The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
taskforce consisting of
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
,
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
,
Indian and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
military forces in
occupied Japan
Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the
Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United State ...
, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952.
At its peak, the BCOF committed about 40,000 personnel, that comprised 25% of the occupation force, which was equal to about a third of the number of
US military personnel in Japan.
History
Background
Following the
dropping of atomic bombs and the
entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan, the Japanese Empire surrendered to the Allies on 15 August 1945, with their government accepting the
Potsdam Declaration
The Potsdam Declaration, or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, Uni ...
. The
formal surrender was signed on 2 September in
Tokyo Bay. Unlike in the
occupation of Germany
Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...
, the Soviet Union had little to no influence over the occupation of Japan, leaving the Americans, British and Commonwealth Forces responsible for occupation duties.
Whilst
US forces were responsible for military government, the BCOF was responsible for supervising
demilitarisation and the
disposal of Japan's war industries. The BCOF was also responsible for the occupation of the western prefectures of
Shimane,
Yamaguchi,
Tottori,
Okayama,
Hiroshima and
Shikoku Island
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
. BCOF headquarters was at
Kure
is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan ...
, a naval port near
Hiroshima. At the height of its involvement, the British Commonwealth Occupation Force was responsible for 20 million Japanese citizens in an area of around 57,000 km
2.
Occupation
The participation of BCOF in the Allied occupation of Japan was announced on 31 January 1946, however this announcement was already in planning stages since the end of the war. On 21 February 1946, the initial contingent arrived at the former
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...
base at
Kure
is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan ...
, near the devastated city of
Hiroshima, became the main base for Australian and British warships. A Royal Navy shore party took control of the port and facilities and these were commissioned as HMS ''Commonwealth'' on 3 June 1946.
For most of the occupation period, Australia contributed the majority of the BCOF's personnel. The initial BCOF presence included the
Australian 34th Brigade; the 9th Brigade, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (
J Force); and the British Indian Division (BRINDIV) (later known as BRINJAP), a composite British and Indian division made up of the British
5th Infantry Brigade Group (from 2nd Infantry Division in India), and the
268th Indian Infantry Brigade. BCOF was supported by the
Women's Auxiliary Service (Burma) (which derived its name from its formation during the Second World War, to provide amenities to Commonwealth forces in the Burmese campaign).
By 1948, BCOF was solely staffed by Australian military personnel, with all British, Indian and New Zealand troops withdrawn from the occupation.
The
British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships o ...
initially provided most of the naval forces, with it consisting of primarily British ships alongside contingents of Commonwealth and US ships. The air component, known as the British Commonwealth Air Forces (BCAIR), initially comprised the
Royal Australian Air Force's
No. 81 Fighter Wing, four
Spitfire squadrons (including
No. 11 and
No. 17 of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
and
No. 4 of the
Indian Air Force), and
No. 14 Squadron of the
Royal New Zealand Air Force.
During 1947, the BCOF began to wind down its presence in Japan. However, BCOF bases provided staging posts for Commonwealth forces deployed to the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, from 1950 onwards. The BCOF was effectively wound-up in 1951, as control of Commonwealth forces in Japan was transferred to
British Commonwealth Forces Korea.
Organisation
The major units that composed the force were:
* British Indian Division
**
34th Australian Infantry Brigade
***
65th Battalion
***
66th Battalion
***
67th Battalion
***
'A' Battery,
Royal Australian Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's first ...
***
1st Armoured Car Squadron
**
9th New Zealand Infantry Brigade (
J Force)
***
22nd Battalion
***
27th Battalion
***
2nd Divisional Cavalry Regiment
**
5th British Infantry Brigade (renumbered, 25th Independent Infantry Brigade)
*** 1st Battalion,
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Al ...
*** 2nd Battalion,
Dorsetshire Regiment
*** 2nd Battalion,
Royal Welch Fusiliers
The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designate ...
**
268th Indian Infantry Brigade
*** 5th Battalion,
1st Punjab Regiment
The 1st Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamated w ...
*** 2nd Battalion,
5th Royal Gurkha Rifles
*** 1st Battalion,
5th Mahratta Light Infantry
The 5th Mahratta Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, when
the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment fought in World Wa ...
* British Commonwealth Air Forces:
**
No. 81 Wing RAAF
***
No. 76 Squadron RAAF
***
No. 77 Squadron RAAF
***
No. 82 Squadron RAAF
**
No. 11 Squadron RAF
**
No. 17 Squadron RAF
Number 17 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XVII Squadron), currently No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 12 April 2013 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as the Operational ...
**
No. 4 Squadron IAF
**
No. 14 Squadron RNZAF
Commanders
The position of Commander-if-Chief, BCOF was always filled by an Australian, and included:
* Lieutenant General
John Northcott
Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott (24 March 1890 – 4 August 1966) was an Australian Army general who served as Chief of the General Staff during the Second World War, and commanded the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in the Occupa ...
(February to June 1946);
* Lieutenant General
Sir Horace Robertson (June 1946 to November 1951); and
* Lieutenant General
William Bridgeford (November 1951 to April 1952)
The largest formation in BCOF, BRINDIV, was commanded by Major General
David Cowan, from 1945 to 1947.
Gallery
File:General Eichelberger inspects the Australian Guard of Honor at Kure, British Commonwealth Occupation Force Headquarters.jpg,
File:Major General David Cowan inspects Indian troops in Kure, Japan, 1946.jpg,
File:5th Gurkha Rifles, Japan 1946.jpg,
File:New Zealand Divisional Cavalry soldiers inspecting Japanese battleship model Etajima.jpeg, New Zealand Divisional Cavalry soldiers inspecting a model of a Japanese battleship on Etajima
, also called , ''Nomijima'', ''Nomi Island'', or is an island in Hiroshima Bay located in southwestern Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The mess with island name originates from the ancient (and possibly legendary) strait at now town .
Geography
Th ...
References
Further reading
*
* George Davies, ''The Occupation of Japan: The Rhetoric and the Reality of Anglo-Australasian relations 1939 – 1952'', 2001
* John Dower, ''Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II'', 2000
* Melissa Miles & Robin Gerster, ''Pacific Exposures: Photograph and the Australia-Japan Relationship'', 2018
* Peter Bates, ''Japan and the British Commonwealth Occupation Force 1946 – 1952,'' 1993
* Robin Gerster, ''Travels in Atomic Sunshine: Australia and the Occupation of Japan'', 2008
* Takemae Eiji, ''The Allied Occupation of Japan'', 2002
*
External links
{{commons category
Australian War Memorial, ''British Commonwealth Occupation Force 1946 – 1951''''The Australian Military Contribution to the Occupation of Japan 1945–1952 / Dr James Wood''Unofficial website dedicated to the force
Military installations of Japan
Australia–Japan military relations
India–Japan military relations
Japan–New Zealand relations
Japan–United Kingdom military relations