[tlb]

With all the articles about the nukes, a brief reminder of the alternative that would have been unleashed upon Japan over an additional year of total war. More comprehensive reviews of the operations can be found but this is a good short but still detailed read.

[davisfh]

All I can say is, “Thank God for the atomic bomb and Harry Truman, Democrat though he was.”

[DManA]

The last History Channel show on this subject I watched claimed that planners has pretty much decided an invasion was impossible.

[DuncanWaring]

Here’s another account of what an invasion of Japan would likely have looked like:

http://www.webwizpro.com/1945InvasionofJapan.html

Would have made Verdun, the Somme and “The Russian Front”, combined, look like a mild dispute in a convent.

[Captain Rhino]

Here are some documents that the history minded might find interesting:

1. .pdf file containing a facsimilie copy of the Operation DOWNFALL Operations Order:

http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/wwii/marine1/1239.pdf

2. A transcription of a 1965 Marine Corps Gazette article comparing the Allied planning for Operation OLYMPIC, the invasion of Kyushu and the Japanese counterlanding plan, KETSU-GO:

http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/war.term/olympic.html

3. Two mid 1990’s articles on OLYMPIC and KETSU-GO by D.M. Giangreco. Mr. Giangreco is a member of the editorial staff of the Military Review and has written extensively on WWII subjects. These articles are included because he specifically addresses and rebutts the latter day revisionist historian arguments concerning casualty estimates for the invasion and their use in making the decision to use the atmic bomb:

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/giangrec.htm and

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/jfq_pubs/2109.pdf

[Nepeta]

Fascinating post. No question but the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs saved many American lives, including vast numbers of children who never would have been born (possibly including me).

The bombs probably saved Japan not only in terms of millions of lives, but culturally. After a ground war, house to house and building to building, I am not sure when the US would have ever ended the occupation of the home islands.

[sushiman]

Wow...And to think that right now I live in Kyushu ...

[OCCASparky]

Of course, the latest revisionist crap from the left is that the Japanese didn’t surrender because of the bombs, but because the RUSSIANS declared war on August 8th. Nevermind that they didn’t have the manpower, aircraft, or naval forces available to significantly affect the battle for Japan...but when has that stopped the revisionist crap from the left?

[dfwgator]

It saved us from having to fight in Japan.....twice.

The first time to get rid of Tojo and Company.

The second time to foil an invasion from “The People’s Democratic Republic of Japan” into South Japan.