"the second and third atomic bombs after Trinity exploded over Japan and did their part to end a war that killed more than 60 million human beings. “I was one o

"the second and third atomic bombs after Trinity exploded over Japan and did their part to end a war that killed more than 60 million human beings. “I was one of those who said thank god for the atomic bomb,” Paul told me ruefully." This myth about the effect of the atomic bombing of Japan just refuses to die for some reason. The atomic bombing of Japan had literally zero effect on Japanese policymaking. By that point in the war, all of the major cities were rubble already, and only insignificant places in the backwoods of Western Japan like Hiroshima were being bombed for want of fresh targets. The fact that these bombs were "new" didn't mean much, and almost no one in power understood any of their implications (nor could anyone inform anyone since their communication lines were extremely primitive by that point, only covering important things like troop movements, battle readiness, materials, and foreign intelligence). It was the mobilization of the Russians that prompted a Japanese surrender because, much like the Germans knew, it was FAR, FAR more preferable to be occupied by the Americans than by the Russians. The atomic bombs were just a sideshow, and only became important when revealed to the rest of the world.