4 ms·

I believe early in WW2, Japan had a treaty with Russia. So Japan did not torpedo US Liberty ships headed to Russia, and various other surprising things. (Japan

I believe early in WW2, Japan had a treaty with Russia. So Japan did not torpedo US Liberty ships headed to Russia, and various other surprising things. (Japan obeyed international treaties to the letter, but did not follow any human rights conventions.) Of course, at the end of WW2, Russia turned their vast army and artillery eastward, and annihiliated the Japanese army. Source: I study WW2.

metters 5y ago
> and various other surprising things. This makes me curious. What other things?
- redis_mlc 5y ago
  Although the Axis countries did not cooperate to the extent of the US and Britain, there was some effort: - Japan sent a military observer to Berlin. Unfortunately for Hitler, he made daily extensive notes, then sent them via a broken code - Japan received a Bf109 and a light German bomber, and evaluated them against the Zero and a Japanese bomber - Japan also received a couple of tanks and some nuclear technology, usually via submarine.
skhr0680 5y ago
The Soviets would have needed friends if the Allies accepted German's surrender then immediately took control of the German military to destroy the USSR, and Japan was in a natural position to be that friend. Stalin only agreed to break the non-aggression pact once it became clear that no invasion from the west was coming, which was fairly late in the war (Yalta).
- enriquto 5y ago
  it is interesting to note that at no point during the war both sides fought simultaneously against the other side. E.g., the USSR was on Germany's side during the battle of Britain (supplying fuel for german bombers). The Japan non-aggression pact was kept until after the defeat of Germany. The many European countries that fought on both sides along the course of the war, etc.
- LatteLazy 5y ago
  Actually the Soviets already defeated the Germans. 80% of German forces were on the Eastern front and Russia was cutting through them like a hot knife through butter before d-day even occurred. They took Berlin despite the German high command basically trying to give it to the Western allies. The turning point of WW2 was Stalingrad, not D-day.
  - hef19898 5y ago
    One could also make the case for the Germans failure to take Moscow to be the turning point, followed by the US entry into the war. After that it was just a question of when the Axis would be crushed by the Allies industrial capacity. Not if.
miles 5y ago
> Of course, at the end of WW2, Russia turned their vast army and artillery eastward, and annihiliated the Japanese army. Of the ~1,092,400 Japanese soldiers facing Russia, only 22,300-23,600 were killed according to Japan (Russia places the figure at 83,737): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_War#Summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_War#Summary
- LatteLazy 5y ago
  Because Japan surrendered almost as soon as Russia declared war. They were more afraid of the red army than 2 nuclear bombings...
  - hef19898 5y ago
    I think we will never know what the reasoning behind the two bombs really was. I could imagine that after using large scale carpet and fire bombing against civilian targets, a nuclear bomb with a similar effect doesn't make much of a difference.
    - redis_mlc 5y ago
      We know exactly: - 5 Japanese cities were set aside from B-29 carpet bombing for possible nuclear bombing - US generals debated whether using these bombs was immoral or not. They were on the fence. - Truman's civil administrator pushed for using them - 2 were dropped. I believe 3-ship formations were used: bomber, meteorology plane, photo plane. A customized Lancaster wing was initially created, but Americans preferred to use their own B-29. You are correct that it didn't matter whether an atomic bomb or 1000 bombers with napalm were sent. Also, "civilian targets" is incorrect - Hiroshima was a naval base, and also built submarines or torpedos. This was downplayed by peaceniks for several decades, but it turned out that Hiroshima was a military target. There's even an interview with a worker from one of the military factories online. The Japanese military's goal after Midway was to win a crushing defeat over the US in a battle, so that there could be a favorable peace treaty with the US. That's one of the reasons for their refusal to surrender.
  - 5y ago
protomyth 5y ago
The ships headed to Russia were Russian flagged. They were the reason US submarines had to be very careful in their target selection in certain waters. Thunder Below has a lot of commentary on the subject.
himinlomax 5y ago
> but did not follow any human rights conventions If I'm not mistaken, they hadn't signed any.

metters 5y ago

> and various other surprising things. This makes me curious. What other things?

redis_mlc 5y ago
Although the Axis countries did not cooperate to the extent of the US and Britain, there was some effort: - Japan sent a military observer to Berlin. Unfortunately for Hitler, he made daily extensive notes, then sent them via a broken code - Japan received a Bf109 and a light German bomber, and evaluated them against the Zero and a Japanese bomber - Japan also received a couple of tanks and some nuclear technology, usually via submarine.

skhr0680 5y ago

The Soviets would have needed friends if the Allies accepted German's surrender then immediately took control of the German military to destroy the USSR, and Japan was in a natural position to be that friend. Stalin only agreed to break the non-aggression pact once it became clear that no invasion from the west was coming, which was fairly late in the war (Yalta).

enriquto 5y ago
it is interesting to note that at no point during the war both sides fought simultaneously against the other side. E.g., the USSR was on Germany's side during the battle of Britain (supplying fuel for german bombers). The Japan non-aggression pact was kept until after the defeat of Germany. The many European countries that fought on both sides along the course of the war, etc.
LatteLazy 5y ago
Actually the Soviets already defeated the Germans. 80% of German forces were on the Eastern front and Russia was cutting through them like a hot knife through butter before d-day even occurred. They took Berlin despite the German high command basically trying to give it to the Western allies. The turning point of WW2 was Stalingrad, not D-day.
- hef19898 5y ago
  One could also make the case for the Germans failure to take Moscow to be the turning point, followed by the US entry into the war. After that it was just a question of when the Axis would be crushed by the Allies industrial capacity. Not if.

miles 5y ago

> Of course, at the end of WW2, Russia turned their vast army and artillery eastward, and annihiliated the Japanese army. Of the ~1,092,400 Japanese soldiers facing Russia, only 22,300-23,600 were killed according to Japan (Russia places the figure at 83,737): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_War#Summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_War#Summary

LatteLazy 5y ago
Because Japan surrendered almost as soon as Russia declared war. They were more afraid of the red army than 2 nuclear bombings...
- hef19898 5y ago
  I think we will never know what the reasoning behind the two bombs really was. I could imagine that after using large scale carpet and fire bombing against civilian targets, a nuclear bomb with a similar effect doesn't make much of a difference.
  - redis_mlc 5y ago
    We know exactly: - 5 Japanese cities were set aside from B-29 carpet bombing for possible nuclear bombing - US generals debated whether using these bombs was immoral or not. They were on the fence. - Truman's civil administrator pushed for using them - 2 were dropped. I believe 3-ship formations were used: bomber, meteorology plane, photo plane. A customized Lancaster wing was initially created, but Americans preferred to use their own B-29. You are correct that it didn't matter whether an atomic bomb or 1000 bombers with napalm were sent. Also, "civilian targets" is incorrect - Hiroshima was a naval base, and also built submarines or torpedos. This was downplayed by peaceniks for several decades, but it turned out that Hiroshima was a military target. There's even an interview with a worker from one of the military factories online. The Japanese military's goal after Midway was to win a crushing defeat over the US in a battle, so that there could be a favorable peace treaty with the US. That's one of the reasons for their refusal to surrender.
- 5y ago

protomyth 5y ago

The ships headed to Russia were Russian flagged. They were the reason US submarines had to be very careful in their target selection in certain waters. Thunder Below has a lot of commentary on the subject.

himinlomax 5y ago

> but did not follow any human rights conventions If I'm not mistaken, they hadn't signed any.