Episode 223

In his own words, as quoted in Freedom at Midnight, Mountbatten claimed, "The date I chose came out of the blue. I chose it in reply to a question. I was determined to show I was the master of the whole event. When they asked if we had set a date, I knew it had to be soon. I hadn't worked it out exactly then — I thought it had to be about August or September, and I then went out to August 15. Why? Because it was the second anniversary of Japan's surrender." Japan's emperor Hirohito addressed his country on August 15, 1945, announcing the surrender. Severely damaged by nuclear bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, respectively, Japan was the last of the axis powers to surrender. Courtesy TOI