I have gone from an enthusiastic backer of our employment of nuclear weapons to a guy who wonders if we went too far. I worked in the field of underground nuclear weapons testing 40 or so years ago and later worked in the Threshold Test Ban Treaty verification field as a military officer - so I have some time reviewing the true nastiness of these weapons.
Last bunch of years, I've read the histories for and against using the nukes but most of them gloss over other potential employments we could have done instead of deliberately targeting civilians:
1. The Demonstration. Notifying the Japanese government that we have a new catastrophic weapon, and we will use the first one to destroy the fleet anchorage at Hashirajima - and do it quickly before any fleet units can disperse.
2. Attack the major army headquarters for the 16th Army. It would decapitate the critical leadership and staffs to oppose our planned landings on Kyushu and would demonstrate the true power of the bomb to the Japanese leadership.
Then, when they continued to fight, we'd be more justified in attacking a true industrial center - not an "Untouched" city, filled with noncombatants, that would be used as lab for experimentation.
One of you mentioned Dresden. It as an example of how we lost our decency in our war against indecency.
I don’t know what that had to do with post 32 that was an answer to your targeting questions, but that demonstration question was answered generations ago, I didn’t realize that it still came up.
So you would waste a weapon, of which we only had three, where the use could be covered up by the Japanese government. This would result in no pressure being placed on them.
2. Attack the major army headquarters for the 16th Army. It would decapitate the critical leadership and staffs to oppose our planned landings on Kyushu and would demonstrate the true power of the bomb to the Japanese leadership.
See above.
The Japanese military leaders were willing to continue fighting, because they believed that our offers to let them surrender meant that we were weak, after they lost two cities.
Like most Americans you do not understand the Japanese, especially the Japanese military leadership, mentality of the time.
They were lying to, well, everybody, including themselves. They thought that if they could just hold out that the Allies would stop and go away.
And of course they were waiting to fall when they would unleash Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night. A plan to release a ramped up version of Yersinia pestis on the world.
Out of the Five Great pandemics of history which resulted in a major world population drop, three were caused by Yersinia pestis.
I am ok with not allowing that to happen.
“””””1. The Demonstration. Notifying the Japanese government that we have a new catastrophic weapon, and we will use the first one to destroy the fleet anchorage at Hashirajima - and do it quickly before any fleet units can disperse.”””””
It was World War II, the Japanese might want to shoot that plane down rather than decide to just watch to see if it really could wipe out the fleet at the harbor.