Article

2005-04-16 China-Japan-Koreas

Sub wreck could reveal WWII Japanese peace offer

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Posted by Steve White 2005-04-16 12:18:39 AM|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I doubt the Japanese were willing to try a peace offer in 44. If they did, I doubt this sub has the only evidence.

Still, a pretty exciting salvage operation. I think it is a bit much that the DEA wants to get involved.

Posted by penguin 2005-04-16 12:20:35 AM|| 2005-04-16 12:20:35 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Gold and opium, huh?

Sounds like a Goering operation to me.

Posted by mojo 2005-04-16 12:24:13 AM|| 2005-04-16 12:24:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Being that it is in international waters, a war grave and he has permission fron the government of Japan the DEA can sod off.

Posted by Sock Puppet 0â Doom 2005-04-16 12:25:51 AM|| [http://www.slhess.com] 2005-04-16 12:25:51 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Hmmmmmmmm - June 23, 1942 was after the Battle of Midway, where Japan lost four of its best heavy carriers. Was it sunk by the Allies or the Germans? Its doubtful an angry America, still seething from Pearl Harbor and the post-Dec 7th attacks and losses in the Pacific, would have wanted peace, nor would've even been amenable to Japan save at Japan withdrawing from everywhere and compensating the USA for the damages or losses to the assets of its armed forces. Germany, on the other hand, viewed America as its main threat in any regional or international war, moreso than Stalin's Russia or the Brit's - it would've needed Japan to tie down major US forces in the Pacific!?

Posted by JosephMendiola 2005-04-16 12:26:48 AM|| [http://n/a] 2005-04-16 12:26:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 JM: Germany, on the other hand, viewed America as its main threat in any regional or international war, moreso than Stalin's Russia or the Brit's

I doubt this - Germany's best troops were placed on the Eastern Front. The Germans were worried about a second front, but the Atlantic Ocean was a pretty big physical barrier to cross, from a purely logistical standpoint.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2005-04-16 1:17:22 AM|| [http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-04-16 1:17:22 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 "They mistakenly believed the vessel might be carrying information about atomic bombs, hence the order to destroy it before it reached its destination."
Bite me!
an interesting link on Enigma

Posted by Gleaper Cleregum9549 2005-04-16 2:07:14 AM|| 2005-04-16 2:07:14 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 Those poor Japanese. What did they ever do to deserve such brutal treatment!

Posted by gromky 2005-04-16 3:14:31 AM|| 2005-04-16 3:14:31 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Yes, GC, I caught that too - yet another unilateral attack by the US based on bad intelligence. Goes to show you can't ever ally yourself w/ the Merkins, they're usually wrong and attack poor innocent fascists.

Posted by too true 2005-04-16 7:54:43 AM|| 2005-04-16 7:54:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 The real issue here is that the Japanese government had other ways to convey a peace offer if they really wanted to do that.

Fine with me if you tell DEA to sod off. Of course, Mr. Tidwell can expect to be the recipient of a lot of DEA interest over the next few years if he raises the sub. His finances will make fascinating reading for some people too, I suspect.

If he doesn't intend to make off with the opium, and if he wants to prevent a crew member or Japanese official or whomever from doing the same, he should make that part of the operation very visible.

Posted by too true 2005-04-16 7:57:48 AM|| 2005-04-16 7:57:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 too true-I would be very suprised if the containers of opium are still viable. Saltwater seepage through the containers would have contaminated the opium, possibly leading to an unusable mess rather than a viable drug. But he might be able to sell such things to a pharmaceutical company that wants to use it to make medicines (if we even still use real opium for that sort of thing).

I sincerely doubt that there was any serious talk of a peace deal. 'Saving face' is why they waited until the atom bombs being used before getting serious about surrender, even then it almost didn't happen.

Posted by Jame Retief 2005-04-16 8:26:44 AM|| 2005-04-16 8:26:44 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 JM - It was June 23, 1944, well more than two years after Midway, just a couple weeks after D-Day when the Germans still had confidence they could hold in the West and, in the Pacific, the Americans had just invaded Saipan in the Marianas. We still hadn't reached the Phillippines, much less Iwo or Okinawa yet.

Nevertheless I seriously doubt the Japanese really gave surrender much thought before the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October, '44), when their navy was effectively destroyed. I think they, like Hitler, held out thinking the first introduction of jets, nuclear weapons, and other technology combined with their "pure" ideology would save their collective ass.

Posted by Dar 2005-04-16 8:42:14 AM|| 2005-04-16 8:42:14 AM|| Front Page Top

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