[kennedy]

Japan did not surrender because we dropped a nuke. They surrendered because we dropped a second nuke AND they did not know that those were the only nukes that we had.

Making the Japanese believe that we would keep dropping nukes until they either surrendered or ceased to exist is what finally ended the war.

[cicero2k]

Japan did not surrender because we dropped a nuke. They surrendered because we dropped a second nuke AND they did not know that those were the only nukes that we had.

Making the Japanese believe that we would keep dropping nukes until they either surrendered or ceased to exist is what finally ended the war.

Yes. They had no idea that it would take many months to re-stock. But they knew that we would scale production to unimaginable levels, eventually.

So much for fighting to the death.

Plus these weapons proved that war, between large nations, is obsolete.

Death from war has basically disappeared and we are fortunate to be born (most of us) in this era.

[Loud Mime]

Given our B29’s destruction of so much of their infrastructure, I cannot imagine Japan getting close to having a nuke. Look what it took to make ours. You break that chain and you have setbacks.

You’re right about the second bomb. Hirohito doubted that one bomb had destroyed one city, but 3 days later he learned the horrible truth.

[bobby.223]

“....If they do not now accept our terms, they can expect a rain of ruin from the air the likes never seen before on earth...” The best part of Harry Truman’s great speech just after the first nuke went ka-boom on their asses. The Japs STILL had not had enough tho, no uncle from ‘em so.......we fed ‘em number 2!

[LS]

100% correct. This is why Truman went ahead with the second bomb so soon after the Hiroshima bomb. We only had six in production at the time (two were dropped). But the technology was such we didn't KNOW if they would all work---that was a major argument against doing a "demonstration" bomb. If we demonstrated a dud, that would steel the Japanese resolve even more. After those six---if they all worked---it was going to be 1946 before we had more.

And while I believe it was the bomb that forced the Japanese surrender, they were also pressured by the fact that the USSR was entering the war.