Collection MFF6 - US TRANSLATED JAPANESE COMMUNICATIONS, 1942-1946

Wartime Translations of Seized Japanese Documents: Allied Translator and Interpreter Section Reports, 1942-1946 is a themed microfiche collection of 7,200 translated Japanese documents. The collection includes translated seized Japanese diaires, Allied interrogation reports of Japanese soldiers and civilians, Japanese reconnaissance reports, US summaries of enemy activities, and Allied tactical and strategic reports on Japanese military movements issued by Allied General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area (GHQ SWPA), and Advanced Echelons of the Australian New Guinea Force; US 6 Army; US 1 Corps; US 11 Corps; US 10 Corps; US 8 Army; US 14 Army; 1 Australian Corps; and US 24 Corps. Included are all documents bearing the notation 'Allied Translator and Interpreter Section, Southwest Pacific Area' and issued during the period 1942-1946. As noted above, the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) was re-organised after the terms of Japanese surrender were signed on 2 Sep 1945, and its mission was altered to reflect the needs of the Supreme Command, Allied Powers (SCAP), occupation force. During its transition to a service within SCAP, ATIS continued to issue documents under the aegis of General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area (GHQ SWPA) and these documents are included in the collection. Major subjects covered in ATIS documents are Japanese military strategy and tactics; specific intelligence on Japanese troop movements, equipment, and order of battle; indigenous political movements and political geography of the Southwest Pacific; technical data on Japanese military equipment; and, information obtained from Japanese prisoners of war. ATIS translations of seized Japanese materials also made available English language versions of documents, maps, charts, and other official Japanese visual records. Principal among the types of materials collected and translated by ATIS were: personal diaries obtained from Japanese prisoners of war or removed from the bodies of Japanese killed in action, detailing Japanese military operations and objectives as well as personal accounts of the war; letters and personal correspondence, paybooks, and Military Postal Savings Books carried by Japanese soldiers; official Japanese unit field diaries; official Japanese military orders and orders of battle; maps and charts relating to Japanese shipping routes, military positions, airfields, and order of battle plans; Japanese propaganda and psychological warfare documents; Allied interrogations reports of Japanese prisoners of war, detailing Japanese military positions and troop morale; and, Japanese technical manuals, detailing weaponry and supplies.