Marching Orders: The Untold Story of How the American Breaking of the Japanese Secret Codes Led to the Defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan

by Bruce Lee

According to the analysts, the Japanese made several attempts to negotiate peace with Chungking during 1940 and 1941. These efforts failed, largely because the Japanese were unwilling to give a definite commitment about withdrawing their troops from China. In January 1942, the Japanese cabinet decided not to deal directly with Chiang Kai-shek, “fearing that he would only seize on any Japanese [initiatives] as a sign of weakness.” Nevertheless, Japanese Army officers in China continued for some time to initiate more than a score of peace feelers, and the Foreign Office clearly hoped that a peace could be arranged. In May 1944, Shigemitsu asked Ambassador Sato in Moscow whether there was any chance of Japan’s “using Russia as a means of bringing our war in China to a conclusion (MS 31 May 1944).”