 through the surrender in 1945. While service histories have covered much of the same ground in separate volumes, no single detailed narrative of General MacArthur's leadership as commander of the Southwest Pacific Area has yet appeared. Chapters dealing with the reconquest of Borneo, plans for the invasion of Japan, and the Japanese surrender make a distinctly new contribution. Volume I Supplement describes the military phase of the occupation through December 1948, reporting events not treated elsewhere in American publications. Volume II on Japanese operations brings together a mass of information on the enemy now only partially available in many separate works. Collectively, the Reports should be of wide interest and value to the American people generally, as well as to students of military affairs. They are an illuminating record of momentous events influenced in large measure by a distinguished American soldier.

 

Washington, D.C.
January 1966
HAROLD K. JOHNSON
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff

iii


FOREWORD TO THE 1994 EDITION

I determined for several reasons to republish General MacArthur's reports to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of World War II. First, the Reports of General MacArthur still stand as a detailed account from MacArthur's perspective of his operations against the Japanese in the Southwest Pacific Area. Second, the Reports offer a unique Japanese version of their operations in the Southwest Pacific that remains one of the few English-language descriptions of Imperial Army campaigns during World War II. Third, excellent illustrations, many of them original artwork commissioned for the Reports, plus superb maps give these volumes an enduring value for military historians and the American public. Finally, while General MacArthur remains a towering figure in American historiography, the passage of fifty years has dimmed the contributions of the U.S. Army units that first checked the Japanese southward advance in Papua New Guinea, then spearheaded the counteroffensive along the north New Guinea coastline that enabled MacArthur to make good his promise to return to the Philippines. The veterans of these campaigns, both men and women, deserve to be remembered for their contributions to the Nation in its time of greatest peril. These are General MacArthur's Reports, but they are also his testament to the American soldiers who served under his command.

 

 

Washington, D.C.
31 January 1994
HAROLD W. NELSON
Brigadier General, USA
Chief of Military History

iv


PREFACE

". . . . I have noticed some impatience in the Press based upon the assumption of a so-called soft policy in Japan.

". . . . The first phase of the Occupation was of necessity based upon military considerations which involved the deployment forward of our troops and the disarming and demobilization of the enemy. This was coupled with the paramount consideration of removing former prisoners of war and war internees from the internment camps and evacuating them to their homes.

". . . . When the first phase was completed, the other phases as provided in the surrender terms infallibly followed in a prompt, complete and entire fulfillment of the terms of surrender.

". . . . Economically and industrially, as well as militarily, Japan was exhausted and depleted. Her governmental structure was controlled completely by the occupation forces and was operating only to the extent necessary to prevent social chaos, disease and starvation. . . . . . . ."

 

DOUGLAS MACARTHUR

 

 

 

v


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter
 
Page
I
4
10
11
12
19
       Japanese Reactions
23
24
       The Eve of Occupation
25
II
       The Spearhead
28
       Triumphal Entry
39
41
45
47
53
55
       Year-End Summary
56
57
58
62
65
III
67
67
69
69
71
73
75
82
82
84
IV
90
92
94
96
99
102
109
114
115
V
117
120
120
123
126
127
134
136
       Methods of Disposal
140
142
143
VI
       The Task
150
       Policies
151
       The Plan
151
152
155
158
159
161
       Return of Koreans
164
       Pacific Ocean Areas
166
       Philippine Islands
168
       Ryukyu Islands
169
       China Theater
170
       Southeast Asia
176
       Australian Areas
179
179
187
       Summary: 1945-1948
191
VII
194
       Formative Period
198
201
203
       Economic Division
212
219
222
       Procurement Demand
227
       General Conclusion
230
VIII
231
232
233
              Civil Intelligence Section
233
              Operations Branch
233
              Civil Censorship Detachment
236
              441st Counter Intelligence Corps
241
              Public Safety Division
244
254
       Internal Subversion
256
       Repatriation
258
260
264
265
IX
268
270
273
275
275
275
277
278
281
283
286
       Repatriation
288
288
289

 

ILLUSTRATIONS

Plate
 
Page
1
3
2
5
3
8
4
9
5
13
6
15
7
18
8
20
9
22
10
26
11
30
12
33
13
37
14
40
15
43
16
46
17
48
18
50
19
54
20
59
21
61
22
63
23
68
24
70
25
72
26
77
27
83
28
85
29
87
30
91
31
98
32
101
33
103
34
107
35
110
36
121
37
124
38
125
39
128
40
129
41
132
42
133
43
137
44
139
45
141
46
144
47
146
48
148
49
153
50
156
51
160
52
163
53
167
54
171
55
175
56
177
57
180
58
182
59
185
60
188
61
190
62
192
63
196
64
197
65
200
66
202
67
204
68
207
69
210
70
215
71
218
72
221
73
225
74
228
75
234
76
237
77
242
78
245
79
246
80
248
81
250
82
252
83
253
84
259
85
261
86
266
87
269
88
272
89
274
90
276
91
279
92
282
93
285
94
287
95
292


Search CMH Online
Last updated 11 December 2006