British Commonwealth Occupation Force

The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 21 February 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, the BCOF comprised about 40,000 personnel, equal to about 25% of the number of US military personnel in Japan.

British Commonwealth Occupation Force
ActiveFebruary 21, 1946 (1946-02-21) – 1952 (1952)
Countries
AllegianceBritish Commonwealth
RoleOccupation, demilitarisation and disposal of Japan's war industries
Operate staging posts for Korean War
Size40,000 personnel
HeadquartersKure, Hiroshima, Japan
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Lieutenant General John Northcott (February to June 1946)
Lieutenant General Horace Robertson (June 1946 to November 1951)
Lieutenant General William Bridgeford (November 1951 to end)

History and role

Whilst US forces were responsible for military government, the BCOF was responsible for supervising demilitarisation and the disposal of Japan's war industries.[1] The BCOF was also responsible for the occupation of the western prefectures of Shimane, Yamaguchi, Tottori, Okayama, Hiroshima and Shikoku Island. BCOF headquarters was at Kure, a naval port near Hiroshima.[2]

For most of the occupation period Australia contributed the majority of the BCOF's personnel. The initial BCOF presence included the Australian 34th Brigade; the 9th Brigade, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (J Force); and BRINDIV (sometimes known as BRINJAP), a composite British and Indian division made up of the British 5th Infantry Brigade Group (from 2nd Infantry Division in India), and the 268th Indian Infantry Brigade. BCOF was supported by the Women's Auxiliary Service (Burma) (which derived its name from its formation during the Second World War, to provide amenities to Commonwealth forces in the Burmese campaign).

The position of commanding officer of BCOF was always filled by an Australian: Lieutenant General John Northcott, February to June 1946; Lieutenant General Horace Robertson, June 1946 to November 1951, and Lieutenant General William Bridgeford from November 1951 until the end of the occupation. BRINDIV was commanded by Major General David Cowan, from 1945 to 1947.

The British Pacific Fleet initially provided most of the naval forces. The air contingent, known as BCAIR, initially comprised the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 81 Fighter Wing, flying P-51 Mustangs, four Spitfire squadrons (including No. 11 and No. 17 of the Royal Air Force and No. 4 of the Indian Air Force), and No. 14 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force flying F4U Corsairs.

During 1947, the BCOF began to wind down its presence in Japan. However, BCOF bases provided staging posts for Commonwealth forces deployed to the Korean War, from 1950 onwards. The BCOF was effectively wound-up in 1951, as control of Commonwealth forces in Japan was transferred to British Commonwealth Forces Korea.

  • 30 August 1945. Yokosuka Naval Base, Tokyo Bay. Commander Yuzo Tanno hands over the keys of the Yokosuka Naval Base to Captain H. J. Buchanan, Royal Australian Navy. Buchanan led the first British Commonwealth party to go ashore in Japan.
  • General Robert L. Eichelberger inspects the Australian Guard of Honour at Kure.
  • Major General David Cowan, General Officer Commanding BRINDIV, inspects Indian troops in Kure, 30 March 1946.
  • The 2nd Battalion, 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles marches through Kure, May 1946.

References
  1. British Commonwealth Occupation Force 1945–52, AWM.
  2. "The British Commonwealth Occupation Force · The Entwistle Collection". omeka.westernsydney.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-07-16.

Further reading
  • Singh, Rajendra (1958). Post-War Occupation Forces: Japan and South-East Asia. Delhi: Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India & Pakistan) India, Orient Longmans [distributor]. OCLC 518916.
  • George Davies, The Occupation of Japan: The Rhetoric and the Reality of Anglo-Australasian relations 1939 – 1952, 2001
  • John Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, 2000
  • Melissa Miles & Robin Gerster, Pacific Exposures: Photograph and the Australia-Japan Relationship, 2018
  • Peter Bates, Japan and the British Commonwealth Occupation Force 1946 – 1952, 1993
  • Robin Gerster, Travels in Atomic Sunshine: Australia and the Occupation of Japan, 2008
  • Takemae Eiji, The Allied Occupation of Japan, 2002
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