I’ve probably read that before (I don’t know why they put “Let the Japanese Keep Their Emperor” in there, since that was done - which is where our biggest mistake in WW1 in not allowing Germany to keep the Kaiser in place, even as a figurehead, which might’ve halted Hitler from rising to power).
Since we defeated the Germans first, we won’t know 100% whether we’d have used the bombs against them (however the Dresden bombings point to that we probably would’ve) had Japan capitulated earlier.
As for the Russians, as I stated earlier, allowing them in would’ve seen them demand a substantial chunk of Japan to Sovietize (as with East Germany and everything else behind the Iron Curtain). A divided Japan, free and Soviet, would’ve led to a Civil War similar to Korea and Vietnam, and my gut says Japan may have fallen to the Communists.
Conventional bombing ? They could’ve continued that, yes, but I think it would’ve merely resulted in stalemate. We were going to have to invade and subdue. You can’t control a country until your people are on the ground.
Let’s face facts, Americans were weary by August 1945, after taking care of Nazi Germany, they wanted a swift end in the Pacific Theater. Moving our men from Europe to the Pacific to join the ones already there was a difficult prospect. Had Truman sat on the bombs while continuing to play things out conventionally (while hundreds of thousands of casualties were racked up, American military and militarized Japanese civilians), the public would’ve lynched Truman and the Democrat party would’ve been obliterated (”Truman lied, millions died”).
Truman had no choice. The war had to be ended in Japan by using any means necessary that kept American casualties to a minimum. Demonstrations of the bomb would’ve been pointless. Hiroshima alone should’ve forced surrender, but it didn’t. Even Nagasaki almost wasn’t enough. If saner heads hadn’t prevailed in Japanese leadership realizing we were prepared to turn Japan into a sheet of glass from stem to stern, it’s difficult to ponder how much further we’d have had to go.
As for it being used as a warning to the Soviets as well, consider it a plus. Alas, they utilized more underground methods in their cold war against us (for which we’ve been reaping their successful results in recent decades).
They sneak attacked us to destroy our fleet and killed civilians too.
Then enslaved many countries Korea, China, etc
They acted truly barbaric to US troops and the countries they invaded.
They turned their troops into suicide bombers
It wasn't Vietnam or Iraq, nothing like them.
Bringing them to their knees was the most appropriate.
RE “.I don’t know why they put “Let the Japanese Keep Their Emperor†in there, since that was done ...”
Because we would be fighting them for a hundred years if we’d executed him. That was their culture at the time, and MacArthur understood them very well.
In other words “know your enemy” - and he knew and understood them very well.
RE “...We were going to have to invade and subdue....”
Operations Olympic and Coronet were already on the boards and set to kick off in november of 45.
Okinawa was a bloodbath. Two of my uncles were on Okinawa (in two different divisions - one Marine, one Army). One was greivously wounded there.
Kyushu was next. Intelligence at the time showed that the Japanese were digging in, basically at the water’s edge, and they were issuing bamboo spears to women and children. There was a grotto at Kerama Retto island FULL of suicide boats, ready to ram American transports. They were floating, guided bombs.
They were ready for the mother of all battles. The atomic weapons were the only option to save millions of American - and Japanese - lives.