kingnovel Chapter 794 The Process of Surrender
Chapter 794 The Process of Surrender
On July 27, the Chinese government army successfully recaptured Guilin. In August, the Chinese government army recaptured the entire Guangxi province.
The reason why the Potsdam Declaration was jointly issued by the United States, England and China was that the United States had successfully tested its atomic bomb at that time, and the new president of the United States did not have much interest in the Soviet army's participation in the war against Japan. Therefore, the Soviet government was not invited to negotiate or sign the Potsdam Declaration, which caused strong dissatisfaction among the Soviet government.
On August 18, 1945, the Chinese government and the French government signed a special treaty, whereby the French government returned Guangzhou Bay.
At noon on August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan issued the "Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War" through radio, announcing Japan's unconditional surrender. On August 15, the highest level of the Chinese government also made a radio speech to all Chinese soldiers and civilians and people around the world to celebrate the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan. The whole of China also had a three-day holiday from that day on.
On the day the Japanese government announced its unconditional surrender, the highest level of the Chinese government sent a telegram to General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese China Expeditionary Army, instructing the Japanese army on six surrender principles.
On August 16, the Soviet General Staff issued a statement stating that "the surrender statement issued by the Japanese Emperor on August 15 was only a general declaration of unconditional surrender. The Japanese government did not issue an order to stop hostilities to the armed forces, and the Japanese army is still resisting. Therefore, Japan has not actually surrendered. The Soviet Far East Army will continue to launch offensive operations against the Japanese army.
On August 23, the Soviet army's military operations in northeast China were truly ended only after it occupied the Port of Lushun in northeast China.
On September 9, the surrender ceremony of the Japanese army in the China theater was held in the auditorium of the former Central Military Academy in Nanjing. General Okamura Yasuji, commander-in-chief of the Japanese China Expeditionary Army, and Lieutenant General Kobayashi Asazaburo, chief of staff of the Japanese China Expeditionary Army, presented the surrender letter to Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese government's Army, General He, in Nanjing. After this day, the Japanese troops in China began to surrender to the Chinese government's army one after another.
After the United States dropped its first atomic bomb and the Soviet army attacked China's northeast region, on August 9, 1945, in the air-raid shelter of the Japanese Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, a group of military and political leaders of the Japanese government were fiercely debating the current situation.
As the foreign minister of the Japanese government, Shigenori Togo threw up his hands dejectedly, fell on the sofa and said to everyone: "From the current domestic and international situation, we can only surrender unconditionally on the premise of maintaining the national system and preserving the emperor system."
Because, in July, the United States, England and China issued the "Potsdam Declaration of China, the United States and Britain Urging Japan to Surrender", urging the Japanese government to surrender immediately and unconditionally, otherwise Japan would be completely destroyed.
Later, on August 6, the United States Air Force dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. In addition, the Soviet government also declared war on Japan and sent a large number of troops to attack the Japanese Kwantung Army stationed in the northeast of China.
They gathered together because just after midnight, more than one million Soviet troops launched a fierce offensive against the 700,000 Japanese Kwantung Army in Northeast China.
As the Foreign Minister of the Japanese government, Shigenori Togo is well aware that under the current circumstances, Japan is like a broken sailboat and will soon sink in the wind and rain.
However, not every Japanese politician was willing to accept such an outcome. After listening to the words of Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, Admiral Toyoda, Chief of the Navy Command, frowned and said, "If you want to surrender, in addition to maintaining Japan's existing national system, there must be three conditions attached. The first is that the Japanese government will deal with war criminals on its own, the second is that the Japanese army will disarm itself on its own, and the third is that the Allied forces will not occupy the Japanese mainland."
"Instead of unconditional surrender, it is better to carry out a decisive battle on our home soil. We will have a decisive battle with the American army on our home soil. Although we cannot be sure of victory, our army can still fight. If we fight well, we can repel the landing American army. Therefore, I firmly oppose unconditional surrender." The Japanese government's Army Minister General Anami Korechika stood up, slammed the table and angrily interrupted the words of the Chief of the Navy Command, General Toyoda Fuetake.
The debate in the conference room resulted in no results for the meeting. On the afternoon of August 9, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki convened a cabinet meeting.
At the cabinet meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki made a brief statement, and then Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo reported on the Soviet Union's entry into the war and various reactions after the atomic bomb explosion. Finally, Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo proposed that Japan should surrender, and a debate broke out in the meeting again.
Finally, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki consulted the ministers attending the cabinet meeting whether they should accept the Potsdam Declaration of the United States, China and Britain urging Japan to surrender unconditionally. As a result, six people in the cabinet meeting expressed support for surrender, three expressed opposition to surrender, and the other five did not express their opinion.
Prime Minister Suzuki Kantaro looked at everyone in the cabinet meeting helplessly and said: "Since the cabinet cannot make a decision, we have to report it to the emperor and let his Majesty decide."
The subsequent Imperial Conference was still held in the air-raid shelter of the Japanese Imperial Palace. Japanese Emperor Hirohito also came to the conference room. Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki first asked the clerk to read the contents of the "Potsdam Declaration by the United States, China and Britain urging Japan to surrender."
Then, Prime Minister Suzuki Kantaro read out the draft proposal to Emperor Hirohito of Japan: "The Japanese government is ready to accept the terms set out in the joint declaration issued at Potsdam on July 26, 1945, signed by the governments of the United States, England, China, and later by the Soviet Union, but it should be understood that the above declaration does not contain any demands that would undermine the prerogatives of Your Majesty as the supreme ruler of Japan."
Then, the Japanese government's Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo respectfully said to the Japanese Emperor: "Your Majesty, for Japan, although it is not honorable to accept the Potsdam Declaration of the United States, the United Kingdom and China to urge Japan to surrender, Japan has to accept it under the current circumstances. In addition, the emergence of the atomic bomb and the Soviet Union's declaration of war on us have changed the situation rapidly, which has made the other side even tougher."
Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo paused for a moment and continued, "At this moment, we can only put forward one condition, that is, to maintain the system of His Majesty the Emperor. As long as His Majesty the Emperor can preserve it, then our Yamato nation will have a day of revival."