Post-WWII Mustering Out Riots? Where? When?

July 12, 2006 8:57 AM

History-Filter: Post WWII riots by soldiers in Europe... I need to find out the exact where, when, etc. for the mustering out riots that took place after the end of WWII. From what little I know, soldiers were upset about not being able to go home once the war was over, and riots broke out. History Buffs - help!
posted by Corky to grab bag (4 comments total)

I presume you're discussing American troops left in Europe after V-E Day?
I recall there being a lot of grumbling, but not sure about whole scale riots. As is, this thread brought up many great books on the Second World War, which may be able to help you locate the information you want.
posted by Atreides at 9:40 AM on July 12, 2006

Might help if I include the thread. Here it is.
posted by Atreides at 9:42 AM on July 12, 2006

After Germany surrendered, there was still Japan to consider. The war wasn't over. Many of the soldiers in Germany were facing being shipped to the Pacific to fight Japan. So nothing would have happened until after September 1945.

The word you're looknig for to Google this is "demobilization".

Here's a quote from one webpage: "The Truman White House could not contain the overpowering public and bipartisan Congressional outcry--accompanied by riots at overseas military bases in January 1946--for the early return home of American soldiers. Only a serious foreign crisis could have reversed this trend, and, for the time being, the administration did not publicize its misgivings about Soviet behavior. American armed forces shrank from about twelve million in June 1945 to one-and-a-half million in June 1947 (see appendix, graph 1)."

The Army's own military history book says:

"Pressure for faster demobilization from the public, Congress, and the troops upset War and Navy Department plans for an orderly process. The Army felt the greatest pressure and responded by easing the eligibility requirement and releasing half of its 8 million troops by the end of 1945. Early in 1946 the Army slowed the return of troops from abroad in order to meet its overseas responsibilities. A crescendo of protest greeted the decision, including troop demonstrations in the Philippines, China, England, France, Germany, Hawaii, and even California. The public outcry diminished only after the Army more than halved its remaining strength during the first six months of 1946."
posted by jellicle at 10:48 AM on July 12, 2006

This page has photos and captions of a demobilization demonstation in Manila in 1946; don't know what the publication was (it could be something like Life). The page was linked to from this one, which has some other links to demobilization topics.
posted by lhauser at 10:42 PM on July 12, 2006