Japan was isolated.
Italy was under Allied control.
Germany was under Allied control.
The Japanese had been kicked out of most of Asia and were concentrated on their home island.
By July of 1945, their naval and air power was inconsequential.
The Russians were mobilizing eastward towards Japan.
They were surrounded, isolated, no secure way to get supplies in or shipments out.
It really was over.
To be honest, I think we could have waited them out with occasional bombing raids on any remaining factories and military installations.
At this point, they were utterly defenseless from air raids. The planes that dropped the atomic bombs met no opposition at all.
An invasion likely would have been unnecessary.
I don’t know why the a-bombs were used, really. Perhaps it was to end it before the Russians could get involved and divide Japan the way they did Europe.
We may never know for certain.
Didn't read the cited story, did you?
Ask Mr. Alton Frost of Wortham Texas if he thought it was necessary. He had flown 95 combat missions as a USMC fighter pilot.
I had the privilege of shaking his hand at the WWII museum on New Orleans this past May. His thought was that President Obama should come and visit the museum before apologizing to the Japanese.
And since my father was a Pacific theater veteran I’m kind of glad we didn’t wait either.
[ I don’t know why the a-bombs were used, really. Perhaps it was to end it before the Russians could get involved and divide Japan the way they did Europe. ]
I’ll bet it was this reason. Russia could have claimed all of Japan or half of it...
It was probably about intimidating the Ruskies too.
And let 50 million of them die of famine and disease?
Wait - let me guess - you call yourself a "humanitarian", right?
You do know that there was a faction in the Japanese army that attempted to overthrow the Emperor after they found out that he had decided to surrender, right?
I don’t know why the a-bombs were used, really. “
No personal offense, but are you really that ignorant of history?
There are many ways/sources to read up on what Japan and us were preparing for in an invasion.
You really should be aware of the hundreds of thousands of casualties that were expected.
The A bombs saved many many lives....
Sheesh; shouldn't have someone post that on a conservative website.
The unrestricted American attacks on Japanese merchant shipping in 1944 and 1945 were devastating to Japan.
Imports of iron ore, coal, petroleum, lumber, tin, soybeans, rice, etc plummeted during that period.
Japan needed imports of these materials and could not survive without them.
The firebombing campaign against 65 Japanese cities was also devastating and dramatically reduced industrial production.
By July 1945 Japan was crippled. Unable to supply its troops and unable to produce significant amounts of anything.
The Japanese would have certainly surrendered before 31 December 1945 even if the bombs had not been dropped.
But I think the use of them was still a wise decision.