Some of it yes, but not all. The bombing of Dresden and the fire bombing of Tokyo and both nuclear detonations should have been war crimes. All targeted civilians rather then military targets. its one thing to aim for a military target, or what you think is a military target, then miss and kill civilians. Quite another thing to aim from the start to kill civilians.
both nuclear detonations should have been war crimes.
You serious? Those nuclear detonations that you say should have been war crimes ended WWII, the bloodiest war in human history. Had they not been dropped the war would have went on, and an all out invasion of the Japanese mainland would have been necessary. The American casualties of such an invasion would have made D-Day look like a minor skirmish. Something to remember the next time you think that this war a "war crime".
both nuclear detonations should have been war crimes.
You serious? Those nuclear detonations that you say should have been war crimes ended WWII, the bloodiest war in human history. Had they not been dropped the war would have went on, and an all out invasion of the Japanese mainland would have been necessary. The American casualties of such an invasion would have made D-Day look like a minor skirmish. Something to remember the next time you think that this war a "war crime".
As opposed to the London Blitz, the V1 campaign, and the mass slaughter of a significant portion of "Manchuria" and China by the Axis - all of which happened first?
It's not a war crime to respond in kind, IMHO.
Also, with regards to the use of nukes on Japan - the only other alternative was 5 million Allied dead, and the complete extermination of the Japanese nation and people. The Japanese would have fought to the last man, woman, and child. Compared to the anticipated 30+ million dead in Japan if we'd invaded instead, I have no problems with Truman's use of nukes.
I was almost 13 when the war ended.
Everyone,kids and adults alike,would cheer when German and Japanese cities were bombed. It was war fatigue and everyone knew someone in the war.
War does strange things to people.
Sad !
I have to respectfully disagree about the firebombing of Japanese cities during World War II. The resaon is simple: a huge fraction of Japanese war industry was done in small shops scattered all over large metropolitan areas, and before World War II most Japanese cities were extremely vulnerable to fires due to most of the buildings being made of wood. That's why when Americans bombed Tokyo on the night of March 9-10, 1945 it burned 16 square miles of the city and likely severely hampered the many shops building war materiel there.
Well zaggs, you haven't created a profile page, so I can't know how old you are or what kind of experience you might have. But, as a genuine "Oldfart," I have a little first-hand information that you might not have access to.
I served in Japan after that war and I saw both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I met people who had been burned by the intense heat and who had lost their families and homes to those blasts.
I also met many other Japanese citizens who had suffered under the wartime restrictions normal to any losing effort. Most of all, I saw the preparations all those people had made to 'welcome' the American sodiers.
You have to realize that the Japanese people had been told for years that American soldiers were cannibals and that they had a particular taste for babies and small children. Not only were the hills and mountains of Japan honeycombed with interconnecting tunnels, the farmers and factory workers- male and female- were thoroughly instructed in methods of self-defense with simple items such as rakes and brooms. I had the opportunity to see a young woman administer a severe beating to her American boyfriend when he got drunk and decided to slap her around. If the other women in Japan had been even half as well trained our military would have had its hands full before it got off the beaches. The tunnels were stockpiled with as much weaponry as could be spared from the front lines and those soldiers who had been injured and were no longer fit for service were prepared to die for their homeland.
I know there are college professors who genuinely feel that dropping the bomb was a war crime. Unfortunately, they developed their theory by reading and learning from other college professors who had no personal experience to draw upon. I don't know your personal experiences but in my view, having lived there for several years, I firmly believe that Truman saved a million or so lives by dropping those bombs.
Are you joking???? While all terrible things, none of those actions were taken by the allies with the intent to attack civilians. The fire bombing of Tokyo spared most of the civilian housing. The point of the fire bombs was to overwhelm the Tokyo fire department to prevent them from saving the factories.
All though LeMay always knew that if we lost the war that he would be tried as a war criminal by the Japanese, he also knew that his orders saved more Japanese lives than they cost.
As far as Hiroshima and Nagasaki are concerned, both cities were Japanese army depots. They were military targets. Besides, Japan and the Japanese people were warned. The Potsdam Declaration was clear to all the people of Japan, "Stop fighting or be destroyed". The Japanese people had chosen to fight with rakes if they had to, and they made that clear to Truman.
"...The might that now converges on Japan is immeasurably greater than that which, when applied to the resisting Nazis, necessarily laid waste to the lands, the industry and the method of life of the whole German people. The full application of our military power, backed by our resolve, will mean the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland..."
"...We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction."
Gee pal, I think the Axis powers sort of decided the question about total war...don't you? But let's go back in history and try the Allied leaders for those "war crimes" and defeating the fascists. (/sarcasm)
Ask those American Military Personnel getting ready to invade Japan.
They would not convict President Harry Truman.
The hundreds of thousands of Japanese who were not killed had the invasion of their home land taken place.
Pure BS that winning the war by bombing Japan was a war crime!
We not only beat them at their own game by developing the atom bomb first, we demonstrated why they'd best not try it now or in the future as a retaliatory strike.
That's called"collateral damage".While I agree that the bombing of Dresden was a"crime",I cannot go so far as to call Tokyo,Hiroshima,or Nagasaki "crimes".While the Japanese had to be brought to their knees,the Germans were already there!Dresden was overcrowded with refugees fleeing the Soviet onslaught and(axcepting the battle for Berlin which involved ONLY The Red Army fighting SS fanatics)the Germans were DONE!!!!!The utter destruction of that beautiful,ancient city(Dresden)was TOTALLY unnecessary and GRATUITOUS!!!!!!"Bomber Harris"was shunned following the war!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!