What number was assigned to General Douglas MacArthur’s order directing Japanese forces to surrender?

General Douglas MacArthur’s surrender directive was General Order No. 1.

The order was prepared by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Harry Truman on 17 August 1945. MacArthur issued it after Japan’s surrender, and Japan’s Imperial General Headquarters distributed it to Japanese forces on 2 September.

It instructed Japanese commanders to surrender to designated Allied commanders, disclose military deployments, and preserve equipment for disarmament. It also established surrender arrangements across the Japanese Empire and territories controlled by Japan.

General Order No. 1 had lasting geographic consequences. Japanese forces north of the 38th parallel in Korea were directed to surrender to Soviet forces, while those south of the line surrendered to U.S. forces. The order should not be confused with the Instrument of Surrender, which was the document signed aboard Missouri and formally accepted Japan’s capitulation.