ABSTRACT
It seems unlikely that anyone analysing the global situation in late 1943 would have been able to predict the state of affairs a mere ten years ahead; particularly the situation in East Asia. The eventual defeat of Japan was certainly predictable by 1945; but not the circumstances of that defeat, nor its aftermath. The suddenness of the war’s end caught everyone by surprise, and worked to the disadvantage of America’s allies. In the case of Russia, it was probably Washington’s actual intention to forestall a Soviet military advance beyond Manchuria and North Korea – thus excluding Stalin from a role in post-war Japan.
