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Return to “US didn't need to drop the atomic bomb on Japan”
- Tue Aug 11, 2020 12:12 am
- Forum: Off-Topic
- Topic: US didn't need to drop the atomic bomb on Japan
- Replies: 37
- Views: 10544
Re: US didn't need to drop the atomic bomb on Japan
I didn't know about Hirohito defying the military supreme command to surrender. That's a truly crazy story.
- Sat Aug 08, 2020 1:34 am
- Forum: Off-Topic
- Topic: US didn't need to drop the atomic bomb on Japan
- Replies: 37
- Views: 10544
Re: US didn't need to drop the atomic bomb on Japan
A few interesting thoughts:
1) Dropping Little Boy was probably a poor idea. It was a lower yield, higher reliability weapon which I argue would've been better kept as a failsafe should Fat Man have proven a dud (i.e. dropped on the lost weapon in order to prevent capture and reverse engineering). I think that the third implosion weapon after the Gadget and Fat Man was a fizzle.
2) The USSR declared war on Japan as soon as it was in their interest to do so, essentially seizing territory for the coming Cold War. Forcing a quick surrender was not only in our interest, but also in the interest of the areas occupied by the Japanese as well as Japan itself. Japan looks like West Germany rather than East Germany largely because they surrendered to the US. A protracted land war could've easily resulted in a fully communist Korea and/or Hokkaido.
3) There was no reason to waste that kind of destructive power on a demonstration (i.e. the countryside near Kyoto) without the guarantee that it would result in Japan's immediate surrender. After Okinawa and the lack of any peace overtures following the annihilation of Tokyo, the US could not have been certain that Japan would surrender after seeing the Bomb.
1) Dropping Little Boy was probably a poor idea. It was a lower yield, higher reliability weapon which I argue would've been better kept as a failsafe should Fat Man have proven a dud (i.e. dropped on the lost weapon in order to prevent capture and reverse engineering). I think that the third implosion weapon after the Gadget and Fat Man was a fizzle.
2) The USSR declared war on Japan as soon as it was in their interest to do so, essentially seizing territory for the coming Cold War. Forcing a quick surrender was not only in our interest, but also in the interest of the areas occupied by the Japanese as well as Japan itself. Japan looks like West Germany rather than East Germany largely because they surrendered to the US. A protracted land war could've easily resulted in a fully communist Korea and/or Hokkaido.
3) There was no reason to waste that kind of destructive power on a demonstration (i.e. the countryside near Kyoto) without the guarantee that it would result in Japan's immediate surrender. After Okinawa and the lack of any peace overtures following the annihilation of Tokyo, the US could not have been certain that Japan would surrender after seeing the Bomb.