Koga Papers” the document that the Japenese called the “Z Plan.” It outlined defensive plans against Allied attacks on Japan's South Pacific possessions and made provisions for engaging the American fleet in a decisive battle. This is a summary on the story of how the Z Plan drifted into American hands in one of World War II's greatest intelligence victories, leading to a crushing defeat for Japan in the Southwest Pacific in 1944. The captured documents provided important knowledge about the Japanese strategy in the Pacific which was the key to the American victory at the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Historians acknowledge that the exploitation of the Z Plan was one of the greatest single intelligence feats of the war in the Southwest Pacific Area. A little–known air crash off the island of Cebu on April 1, 1944 leads to the capture of Japanese military officials including a high-ranking Japanese admiral by Filipino guerrillas. Along with the capture was a mysterious bunch of papers for which the Japanese military undertook a massive recovery effort. The guerrillas led by an American named James Cushing took the prisoners to the interior of Cebu and held them for ten days until a severe Japanese rescue campaign forced them to surrender them to the enemy. The high ranking Japanese officials turned out to be led by Vice Admiral Shigeru Fukodome, Chief of Staff of the Japanese Imperial Combined Fleet. It appeared that the party was traveling on an inspection mission at the time of the crash. One of those believed killed in the crash was Admiral Mineichi Koga, commander of the Japanese Imperial Navy whose loss was acknowledged with the appointment of his successor in May 1944. The papers which were captured by the guerrillas were sent to Southern Negros and were picked up by an American submarine to Australia and were found to contain important information about Japanese defenses in the Philippines and other areas. The papers also revealed the weakness of defenses in central Philippines which were confirmed by American intelligence. The episode led to the acceleration of the American return to the Philippines from December 1944 to October 1944 and a change of landing sites from Mindanao to Leyte. This event which was witnessed by a Filipino guerrilla noted the blunders of the Americans who did not immediately act despite repeated messages requesting for their advice on the developments.
In closing, southern Negros was indeed the vulnerable spot that proved to be the “Achilles Heel” that led to the downfall of the Japanese. A costly tactical blunder by the Japanese for considering the area insignificant. Figuratively, the shaped of the area really resembles a heel that was unguarded and proved to be a safe haven for the resistance movement and safe rendezvous point for submarine landings including the logical spot for the setting up of radio transmitters. Moreover, the area proved to be the fertile breeding ground for the establishment of the intelligence network. Subsequently, it was tactically tagged by the SPWA as the best spot to pick up the “Koga Papers” in disguise of rescuing American missionaries.
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