Redeployment! - Millions of men from Europe to Asia - WW2 Documentary Special
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- Опубликовано: 4 июн 2024
- Now that Japan is the only Axis power still in the fight, Allied forces- especially American ones- must redeploy to prepare for the final invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. But how do you move millions of men halfway around the globe? And which ones go- veterans or new recruits, or some combination? Who decides? Where exactly do you send them to prepare too, with some many eastern ports like Manila a shambles? Let's take a look.
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Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Marek Kamiński
Community Management: Jake McCluskey
Written by: Tom Aldis and Indy Neidell
Research by: Tom Aldis
Map animations by: Daniel Weiss
Map research by: Sietse Kenter
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Artwork and color grading by: Mikołaj Uchman
Sound design by: Marek Kamiński
Colorizations by:
Mikołaj Uchman
Source literature list: bit.ly/SourcesWW2
Archive footage: Screenocean/Reuters - www.screenocean.com
Image sources:
National Security Research Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Underlying Truth - Howard Harper-Barnes
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Let Go of Fear - Howard Harper-Barnes
On the Edge of Change - Brightarm Orchestra
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The research for this episode was done by Tom Aldis, who's a pretty new addition to our gang of historians. He began by doing some Out of the Foxholes work for us and then his first full special was the Kikusui Kamikaze one last month, which was great. This is Indy writing, by the way, and I'm doing so because I thought you guys might want to say hi to Tom here and tell him what an awesome guy and a great historian he is (and why would we hire him otherwise?)
The kamikaze special was interesting, great job.
Good job in conveying this screwy and convoluted program!
Are multiple historians considered a "gang"? Why not a "gaggle"?
Asking for a friend.......
Hello tom! Your work was appreciated by me great job!
My dad was US army and was scheduled to go in with the 1st wave. Being a medic he was a primary target. He always said thank God for that damned bomb.
Surely green troops are perfect for jungle warfare, they'd blend in better
😂nice one
Good one.
Too bad there are no jungles in Japan. ;-)
@@poiuyt975
G'day,
Not in the Rice Paddies, but wherever Japan is too steep to conduct AggroKulture, they appear to leave it forested, to better protect the Watershed from Erosion - perhaps.
Therefore the USAAC funded the development of the Defoliant "Agent Orange", and Palletised Tanks & Pumps & Spraybar-Kits to retrofit onto Cargo Aircraft..., the better to
Defoliate all those
Rice-Paddies.
Atom-Bombing 2 Cities resulted in all that stockpiled Defoliant & Application-Equipment being already in Warehouses, pre-painted
Green - ready to go, when
Westmoreland called for
Operation Ranch Hand, during
Vietnam's
AmeriKan War...
True story.
I read it in a book. An authoritative Book too, concerning
Chemical Warfare..., late 1980s vintage.
Such is life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
Good one!
@@WarblesOnALot Your handle is quite appropriate.
My dad fought in the European Theatre beginning in North Africa until the end of the war in Europe. He was offered a chance to go to OCS and then be deployed to the Asian Theatre. He respectfully declined and went home instead. The short of it is, he’d had enough of war.
I don't blame him. War's hell.
@@Adamu98 “War is Hell”
I'll bet he was not the only one to take that option.
so he was not John Wayne then ! smart guy your old man
@@bensouthwell1339he was the guy John Wayne pretended to be ❤
There was the classic Bill Mauldin cartoon in which Willy is greeting his son for the first time with; "Come here ya' little 12 point rascal!"
I love that thumbnail, the wall of crazy works well for massive logistics
Gen. Marshall as Charlie from Always Sunny!!
@@lesyankee6129 it fits perfectly!
It was Tom's idea!
@@WorldWarTwo give Tom a promotion!
Especially before the internet and computers. I can’t imagine what kind of chaos this would have been like
Recently met a gentleman through his daughter. He is 102 and told me that he was serving in the Philippines and preparing to head to Japan when the surrender came in. The stories he must have to tell about that time.
My dad had been in the army unit that replaced the Marines on Guadalcanal. He also was in the Philippines waiting. He did know he was to be in the 1st wave in the invasion, he was a medic and that made him a primary target. He always said thank God for that damned bomb
he better make sure he's told them into a microphone, he could catch a cold or something at that age
source: my pop has stories too, we didn't record them and now they're wind
What a life he must have lived in his youth, thanks for sharing.
Meanwhile, in the USSR. Soldiers that have not completed their conscription service before the war started, are left in the army to complete it, regardless of how many years they served during the war.
Well their about to see some action in Asia too....
they were mainly responsible for the defeat of both nations
Hahahaha. Sure buddy.@@chaseroberts3111
Meanwhile, in the USSR, train goes choo choo
@@konstantinriumin2657 "I'll never know, I'll never know, why I was taken from the line with all the others
To board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia" - Al Stewart, Roads to Moscow
My grandfather was in the navy stationed at Dutch Harbor. When the war in Europe ended they were told “report to the docks at X time unless you’re going to have to wait a week to leave.” Somewhere on the way back the ship stopped and they were told “if your name is called, you need to go topside. We’re meeting up with a transfer ship and you’re going to Midway.” His name was called. We actually just found his photo album from WW2 a few days ago.
Can't fathom how someone's heart would sink hearing their name like that. Thank you to your gramps for his service!
I can only imagine the anxiety of soldiers who served in Europe and are going to be bound for the Pacific for the invasion. Surely they would have heard all the horror stories from Iwo Jima, Okinawa, etc. They don't know what is coming in August and think that certain injury or death is coming. It must have been a terrifying time.
I’m sure it was a lot of anxiety, you survived d day, liberating France, market garden and bulge and The Rhine. Your nerves must be shot
Now all of sudden you got to go to japan and try to survive that and you already hear stories of Japanese troops fighting to the death. That would cause any soldier to feel a lot of anxiety.
Indeed. However, dying without Christ is more terrifying than anything else. Hell awaits any who doesn't get close to Him.
@@HebrewsElevenTwentyFive Essentially correct, but stated with unnecessary bluntness and clumsy timing.
I once met a Canadian Vet who received such an order after VE day and was terrified of the prospect of going back into battle on the other side of the world. His Platoon Commander tried to calm him down by saying that the war would be over soon, but that being called for Japanese service would have him sent back to Canada sooner, which is what actually happened.
@@penultimateh766incorrect
Invading Kanto will be hard with Moltress, Articuno, and Zapdos
that's fine, we won't run into zapdos as long as we don't hit the power plant
I heard from the Brits they've been working on a "super pokemon" on Cinibar island too
Ah, logistics! The key to military victory that nobody talks about enough!
I love special episodes. And I especially love special episodes dedicated to the most underrated part of warfare (the logistics).
Agree
Napoleon put it well into a maxim: "An army marches on stomachs."
Wars can be won on lost based on logistics.
Thanks for watching!
OMG! As a veteran, Indy's ability to deliver his line about army bureaucracy, as a straight line, nearly had me fall out of my chair laughing!
I had to pause the video I was laughing so hard.
I knew there would be a few veterans in the comments that would appreciate that line when I heard it. Thank you for your service.
I’m not a veteran, but spent 36 years of my life doing blue collar work for one of the biggest companies in the world and I laughed at it as well. Any giant organization has their SNAFUs.
Glad you enjoyed, thanks for watching!
i hope you guys would do the same for Soviet redeployment from European Front to Manchurian Front as well, they are very rarely talked about but millions of these guys literally being redeployed half a world away, how do Soviet Bureaucracy and infrastructures cope with that?
As usual. Somehow.
That would be really cool to see, and besides that, the Soviet point of view of Japan surrendering isn't commonly known either.
As in typical commie fashion... probably very inefficiently.
@9:57 One of my uncle's, one of the brothers of my mother, (maternal uncle?) who was in the 45th Division found himself under orders for redeployment and further training for the invasion of Japan. He had just been released from hospital for wounds and was in barracks with his unit when a fellow came running through the barracks screaming. "It's Over, It's Over. They dropped the SuperBomb on Japan!!"
He said at that point he realized he might survive the war.
Operation Downfall... Such a badass name
My Uncle Jerry (Genaro Budetti)) had just won the Bronze Star during the Battle of the Bulge, and now was sent to the Pacific. He was a skilled mechanic with the NYC Subway System, because of that he was not called to service immediately. He was 35 years old and married, no children put all this together and he wound up in the Philippines. He received additional decorations there and picked up Malaria. What did he do when demobilized? He went back to his wife and resumed to his job as a train mechanic. Not atypical of that wonderful generation,
Sounds like he would have had some stories, thanks for sharing.
Thank you for noticing.
Speaking of campaign medals, there was such a thing as "The Burma Bus."
Officers, stationed in or transiting through India, but who were not posted to Burma, were ineligible for the award of The Burma Star.
The solution, was to get a lift by air to Cox's Bazaar - a town in the far west of Burma, which the Japanese never occupied.
A few hours flying, a few hours on the ground, get your soldier's book stamped and there you are - a Burma veteran.
Technically, Cox Bazaar is on the India side, but I imagine it was the case of walking to the border.
Listening to how those points were awarded, I would expect that any number of GIs would spend their days trying to figure out ways to game it.
I had a great-uncle who served in Patton's Third Army. He told me that when Japan surrendered, he was aboard one of the ships transferring these troops to the Pacific. Those who had already passed through the Panama Canal continued on to Japan for the occupation. His ship was still on the Atlantic side, so they came home for an earlier discharge. I cannot confirm this story.
I seem to remember reading of some local men on their way from Europe to the Pacific via the Caribbean. On their way, they stopped in Puerto Rico and their orders were changed so they came back to mainland USA to be discharged.
My great grandfather served in the later part of Pacific Theater as an airplane mechanic, was part of the US occupation force in Japan after the war, where he fell in love with a local Japanese woman who thereafter went with him, then he was transferred to Germany, then back to Japan/Korea to fight during the Korean war, finally he returned to the US with his new wife to settle down in Iowa.
Oh, nice! How long were they married for?
He fought as an airplane mechanic?
As someone who currently is a conscript in my country, during wartime, and as a logistics soldier to be precise, I just have to say that I feel the sheer amount of pain all those in administration and logistics of these moves went through.
We are the unspoken fighters of the wars, but despite all the hassle and lack of support for our jobs, I am still glad to know I and others like me are doing the work that needs to be done
Shalom brother
Dad was being rerouted to play in Japan but there wasn’t much need for his Tank Destroyer skills. Instead he wound up in the Philippines mopping up scattered Japanese resistance along with his platoon of Philippine Scouts. He always said he got shot at more after the war than when it was still officially on.
My Uncle, who worked on aircraft navigation AIDS was drafted in 1940. He was held over in Germany repairing airports in Europe until at least the middle of 1946. He did have kids at the time. But he did work in a critical craft. He saw no combat, but was in Iceland, Greenland, and the UK before D-day working on various airfields.
From an administrative standpoint it was probably easier to justify keeping guys like your uncle around. Not only did they have specialist skills that were not as easily replaced, but their non-combat roles meant that both soldier and their family back home knew it was only a matter of time before they got to go home. There was never a question of whether they would die in combat before going home, and I imagine that made it a lot easier on everyone involved relative to the discussion with front line combat troops and their families.
This is quite an interesting Special episode here, often less attention is paid to this aspect of the war. Thank you as always World War Two team!
And thank you for watching!
1 year ago i was waiting excitedly for d day hour by hour. Your greatest work team ww2.😮
Thank you for your kind words!
-Timeghost Ambassador
My dad spent three years in England and then after D-Day in Europe. Involved in several operations and got a. bronze star and still received orders for CBI. Was packed and ready to go and the orders were changed. He was a radio operator so that may be why he was stuck in France until late October 45. I saw a letter he wrote to my mother where he was mad about the long deployment, but he said at least I am alive to complain.
Wow! This episode reminded me of something. My Dad was in the U.S. Army in 1940. When war were declared (or possibly before), the soldiers were issued special IDs to carry with them overseas. At some point, this ID must have proven an administrative headache because the Army stopped doing it. My Dad said when replacements arrived in '43, they'd be kidded about not having their 'special military passport ID' such they may not be able to ship home when the time came. This episode also reminds me of the acronyms, FUBAR and SNAFU which I learned when I worked for the Navy. I'm also reminded of something attributed (I think) to Eugene McCarthy, i.e., 'The only thing that saves us from bureaucracy is it's inefficiency". Great episode. Thanks.
My Grandfather's Engineer unit entered the European theater in January of 1945.
According to what the family knows they were building fuel pipelines and repairing civilian infrastructure, water systems etc.
His unit was transferred out of Europe on a ship bound for the Pacific from Marsrilles, France in late April ot early May 1945.
The ship passed through the Panama Canal on July 4th, 1945 and the unit was sent to the Philippines for the remainder of the war.
Truman had no choice about using the bomb. It's fantasy to think that he did.
I expect an incredibly fair and balanced examination of the morality of the Bomb from War Against Humanity as well as an equally well done military analysis on the main feed.
Suppose Truman had not used the bomb and the invasion took place with the casualties being in the 100s of thousands. Now imagine, perhaps long after the war, that knowledge of the bomb's existence became widespread with the realization that the invasion could have been avoided had the bomb been used. What would have been the reaction of the American people? Outrage, perhaps? Truman's name would have been Mudd.
Dude, the japanese already had said they wanted to surrrender but they wanted the emperor to stay.. USA didnt allow that... then bombed them and surprise surprise, the emperor was allowed to stay....Indeed, 15 days before the bomb's drops the japanese had offered this deal.. and you tell me thaty didnt have another choice.. ok man.. ok...
@Trikipum they wanted the Emperor to stay, they wanted to keep the territories they still occupied, they wanted to keep their army, and they wanted to conduct their own war crimes trials. Big difference
@@Trikipum You are incorrect. Japan's terms were to end the war, they keep their possessions, no war criminals to be prosecuted, no occupation, keep their military intact and they keep the emperor.
These were not acceptable to the US or anyone else.
After we dropped the bombs, the surrender was unconditional, and we let them keep the Emperor.
I feel that until the bombs were dropped Japan would have forced an invasion. this would have cost at least 1 million American servicemen. Truman did not have a choice
Most interesting. My father, a field gunner with 53rd (Welsh) Division had fought his way up from Normandy to Flensburg by VE Day.
He was then posted to Hamburg and later to Italy and the Greece, waiting for the seemingly inevitable trip to the Far East.
His brother had died on December 1941 (Hong Kong) and the assumption was that an invasion of mainland Japan would cost millions of lives.
He spoke of the resigned anxiety among those who had fought and the brimming excitement among those who had arrived after VE Day and we're keen to have a go.
I have never in my life (Gen X, knowing vets from WWII, Korean War, Viet Nam) known a veteran of heavy combat that were excited about the idea of another fight. Those kids were lucky they didn't get deployed. Your father must have looked on them with pity.
@@recoil53 the japs were so loathed a lot of Brits wanted a crack at them, maybe a change of mind when they got out there tho.
what was his deployment in greece like? Did he participate in the greek civil war?
@@sleepyuser5189 He spoke about it only tangentially, but I have some knowledge of the history and I know where he was - and when. He has been dead for many years.
He was conflicted even before he volunteered. He had been an active schoolboy pacifist and he volunteered as somehow the "least bad option". The losses among friends and family softened Jo's views, but did not broadly change them.
He was also of the left. Strong socialist but not communist.
He favoured the ELAS view.
He was there during the confusion of late 1945, in the North, near the Yugoslav border.
He spoke sometimes in riddles:
"One of the hardest things in war is to be told that once the peace has been agreed, the people you saw as your allies are now your foe".
I know that troubled him greatly.
I wasn't there. I have only what I can still recall of his anecdotes.
He wasn't there for the actual Civil War, but he was there as it was fomented over the ashes of the occupation.
@@sleepyuser5189 I worked with a guy that missed WW2 but called up for the Greek civil war, His job ..... with the Medical Officer was to fumigate all the Brothels the the british soldiers may perhaps visit. "A good war" I think had he is the correct term used by the British Squaddies.
Right now in the time line, large number of Soviet forces are also being sent to the far East, for their upcoming entry into the Japanese war.
Ah yes, the great Soviet war against the Japanese who had surrendered.
@@seanlander9321 They actually invaded China/Manchuria from the north, my dude. I’m not sure why I’m reading a lot of comments denigrating the Russians/Soviets on this video. You don’t have to be pro-communist to appreciate the sacrifices of the red army. It was a team effort, and at that time, and for myriad reasons, we happened to be on the same team.
@@ltdowney What relevance is it that Russia invaded Manchuria? Japan asked the Soviets to broker a surrender. Atomic bombs dropped. Japan surrenders and the Soviets are at war with a country that has given in. Japan’s surrender had nothing to do with the Soviets, the show was over by the time Stalin took the opportunity for a land grab from a country that had given up.
@@seanlander9321because the Japanese didn't surrender immediately after the atomic bomb. The immediacy of the Soviets attacking caused a lot of panic in Japan. The whole thing is a lot bigger and more complicated than you think it is.
@@scandalchannel4671 The Soviets caused no panic because they hadn’t any means to get across the sea to Japan. As the Emperor confirmed in his surrender, it was the bombs that finally forced his hand.
Western front has fallen
Millions must redeploy
This made me recall that most famous of phrases from 2003 onwards, "stop loss".
This channel is fantastic, nothing more to say.
That is a great subject to cover! Will you also cover the SOviet redeployment to the Far East? The scale of it was pretty comparable I think
On one track. For thousands and thousands of miles. Just crazy.
I'm waiting for the McMuffin!
I know.. you made a funny… but a McGuffin is a thing to trigger a plot… just saying
How will America cope?
*Oppenheimer enters the chat*
Maybe MacArthur can draft Godzilla?
No....but he can create Godzilla.
My Canadian Uncle was on a troop ship in Halifax. He was a guard of POW's before. They said wait then sent him home.
American soldier at VE Day: The war's over! I made it! I survived! I can go home!
American brass: There's still Japan to beat. Pack your gear, solder, and prepare to be redeployed to the Pacific.
American soldier: Ah, _shit..._
"Aw shit, here we go again"
Love your videos! Thank you for your history service!
Thank you for the thanks, and thanks for watching!
My Dad was sent to China from Okinawa for training for the invasion of Japan. He didn't get back home until early 1946.
There was a US troop presence in China through the early part of 1946.
I remember the end of Band of Brothers the episode was called “Points."
I remember watching it and saying to myself, "imagine having to go fight in the Pacific after having to go through the European conflict. The thought of that had to be very anxiety-ridden!
It's Always Sunny in Japan, so much so they might experience a couple extra sunrises soon.
Oppenheimer moment
Lmfaooooooo
by dawn's early light...
Here comes the sun dododo
Dolphin and Whale, or is it A chicken and a cow?
Dad was on the German French border when ETO was over. Sent by rail down the Rhone valley to Marseilles, sailed to Panama canal, sailed to Luzon. Fought on northern Luzon. Scheduled for Operation Olympic in November.
My Dad's unit -- 10th Mountain Division -- was to be redeployed from Italy to the Pacific. They had seen relatively little combat as compared to other divisions, so the division could be transferred & lose few men who had all of their points. Fortunately (if I may so), Hiroshima happened before the division could be mobilized onto ships for Operation Downfall.
From veterans of the time, for many soldiers it was a pretty lax time. I had an uncle in another unit who described it as the brass not knowing what to do with all of these soldiers, so he was sent on leave for a month. When he returned to base, the brass still didn't know what they were going to do, so he was sent on leave for another month!
My Uncle John fought in Europe, first with the 45th infantry and then with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy, France and Germany, earning 4 bronze stars in the process and, as an assistant squad leader had to assume leadership of the platoon after his unit was decimated. He was captured (twice) and served the last 6 months of the war in a German POW camp (Stalag V-A). After the camp was liberated and V-E day came and went, he got a little R&R and then suddenly found himself on a troop ship heading to the Pacific when Japan finally surrendered. He only really started opening up about his time in the war in the last few years of his life, but I'm grateful I got a chance to hear the tales.
My Father was a Navigator with the US 15th airforce in Italy. He was close to 50 missions When he was shot down on May 31 1944. He was a POW from June to Sept. Shipped home for a month of POW leave. Return to find all his points were wipe out and he was off to the Pacific to fly in B-29.
oof
Soviets had pretty much the same problem - some troops had to move to the east, some stay for occupation and some demobilised. But no one cared about what people think, so Stavka just decided which troops must be redeployed for a war with Japan. 2 million men were redeployed thousands of kilometers to the east. And some troops in the east which didn't participate in war in Europe now had to go to fight with Japanese.
Luckily they got to fight the dregs of the Kwangtung Army, after Japan pulled all their last good troops and shipped them to Kyushu. It's going to be a cakewalk for them.
@@pax6833 still it a was formidable force of nearly 700K. Most of them were captured and became POWs.
love to know about the challenges for tiger-force and the commonwealth countries. I would suspect their enthusiasm for redeployment to the Pacific was somewhat less than the USA (excluding ANZAC forces as it was their backyard)
They don't need MacGuffin - they need the Gadget 😅
The it’s always sunny thumbnail is perfect lol
Tom's idea!
You do gotta wonder if there was at least one unit that somehow had the best/worst luck to get to Europe after the end of combat only to get told they’re going to the Pacific only to get delayed getting there until after Okinawa was over and so never saw any combat
The 13th airborne division
@@joeywheelerii9136 thank you
Most American army units that were getting redeployed to the Pacific never saw combat against the Japan. Most, if not all the troops fighting in Okinawa were units that had already been in the Pacific theatre before VE day.
@@TrailBlazer65I know the 10th Mountain Division was one of the last deployed to Europe -- they saw combat there -- one of the first to be brought back to the US, but by the time they reached Fort Lewis on the West Coast it was all over.
I have the machete that was in the jungle gear issued to my great uncle at the end of the campaign in Europe. He used it to clear brush on his property all the way up to the 90’s
Tom, you're an awesome guy and a great historian! Logistics wins wars.
I made sure he saw this post.
-TimeGhost Ambassador
My Uncle Ernest was in an artillery unit that had just arrived in Europe when the war ended there. His unit was then sent to Manila for the build up.
The British army were also redeploying. My father was in the Navy and already in the Pacific but his uncles - at least some of them - were slated for redeployment to the Far East and weren't at all keen on it. Some British troops hadn't seen home for about 10 years given that they were stationed overseas before the war I think they were especially pissed off.
I didn’t think there was enough still going on to necessitate a special anytime soon, but here we are
Sorry there's no mention of other allies. My Dad got home to Canada in June 1945, (his ship, HMCS New Glasgow, was under repair in Scotland until early June after ramming and causing a scuttle of a U-boat off of Northern Ireland in March) and was awaiting redeployment to the Pacific from east coast Canada in September. Instead, as it turned out, September brought about his discharge in time to begin a term at a local University.
My father in law served in Africa and Europe... My dad only in the Atlantic ocean, really. He was a doctor on a research and weather ship.
Fascinating to think about the practicalities of dealing fairly with the vast numbers of impatient soldiers. And an even more impatient civilian population.
Yet there are often comments relating to Patton and the idea of going head to head with the Soviets . . . . never a likely scenario.
I don't think I've ever heard the bombs labeled maguffins. Good one
An unclear McGuffin?
Had to be part of the decision process.
What about soldiers that have served in three theaters? Do they get to avoid redeployment and go home?
Did the soviets also have to redeploy from Europe to invade manchuria? Or did they use the troops already stationed there?
There was a lot of transportation during several summer month. There was only one tread of railroad.
@@antasosam8486Yeah, while rail is easier than by sea, it's still a huge undertaking.
The Fronts in the eastern USSR were largely gutted to fight in Europe. They'll need to ship troops by rail.
Since they were producing large amounts of tanks and other war material and also getting stuff from the use they could start to stockpile equipment and send the troops once the war in Europe is over.
Imagine doing all those calculations without Excel, sorting tools, functions, not even computers & networks, just paper-pencil-rubber.
THIS is modern war!
The thumbnail is brilliant!
Thank you for this brilliant presentation
Glad you enjoyed!
The extra medals thing reminds me of that Zits comic strip were Jeremy's mom was done with the dishes and then Jeremy brought her a single plate.
Had a great uncle who was a master Sargeant. Was not happy learning he had to stay back another 6 months to organize sending people home
As a Marine dealing with admin was a nightmare. I could only imagine the nightmare in 45
I never cease to be amazed at the logistic capabilities of the armies in WW II, on both sides, but especially on the part of the US. Consider all this was done with paper and phone and radio, with pencil and typewriter. No IT, no faxes, no SKUs or scanners, all material had to be crated and loaded individually, no container shipping, very little use of palletized freight, if any.
Watch the videos about the Berlin airlift to get an idea of how they handled massive logistics with the technology they had at the time. It's astonishing.
Imagine the pile of paper that would have been involved in administering this system for millions of men.
Would this be a good place to discuss Catch 22 and the issues it raises?
Over the decades, I read a couple of things about the idea of redeployment. One was that the soldiers in Europe held the absolute view that they had done their part and prevailed and they deserved to go home. The second was that there were discussions among some soldiers, that got back to the military leadership, that they would mutiny on troop ships if they were being redeployed to the Pacific theater.
You guys should do a special on all the planning for Operation Downfall and all of the alternate plans that were considered.
Tom what a great job! This is really intriguing and interesting! the Point system and the confusion and struggles with redeployment to the Pacific amid a beginning of war weariness.
Good stuff Indy! This made me think of the Band of Brothers Points episode.
This really affected by late Dad's unit. He didn't get home until Thanksgiving Day. His unit always blamed their Battalion's Executive Officer, but maybe that was unfair. The US Army was famous for SNAFU.
I'd love to see a similar episode about other Armies, such as the British or even German armies.
This guy's got a really memorable voice. He's got that Loony Toons vibe goin on.
Did any ground units serve in both Europe then get boots on the ground in the Pacific? I know many individuals did, and Navy ships and probably Aviation units, but armor/infantry?
I know the First Special Service Force had an unopposed landing in the Aleutians before being deployed to Europe. A provisional Marine Brigade garrisoned Iceland before going to the Pacific. Australian Units that fought in North Africa went to the Pacific and I think some British armor went from North Africa to Burma.
Lots of individuals but no units it seems. Of course that would not have been the situation without Japanese surrender prior to Operation Downfall.
Interestingly lots of New Zealander troops went from the Pacific to Europe, rather than the reverse, though also not under the same unit designation. The NZ 3rd division participated in the Solomons Islands campaign in 1943 and 1944 before being disbanded. After it was disbanded, 4,000 men of the division were transferred to Italy as reinforcements for the 2nd Division.
Hey Tom Aldis, great job! Thanks for your hard work, this was fascinating.
On behalf of him, Thank you!
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My mom had four brothers in the Pacific and was keen on seeing the end of the war. My dad had been in the Army in the 1930's, he had been declared an essential war worker, (North American Aviation), but the Navy tried to draft him itwice in 1944, but North American got him out of it. Not by his asking, he was pretty much resigned to being drafted. But if Japan had to have been invaded there is a fair chance that I wouldn't be here to post this.
My dad was in San Francisco when the war the Pacific ended they were getting the ship ready for the invasion of Japan. The greatest generation wasn’t the greatest for three days.
"There is NO Carol in HR!"
My mother's brother who fought as an engineer in the Canadian Army in North Africa, Italy and Normandy to Holland was sent home to Calgary, Alberta in June 1945. He was given a month vacation then went back for training for Japan. On his way to the ship to embark, Japan surrendered. So he got discharged pretty quick and that fall entered university for his engineering degree.
That’s what the post master looks like when letters marked for John Smith need to be sorted
Another super great video
Thanks for your great support!
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It's nice to know that SATO travel has always been a headache, but once they get home the battle isn't over... The next battle these troops have to fight is with DTS.
This is a good window into the strange period after Victory in Europe but before the surrender of Japan when the USA was mobilizing and de-mobilizing at the same time. My father said he spent those months rehearsing for the invasion of Japan by twice-daily amphibious landings on the beaches of South Carolina. He would have been in the Second Wave, the First Wave ashore being combat veterans. He learned many years after the war that if the Japanese had not surrendered by then, that seven atomic bombs were allocated to "soften up" the landing beaches on Kyushu Island, so he would have been inhaling radioactive dust as well as dodging Japanese bullets. I might not be here if the Japanese had not surrendered in time to avoid a contested invasion.
More Ice cream ships will be needed for the Pacific.
I would like to see an episode about the Canadian army's redeployment from Europe to the Pacific, as well. And the British army also. 👌🙃🤠💖
The last episode of band of brothers, where her units and GIs fluent in german were on roadblock duties together. Did that have any real merit? If so, was there animosity between the 2, or were there very cordial and joked like we saw in the series?
Thank you.
You are very welcome and THANK YOU for your incredible support!
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Great episode.
Thank you!
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Hi Indy
Awesome episode.
Kudos to Tom.
Thank you, glad you like it-
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Thanks!
Thank you!
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This might be a stupid question but how did the point system work if you like get captured on the battlefield and you spend like a year or a couple years or even a couple months in a POW camp in Germany
I was aware of the Post VE day discharge point system but I had not realized it was such a bureaucratic nightmare. I assume those problems increased political pressure to use the atomic bomb on Japan. My father served in China and was discharged in Nov '45. His older and younger brothers served in Europe and were discharged in March '46 and Nov '45 respectively.