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

Oshima also believes that Germany is faced with a life-or-death battle with the Soviet. But the Nazi Party is still so strong politically, and Germany’s military defenses so firm, that there is little cause for “undue” anxiety on Tokyo’s part. Of extreme interest to Washington is the conclusion of Oshima’s message, which is given to General Marshall verbatim. “A compromise peace is out of the question,” Oshima tells Tokyo. “I asked Hitler whether he intends to make peace with Russia, and he replied by stating that, unless Germany made peace with Russia and turned on America and England, no one could tell how long the war would last or how it would turn out. However, he went on to say that, if Germany is to wage a long war against America and England, the Ukraine is absolutely necessary to him and therefore he would not consider peace with the Soviet unless he got that area. And he added that as things now stand, Russia certainly has no intention of making peace with Germany by sacrificing the Ukraine.”