G-2 Section

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The G-2 Section was an intelligence service unit of the US armed forces , which within the command area of ​​General Douglas MacArthur initially evaluated the usual military surveys and produced a daily intelligence summary for the commanders. After the occupation of Japan , the area of ​​responsibility was expanded beyond military tasks to include counter-espionage, persecution of communists and “democratization”. Their commander Charles Willoughby , just in the position of a G-2, became synonymous with service.

prehistory

Usually every staff unit of the US land forces has a G-2 section, which is responsible for enemy reconnaissance and similar tasks (see in the article staff department # breakdown ). In the area of ​​command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur , as Commander of the United States Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE) and later as SCAP , during the Pacific War and the occupation of Japan, the department dealt with here was under Gen. Maj. Charles Willoughby .

Even before the USAFFE command area was established, the Philippine Department had a small G-2 department that relied on a few American business people, CIC agents of Japanese descent ( nisei ) and members of the Philippine Constabulary .

During the fighting for the Philippines from December 8, 1941, until the defeat of the Americans on May 9, 1942 and the flight of the high command (March 11) from Corregidor , the existing structures were smashed. However, the Philippine Brigadier General Simon de Jesus managed to send a few radio-equipped agents from the besieged Bataan to the occupied area. These were organized into cells in four regions.

1942-1945

On April 19, 1942, MacArthur announced that Colonel Charles A. Willoughby was now G-2, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, of the GHQ, Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). In addition, he was promoted to brigadier general (temporarily) on June 20, 1942. For Willoughby the problem arose that he first had to set up an intelligence service apparatus. Willoughby proved to be an organizational talent. Col. Van S. Merle-Smith , former military attaché in Australia , also did important development work .

The organizational structure followed that prescribed in the Army Staff Manuals with minor modifications. There were two main departments, Theater Intelligence and War Department Intelligence. During the fighting for New Guinea, advance sections (outposts) were set up in Port Moresby in November 1942, August 1943 and again in November, each lasting about two months . From August 1944 a staff was found in Hollandia , from October in Tacloban City and in April 1945 in its entirety in Manila . The cooperation with other services z. B. CIC and Navy Intelligence was not free of tension.

The Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB), part of the G-2, was supposed to coordinate the intelligence efforts of the Allies and B. through his Philippine Regional Section there, doing extremely dangerous, underground and propaganda work.

Departments

From September 19, the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) and the Central Bureau (from April 15, 1942), responsible for radio and mail surveillance, helped with war planning. The translations in particular, along with those of ULTRA, proved to be an important source of information for MacArthur's staff. In October 1942, the department consisted of around 35 men from all branches of the Allies; by September 1945, the workforce had increased to 1900, who could translate into a total of 34 languages, Japanese always being the most important. ATIS employees were also responsible for interrogating prisoners of war.

The Philippines Section evaluated radio messages from agents remaining in the occupied area. The Order of Battle Section sought to determine the positions of Japanese units.

The Plans and Estimate Section summarized the information gathered into reports, which then formed the basis for military action. However, Willoughby was often wrong with his assessments of Japanese intentions and troop strengths. His attempts to hide the mistakes later suggest a narcissistic personality without the ability to be self-critical.

The task of Allied Geographical Section (AGS), first under the Australian Colonel William Jardine Blake creation was Special Reports, terrain Studies BEZW. Maps that were out of date in 1942, especially for New Guinea, if they existed at all. At the turn of the year 1944/45 the activity reached its peak, the geographical reports were distributed to the troops in a total of 193,000 copies. There were also several regional brochures for distribution to the soldiers (circulation: approx. 250,000).

In Japan

During the occupation, counter-espionage was added to the normal military tasks, successfully unmasking Igor Gouzenko and Agnes Smedley , a member of Richard Sorge's ring, and from 1947 onwards, increasingly paranoid anti-communist agitation was added to the tasks. At that time, G-2 was a synonym, on the one hand for the organization that carried out reconnaissance activities for SCAP, on the other hand for the person of the boss Charles Willoughby, who never hid his fascist attitude.

The occupation required a reorganization. This was most far-reaching in 1946 for Theater Intelligence, (1946–1948 under Col. Frederick B. Dodge ).

The following important departments now existed:

  • ATIS: remained one of the largest departments with 725 people, now dealing with the translation of newspaper articles and the provision of documents for the Yokohama war crimes trials .
  • CCD Censorship: Telephone and postal surveillance, theater, film and book pre-censorship, 542 people.
  • CIC: “Counter Intelligence” (counter espionage, anti-communist activities, initially under General Thorpe) and field detachments, 881 people, nationwide. Initially also investigating war criminals. The associated Public Safety Division was responsible for police, fire brigade and prison reform (“democratization”).
  • Liaison: "Foreign" kept in contact with accredited diplomats from August 15, 1945, "Jap" with Japanese government agencies, together 31.
  • Geographical (18) and Historical Sections (28).
  • Technical Intelligence 166 men.
  • in addition the central executive group under Col. Collin S. Myers , 185 men

Korean War

Although South Korea was originally removed from SCAP command, Willoughby established the Korean Liaison Office, which was just one of the many intelligence agencies in South Korea. However, the department produced nearly 1,200 reports by June 1950. Like the CIA, he initially misjudged the Chinese invasion plans, but changed his mind from early November.

With the dissolution of the SCAP following the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the conclusion of the Defense Agreement (AMPO), the tasks were taken over by other services.

literature

  • General Headquarters, Far Eastern Command, Military Intelligence Section, General Staff: A Brief History of the G-2 Section, GHQ, SWPA and Affilliated Units . Orig. Tokyo July 8, 1948 “restricted”; Willoughby, Charles (Ed.); as MF: Wilmington 1983, 8 film roles
  • ATIS Reports: Wartime Translations of Seized Japanese Documents . Bethseda 1988 (2 volumes covering 2212 microfiches)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ See: Allied Intelligence Bureau in Australia during WW2
  2. ↑ Losses (1942–1945) during 264 missions behind enemy lines: 164 dead, 6 wounded, 75 prisoners and 178 missing. This is said to be faced with 7,000 fallen Japanese and 1,050 allies rescued. History of the G-2 Section… p. 49 f.
  3. ^ Charles Andrew Willoughby, Major General, United States Army (as of December 14, 2004)
  4. ↑ the competing CIC produced similar “area studies” at the same time. History of the G-2 Section ... p. 60, fn. 26
  5. ↑ z. B. "Getting about in New Guinea," "You and the Native;" History of the G-2 Section ... p. 62
  6. ↑ daily: Press Translation and Summaries
  7. ↑ History of the G-2 Section ... p. 87ff (January 1948)
  8. ^ Charles Willoughby # Korean War
  9. ↑ cf. OUR INTELLIGENCE IN KOREA NOW A MATTER OF DISPUTE; MacArthur's Headquarters Explains That It Decided to Risk a Chinese Attack; New York Times December 3, 1950
  10. ^ Roll 1: with a critical introduction, October 8, 1948, Col. CC Benson regarding the facts and the role of Charles Willoughby

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