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> 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 f

by 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.
- miles 5y ago
  > They were more afraid of the red army than 2 nuclear bombings... Not according to them[1]: "More than ever before, the historical record confirms what those soldiers knew in their gut: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hideous as they were, shortened the war that Japan had begun and saved an immensity of lives. Far from considering itself essentially defeated, the Japanese military was preparing for an Allied assault with a massive buildup in the south. It was only the shock of the atomic blasts that enabled Japanese leaders who wanted to stop the fighting to successfully press for a surrender. "'We of the peace party were assisted by the atomic bomb in our endeavor to end the war,' Kido Koichi, one of Emperor Hirohito's closest aides, later recalled. Hisatsune Sakomizu, the chief Cabinet secretary, called the bomb 'a golden opportunity given by heaven for Japan to end the war.'" [1] http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/08/07/the_a_bomb_as_lifesaver/ http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

by miles 5y ago

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.
miles 5y ago
> They were more afraid of the red army than 2 nuclear bombings... Not according to them[1]: "More than ever before, the historical record confirms what those soldiers knew in their gut: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hideous as they were, shortened the war that Japan had begun and saved an immensity of lives. Far from considering itself essentially defeated, the Japanese military was preparing for an Allied assault with a massive buildup in the south. It was only the shock of the atomic blasts that enabled Japanese leaders who wanted to stop the fighting to successfully press for a surrender. "'We of the peace party were assisted by the atomic bomb in our endeavor to end the war,' Kido Koichi, one of Emperor Hirohito's closest aides, later recalled. Hisatsune Sakomizu, the chief Cabinet secretary, called the bomb 'a golden opportunity given by heaven for Japan to end the war.'" [1] http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/08/07/the_a_bomb_as_lifesaver/ http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]